The Relationship between Phytoplankton Evenness and Copepod Abundance in Lake Nansihu, China

Wang Tian, Huayong Zhang, Lei Zhao, Xiang Xu and Hai Huang
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Wang Tian: Research Center for Engineering Ecology and Nonlinear Science, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Huayong Zhang: Research Center for Engineering Ecology and Nonlinear Science, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Lei Zhao: Research Center for Engineering Ecology and Nonlinear Science, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Xiang Xu: Research Center for Engineering Ecology and Nonlinear Science, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
Hai Huang: Research Center for Engineering Ecology and Nonlinear Science, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is a central issue in ecology. Previous studies have shown that producer diversity can impact the consumer community via predator-prey interactions. However, direct observations of this relationship remain rare, in particular for aquatic ecosystems. In this research, the relationship between phytoplankton diversity (species richness and evenness) and the abundance of copepods was analyzed in Lake Nansihu, a meso-eutrophic lake in China. The results showed that copepods abundance was significantly decreased with increasing phytoplankton evenness throughout the year. However, both species richness and phytoplankton biomass showed no significant relationship with the abundance of copepods. Canonical correspondence analysis revealed that phytoplankton evenness was negatively correlated with Thermocyclops kawamurai , Cyclops vicinus , Eucyclops serrulatus , Mesocyclops leuckarti , Sinocalanus tenellus , Sinocalanus dorrii , Copepods nauplius , but positively correlated with many Cyanophyta species ( Chroococcus minutus , Dactylococcopsis acicularis , Microcystis incerta , Merismopedia tenuissima , Merismopedia sinica and Lyngbya limnetica ). Based on our results, phytoplankton evenness was a better predictor of copepods abundance in meso-eutrophic lakes. These results provide new insights into the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functioning in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: phytoplankton biomass; species richness; evenness; copepod abundance; ecosystem functioning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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