From River to Reservoir: The Impact of Environmental Variables on Zooplankton Assemblages in Karst Ecosystems

Binbin Li, Qiuhua Li (), Pengfei Wang, Xiaochuan Song, Jinjuan Li, Mengshu Han and Si Zhou ()
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Binbin Li: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550001, China
Qiuhua Li: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550001, China
Pengfei Wang: Guizhou Key Laboratory of Advanced Computing, Guiyang 550001, China
Xiaochuan Song: Guizhou Key Laboratory of Advanced Computing, Guiyang 550001, China
Jinjuan Li: College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550001, China
Mengshu Han: Guizhou Key Laboratory of Advanced Computing, Guiyang 550001, China
Si Zhou: Department of Aquatic Ecological and Environmental Research, Provincial Environmental Science Research and Design Institute, Guiyang 550002, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Zooplankton are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems and play crucial roles in material cycling and energy flow. However, the mechanisms governing zooplankton community assembly, particularly habitat-specific differences, remain poorly understood. In this two-year study, we monitored zooplankton communities across reservoir and river habitats within the Chayuan watershed, a representative karst region in southwest China. Our findings revealed significant spatial divergence in water-quality variables (including water temperature, pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, permanganate index, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll- a , and ammonia nitrogen) between habitats. Twenty-nine dominant zooplankton species were identified in reservoir and river communities, with only eight shared between the two habitats. The mechanisms underlying the corresponding zooplankton community structures showed distinct segregation between habitats, with deterministic processes predominating in reservoir communities (explaining 25.1% of the variation) and stochastic processes predominating in river communities (3.4% of the variation explained). Environmental drivers differed substantially between habitats: reservoir communities were primarily influenced by total nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll- a concentrations, whereas river communities responded predominantly to ammonia nitrogen levels. This study provides novel insights into the divergent mechanisms governing zooplankton community assembly in lentic versus lotic systems within a shared karst watershed, offering theoretical foundations for ecosystem-specific management strategies in fragile karst environments. Future research should focus on key climatic variables (e.g., extreme precipitation) and hydrological dynamics (such as flow velocity and water residence time) to further elucidate the mechanisms behind zooplankton community assembly, providing deeper insights to facilitate effective ecosystem management in karst environments.

Keywords: zooplankton; community assembly; environmental variables; karst ecosystems; deterministic processes; stochastic processes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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