Seasonal shifts in the assembly dynamics of benthic macroinvertebrate and diatom communities in a subtropical river.

ABSTRACT: Identifying seasonal shifts in community assembly for multiple biological groups is important to help enhance our understanding of their ecological dynamics. However, such knowledge on lotic assemblages is still limited. In this study, we used biological traits and functional diversity indices in association with null model analyses to detect seasonal shifts in the community assembly mechanisms of lotic macroinvertebrates and diatoms in an unregulated subtropical river in China. We found that functional composition and functional diversity (FRic, FEve, FDis, MNN, and SDNN) showed seasonal variation for macroinvertebrate and diatom assemblages. Null models suggested that environmental filtering, competitive exclusion, and neutral process were all important community assembly mechanisms for

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6988552 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature