Do similar communities develop in similar sites? A test with zooplankton structure and function

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dc.contributorVirginia Techen
dc.contributor.authorJenkins, D. G.en
dc.contributor.authorBuikema, Arthur L. Jr.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiological Sciencesen
dc.date.accessed2014-03-11en
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-27T13:06:08Zen
dc.date.available2014-03-27T13:06:08Zen
dc.date.issued1998-08en
dc.description.abstractMcCune and Alien (1985) asked the question "Will similar forests develop on similar sites?" and concluded that dissimilar old-growth forests had developed on similar sites due to historical factors (colonization, disturbance, etc.). We asked "Do similar zooplankton communities develop in similar ponds?" We compared zooplankton community structure and function in 12 newly constructed experimental ponds during 1 yr of natural colonization and analyzed a suite of physical-chemical variables to evaluate the assumption of environmental similarity among ponds. Ponds were similar for the measured environmental variables. However, zooplankton communities were structurally different, as indicated by analyses of species presence/absence, colonization and species accrual curves, and taxa (rotifer, copepod, cladoceran, and Chaoborus) density and biomass. Species varied widely in their colonization abilities. Zooplankton communities also differed in productivity of some taxa and community-level respiration rates. Scale was important in detecting structure and function differences among zooplankton communities. Species- and taxa-level analyses showed clear differences among communities, but community-level analyses of structure (species richness, total density and biomass) and function (productivity, respiration, and ammonia regeneration rates) could not identify distinct sets of communities. Community structure and function may be comparable in sensitivity for detecting change but need to be compared at equivalent scales. Dispersal (as evidenced by colonization history) was a regulator of new zooplankton communities, because it did not occur rapidly or uniformly among similar ponds. All zooplankton do not disperse readily. The extent to which dispersal limits older zooplankton communities is unknown, but genetic studies indicate low dispersal rates among established populations. Dispersal also regulates assemblages of organisms expected to be less vagile than zooplankton and in various ecosystems, indicating that "supply-side" and metapopulation concepts are valuable for community ecology. Priority effects may have lasting influence on subsequent community structure, depending on colonization rates and sequences. We propose explicit recognition (and careful examination) of a commonly assumed but rarely tested "quorum effect": local abiotic and biotic processes regulate communities and arrival processes do not, because potential members have already arrived. Given either priority or quorum effects, dispersal may be an important, often-overlooked process regulating community structure and function, especially when it is not rapid.en
dc.description.sponsorshipSigma Xien
dc.description.sponsorshipScientific Research Societyen
dc.description.sponsorshipU.S. Environmental Protection Agency Cooperative Agreements CR-814358-01-0 and 814358-02-1en
dc.identifier.citationDavid G. Jenkins and Arthur L. Buikema Jr. 1998. DO SIMILAR COMMUNITIES DEVELOP IN SIMILAR SITES? A TEST WITH ZOOPLANKTON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. Ecological Monographs 68:421-443. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(1998)068[0421:DSCDIS]2.0.CO;2en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9615(1998)068[0421:dscdis]2.0.co;2en
dc.identifier.issn0012-9615en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/46854en
dc.identifier.urlhttp://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/0012-9615%281998%29068%5B0421%3ADSCDIS%5D2.0.CO%3B2en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherEcological Society of Americaen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectcolonization historyen
dc.subjectcommunity composition and assemblyen
dc.subjectcommunityen
dc.subjectstructureen
dc.subjectdispersalen
dc.subjectexperimental pondsen
dc.subjectquorum and priority effectsen
dc.subjectrotifersen
dc.subjectscale effectsen
dc.subjectzooplanktonen
dc.subjectexperimental pondsen
dc.subjecthigh diversityen
dc.subjectcladoceraen
dc.subjectplanktonen
dc.subjectinvasionen
dc.subjectbythotrephesen
dc.subjectcompetitionen
dc.subjectpopulationsen
dc.subjectsuccessionen
dc.subjectdispersalen
dc.titleDo similar communities develop in similar sites? A test with zooplankton structure and functionen
dc.title.serialEcological Monographsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden

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