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Phytoplankton colonization patterns. Is species richness depending on distance among freshwaters and on their connectivity?

  • PHYTOPLANKTON & SPATIAL GRADIENTS
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Abstract

Phytoplankton assemblages in two Sicilian water bodies were compared to test the hypothesis that colonization events and the successful establishment of a new species in an aquatic ecosystem may depend on the number of water bodies in a given area and on their relative distance. The two ecosystems are both natural, shallow lakes and they are protected sites hosting a rich avifauna. Lake Biviere di Gela is located in an area with a high density of ponds, whereas Lake Pergusa is an isolated waterbody without other aquatic ecosystems in its surroundings. Both lakes had almost disappeared about 10 years ago because of the over-exploitation of their main inflows. They were therefore re-filled using water from other catchments and their phytoplankton has been sampled since their re-filling. The results show that Lake Pergusa has maintained a species-poor phytoplankton assemblage since its re-filling, whereas Lake Biviere di Gela has been showing progressively richer phytoplankton assemblages during time. The composition of samples collected in nearby located temporary ponds suggests that phytoplankton in this area belongs to a species-rich metacommunity which favored its re-establishment in the lake. Aquatic ecosystems conservation plans cannot thus neglect the role of small waters located in the catchments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments contributed to improve an early draft of the manuscript, and Prof. Bruno Massa (University of Palermo) for his support and advices. The study was carried out with the contribution of a grant from the University of Palermo (2012-ATE-0148).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Botany and Plant Ecology, Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy

    Luigi Naselli-Flores & Rossella Barone

  2. L.I.S.A. – “Kore” University of Enna, Enna, Italy

    Rosa Termine

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  1. Luigi Naselli-Flores
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Correspondence to Luigi Naselli-Flores.

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Guest editors: Luigi Naselli-Flores & Judit Padisák / Biogeography and Spatial Patterns of Biodiversity of Freshwater Phytoplankton

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Naselli-Flores, L., Termine, R. & Barone, R. Phytoplankton colonization patterns. Is species richness depending on distance among freshwaters and on their connectivity?. Hydrobiologia 764, 103–113 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-015-2283-4

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