Nematodes in the periphyton of lakes: Variations in diversity, species composition, age structure, and sex ratio
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Publication Details
Output type: Journal article
Author list: Schroeder F, Peters L, Traunspurger W
Publisher: Wiley-VCH Verlag
Publication year: 2013
Journal: International Review of Hydrobiology (1434-2944)
Volume number: 98
Issue number: 6
Start page: 322
End page: 333
Number of pages: 12
ISSN: 1434-2944
eISSN: 1522-2632
Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)
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Open access status: closed
Abstract
Temporal fluctuations in the diversity, sex ratio, age, and species composition of free-living nematodes inhabiting the periphyton of stony hard-substrates were determined in three Swedish lakes differing in trophic state. Over a two-year sampling period, different temporal patterns were observed. In the oligotrophic lake, nematode diversity showed moderate fluctuations and peaked in early summer. Diversity in meso- and eutrophic lakes showed the opposite pattern. Species composition changed along seasons, enabling to identify typical early and late season assemblages. This succession was linked to different reproduction periods of dominant species. The age structure and sex ratio of periphytic nematode communities varied both temporally and between lakes according to species traits. As an example, the male/female ratio increased with increasing lake trophic state. This trend reflects the decrease of partenogenetically reproducing species with increasing lake trophic state, and may be further considered as an indicator of lake trophic state.
Keywords
Epilithon, Meiofauna, Seasonal succession, Species richness, Trophic state
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