When floods meet dispersal: Unravelling macroinvertebrate community dynamics in a large subtropical monsoonal river basin.

Disentangling the mechanisms underlying community assembly is a central topic in community ecology and an important prerequisite for bioassessment. The relative importance of deterministic and stochastic processes is expected to change among organisms relying on different dispersal modes and may vary considerably through time. However, how seasonal change and dispersal modes will interplay to influence community assembly remains to be demonstrated.

Historical and dispersal processes drive community assembly of multiple aquatic taxa in glacierized catchments in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Understanding the relative role of dispersal dynamics and niche constraints is not only a core task in community ecology, but also becomes an important prerequisite for bioassessment. Despite the recent progress in our knowledge of community assembly in space and time, patterns and processes underlying biotic communities in alpine glacierized catchments remain mostly ignored. To fill this knowledge gap, we combined the recently proposed dispersal-niche continuum index (DNCI) with traditional constrained ordinations and idealized patterns of species distributions to unravel community assembly mechanisms of different key groups of primary producers and consumers (i.

Anthropogenic impacts on multiple facets of macroinvertebrate α and β diversity in a large river-floodplain ecosystem.

Anthropogenic disturbances have become one of the primary causes of biodiversity decline in freshwater ecosystems. Beyond the well-documented loss of taxon richness in increasingly impacted ecosystems, our knowledge on how different facets of α and β diversity respond to human disturbances is still limited. Here, we examined the responses of taxonomic (TD), functional (FD) and phylogenetic (PD) α and β diversity of macroinvertebrate communities to human impact across 33 floodplain lakes surrounding the Yangtze River.

Hydrology and water quality shape macroinvertebrate patterns and facilitate non-native species dispersals in an inter-basin water transfer system.

Understanding biotic assemblage variations resulting from water diversions and other pressures is critical for aquatic ecosystem conservation, but hampered by limited research. Mechanisms driving macroinvertebrate assemblages were determined across five lakes along China's South-to-North Water Diversion Project, an over 900-km water transfer system connecting four river basins. We assessed macroinvertebrate patterns from 59 sites in relation to water quality, climatic, spatial, and hydrologic factors.

Life history and population ecology of (Lymnaeidae) in nearshore regions of a hypereutrophic plateau lake.

Accurate assessment of life history and population ecology of widespread species in ultra-eutrophic freshwater lakes is a prerequisite for understanding the mechanisms by which widespread species respond to eutrophication. Freshwater pulmonate () is widespread and abundant in many eutrophic water bodies in Asia. Despite its key roles in eutrophic lake systems, the information on life history and population ecology of is lacking, especially in ultra-eutrophic freshwater plateau lakes.

Description of two new species of the genus Glyphiulus Gervais, 1847 (Diplopoda: Spirostreptida: Cambalopsidae) from southern China.

Two new species of the millipede genus Glyphiulus Gervais, 1847 are described from southern China: Glyphiulus fortis sp. nov. and Glyphiulus hainanensis sp.

Environmental filtering in the dry season and spatial structuring in the wet: different fish community assembly rules revealed in a large subtropical floodplain lake.

Although environmental filtering and spatial structuring are commonly regarded as two key factors shaping community dynamics, their relative contribution remains unknown for numerous aquatic ecosystems, particularly highly dynamic floodplain lakes. This issue is here addressed by examining the seasonal metacommunity dynamics of freshwater fishes in Lake Dongting, a large subtropical lake of the middle Chang-Jiang basin in southern China. Physicochemical variables and fish assemblages were recorded at 20 sampling sites during the wet, normal, and dry seasons.

Responses of multiple facets of macroinvertebrate alpha diversity to eutrophication in floodplain lakes.

The accelerated eutrophication of freshwater lakes has become an environmental problem worldwide. Increasing numbers of studies highlight the need to incorporate functional and phylogenetic information of species into bioassessment programms, but it is still poorly understood how eutrophication affects multiple diversity facets of freshwater communities. Here, we assessed the responses of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates to water eutrophication in 33 lakes in the Yangtze River floodplain in China.

Land conversion induced by urbanization leads to taxonomic and functional homogenization of a river macroinvertebrate metacommunity.

Conversion of forests to urban land-use in the processes of urbanization is one of the major causes of biotic homogenization (i.e., decline in beta diversity) in freshwater ecosystems, threating ecosystem functioning and services.

Effects of different types of land-use on taxonomic and functional diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in a subtropical river network.

Expansion of agricultural and urban areas and intensification of catchment land-use increasingly affect different facets of biodiversity in aquatic communities. However, understanding the responses of taxonomic and functional diversity to specific conversion from natural forest to agriculture and urban land-use remains limited, especially in subtropical streams where biomonitoring programs and using functional traits are still under development. Here, we conducted research in a subtropical stream network to examine the responses of macroinvertebrate taxonomic and functional diversity to different types of land-use in central China.

Description of Hypocambala zizhongi sp. nov. and the new combination, Glyphiulus polytrichus (Golovatch et al., 2011) comb. nov., based on morphological and molecular data (Spirostreptida: Cambalidea: Cambalopsidae).

The recent delimitation of the cambalopsid genera Hypocambala and Glyphiulus is debatable. The focus of controversy is whether the presence of crests on the trunk rings is an appropriate key character dividing these two genera. To address this issue, we conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis including species with or without crests belonging to Hypocambala and species with crests belonging to Glyphiulus.

Description of sp. nov. (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytraeidae) from central China, with comments on species records of from China.

is described from hardwood forest soil in Wuhan, China. This moderately sized enchytraeid species of 6-9 mm body length is characterized by: (1) an oesophageal appendage with tertiary branches, (2) three pairs of secondary pharyngeal gland lobes in V, VI, VII, (3) five pairs preclitellar nephridia, from 5/6 to 9/10, (4) dorsal vessel originating in clitellar segments, (5) a girdle-shaped clitellum, (6) a relatively small male reproductive apparatus without seminal vesicle, and (7) spermathecae that extend to VI-VII. DNA barcodes of paratype specimens of the new species are provided.

First description of the male of Glyphiulus formosus (Pocock, 1895) (Diplopoda: Spirostreptida: Cambalopsidae) from China.

The male of Glyphiulus formosus (Pocock, 1895) is described for the first time based on specimens collected from Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. According to the male sexual characters, this species is verified to be a member of the G. javanicus group.

Integration of α, β and γ components of macroinvertebrate taxonomic and functional diversity to measure of impacts of commercial sand dredging.

Effects of commercial sand mining on aquatic diversity are of increasing global concern, especially in parts of some developing countries. However, understanding of this activity on the diversity of macroinvertebrates remains focused on the α component of species diversity, rather than community functioning. Thus, there remains much uncertainty regarding how each component of taxonomic (TD) and functional (FD) diversity respond to the activity both in freshwater and marine environments.

Distance decay of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in a mountain river network: Do dispersal routes and dispersal ability matter?

Environmental heterogeneity and dispersal limitation are important drivers of beta diversity; however, their relative influence on the two fundamental components of beta diversity (i.e., species replacement and richness difference) has not been fully examined in montane streams.

Bacillus pumilus improved drought tolerance in Glycyrrhiza uralensis G5 seedlings through enhancing primary and secondary metabolisms.

It has been reported that drought stress adversely affects the growth and yield of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Chinese liquorice, in agricultural production. Bacillus pumilus, an important plant growth-promoting bacterium, play a significant role in improving plant tolerance to abiotic stress. However, the role of Bacillus pumilus G5 in resisting drought stress is largely unknown.

Seasonal changes in metacommunity assembly mechanisms of benthic macroinvertebrates in a subtropical river basin.

