Community phylogenetic structure reveals the imprint of dispersal-related dynamics and environmental filtering by nutrient availability in freshwater diatoms.

ABSTRACT: Despite important progress, uncertainty persists regarding the ecological forces driving microbial community assembly. Here, we present the first study to use phylogenetic information to interpret the structure and diversity of diatom communities. We examined local phylogenetic divergence and beta- phylogenetic diversity in a large dataset of 595 freshwater benthic diatom communities and we investigated how this diversity is influenced by gradients in nutrients, pH, organic matter and catchment size. Overall, we found that diatom communities were phylogenetically clustered, i.e. species within communities were more closely related than expected by chance. Phylogenetic clustering was stronger in nutrient-poor environments and in sites with a small catchment area. The variation of the phylog

SUBMITTER: Keck F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6691006 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature