Influence of Ecological Multiparameters on Facets of β-Diversity of Freshwater Plankton Ciliates

The objective was to evaluate how different facets of β-diversity (taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic) based on data from the planktonic ciliate community of a Neotropical floodplain, are influenced by temporal, spatial, abiotic, and biotic factors. The research was conducted in the upper Paraná River floodplain between the years 2010 and 2020 in different water bodies. All predictors showed significant importance on the facets of β-diversity, except the abiotic predictors on species composition data, for the taxonomic facet. The functional and phylogenetic facets were mostly influenced by abiotic, biotic, and spatial factors. For temporal predictors, results showed influence on taxonomic (structure and composition data) and functional (structure data) facets. Also, a fraction of shared explanation between the temporal and abiotic components was observed for the distinct facets. Significant declines in β-diversity in continental ecosystems have been evidenced, especially those with drastic implications for ecosystemic services. Therefore, the preservation of a high level of diversity in water bodies, also involving phylogenetic and functional facets, should be a priority in conservation plans and goals, to ensure the maintenance of important ecological processes involving ciliates.PMID:38057381 | DOI:10.1007/s00248-023-02312-9

Source: Microbial Ecology - December 6, 2023 Category: Microbiology Authors: Felipe Rafael Oliveira Fernando Miranda Lansac-T ôha Bianca Ramos Meira Melissa Prog ênio Luiz Felipe Machado Velho Source Type: research