Unraveling the ecological factors that control variation in local community structure in space and time is fundamental to metacommunity ecology. In this scenario, environmental filtering and spatial processes are recognized as important drivers of community assembly, yet their relative importance is anticipated to vary for biological communities in different seasons, network positions and organisms with distinct dispersal modes. In this study, we used a dataset (macroinvertebrate communities and environmental variables) collected in different seasons from the Ganjiang River in China to test the above ideas.

Degraded functional structure of macroinvertebrates caused by commercial sand dredging practices in a flood plain lake.

In parts of developing countries, the over-exploitation of sands from inland waters has led to serious environmental concerns. However, understanding of the impacts of commercial sand dredging on inland water ecosystem functions remains limited. Herein, we assess the effects of this activity on the functional structure of the macroinvertebrate community and its recovery processes based on a 4-year survey, in the South Dongting Lake in China.

Effects of human-induced eutrophication on macroinvertebrate spatiotemporal dynamics in Lake Dianchi, a large shallow plateau lake in China.

The Yungui Plateau lakes, which are characterized by a highly endemic biodiversity, have been suffering severely from anthropogenic intervention in the recent decades. Studies on the response of these biodiversity to human-mediated effects are still limited. Here, we selected the typical Lake Dianchi to investigate the correlation between macroinvertebrate spatiotemporal dynamics and human-induced eutrophication across a 2-year span (2009-2010).

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

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.

Discriminating the effects of local stressors from climatic factors and dispersal processes on multiple biodiversity dimensions of macroinvertebrate communities across subtropical drainage basins.

Metacommunity ecology emphasizes that community structure and diversity are not only determined by local environmental conditions through environmental filtering, but also by dispersal-related processes, such as mass effects, dispersal limitation and patch dynamics. However, the roles of dispersal processes are typically ignored in bioassessment approaches. Here, we simultaneously explored the potential influences of four groups of factors: local stressors, climatic factors, within-basin spatial factors and basin identity in explaining variation in diversity indices of macroinvertebrate assemblages from seven subtropical tributary rivers.

Dredging project caused short-term positive effects on lake ecosystem health: A five-year follow-up study at the integrated lake ecosystem level.

Sediment dredging is a controversial technology for lake eutrophication control. A lengthy and holistic assessment is important to understand the effects of a dredging project on a lake ecosystem. In this study, a dredging project was followed for 5 years.

Different roles of elevational and local environmental factors on abundance-based beta diversity of the soil Enchytraeidae on the Changbai Mountain.

The elevational alpha biodiversity gradient in mountain regions is one of the well-known ecological patterns, but its beta diversity pattern remains poorly known. Examining the beta diversity and its components could enhance the understanding of community assembly mechanism. We studied the beta diversity pattern of the soil enchytraeids along a distinct elevational gradient (705-2,280 m) on the Changbai Mountain, the best-preserved mountain in northeastern China.

Multiple facets of stream macroinvertebrate alpha diversity are driven by different ecological factors across an extensive altitudinal gradient.

Environmental filtering and spatial structuring are important ecological processes for the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. However, the relative importance of these ecological drivers for multiple facets of diversity is still poorly understood in highland streams. Here, we examined the responses of three facets of stream macroinvertebrate alpha diversity to local environmental, landscape-climate and spatial factors in a near-pristine highland riverine ecosystem.

Different responses of taxonomic and functional structures of stream macroinvertebrate communities to local stressors and regional factors in a subtropical biodiversity hotspot.

Examining the relative contribution of local environmental stressors and regional factors in structuring biological communities is essential for biodiversity conservation and environmental assessment, yet their relative roles for different community characterizations remain elusive. Here, we examined the responses of taxonomic and functional structures of stream macroinvertebrate communities to local and regional factors across a human-induced environmental gradient in the Han River Basin, one subtropical biodiversity hotspot in China. Our objectives were: 1) to examine the responses of traditional taxonomic measures and functional traits to anthropogenic disturbances; 2) to compare the relative importance of environmental versus spatial variables and catchment-scale versus reach-scale variables for the two community characterizations.