Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment
Multiple stressors, including climate change, eutrophication, and pesticide contamination, are significant drivers of the decline in lake zoobenthos. Zoobenthos play a crucial role in aquatic ecosystems, impacting energy dynamics, nutrient cycling, and sediment degradation. However, these stressors...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3722 |
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| author | Xiaoqi Xu Guohuan Su Peiyu Zhang Tao Wang Kangshun Zhao Huan Zhang Jinhe Huang Hongxia Wang Xianghong Kong Jun Xu Min Zhang |
| author_facet | Xiaoqi Xu Guohuan Su Peiyu Zhang Tao Wang Kangshun Zhao Huan Zhang Jinhe Huang Hongxia Wang Xianghong Kong Jun Xu Min Zhang |
| author_sort | Xiaoqi Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Multiple stressors, including climate change, eutrophication, and pesticide contamination, are significant drivers of the decline in lake zoobenthos. Zoobenthos play a crucial role in aquatic ecosystems, impacting energy dynamics, nutrient cycling, and sediment degradation. However, these stressors have led to a decrease in the abundance and diversity of zoobenthos, resulting in notable changes in species composition and structure. Eutrophication typically increases zoobenthos abundance while reducing taxonomic diversity. Climate change, such as warming and heatwaves, also affects the zoobenthos community structure, with different species exhibiting varying levels of adaptability to temperature changes. Additionally, pesticides like imidacloprid have negative effects on the survival and growth of zoobenthos. However, the interactions between imidacloprid and other stressors remain understudied. Here, we used 48 mesocosms (2500 L) to simulate shallow lakes. We combined nutrient loading, sustained warming, and the imidacloprid pesticide to test how these stressors interactively influence the survival and community of zoobenthos. The experimental results demonstrate that elevated temperatures have a significant impact on aquatic benthic organisms under different treatment conditions. The increase in temperature led to a notable rise in species richness and α-diversity, primarily attributed to the stimulation of metabolic activities in zoobenthos, promoting their growth and reproduction. This finding underscores the potential influence of climate change on aquatic benthic ecosystems, particularly in terms of its promoting effect on α-diversity. However, it is essential to note that elevated temperatures also reduced β-diversity among different sites, implying a potential trend toward homogenization in zoobenthos communities under warmer conditions. Moreover, this study revealed the interactive effects of multiple stressors on the diversity of aquatic benthic communities. Specifically, the pesticide imidacloprid’s impact on zoobenthos is not isolated but demonstrates complex effects within various treatment interactions. In the presence of both temperature elevation and the addition of imidacloprid, the presence of imidacloprid appears to counteract the adverse effects of temperature elevation, resulting in increased species diversity. However, when imidacloprid coincides with nutrient input, it significantly affects α-diversity negatively. These findings highlight the complexity of zoobenthos responses to multiple stressors and how these factors influence both α-diversity and β-diversity. They provide valuable insights for further research on the conservation and management of ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:55:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1b0bb5e9e34c4d89b819ea5f05a0fba7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T01:55:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-1b0bb5e9e34c4d89b819ea5f05a0fba72023-12-08T15:10:49ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-12-011323372210.3390/ani13233722Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm ExperimentXiaoqi Xu0Guohuan Su1Peiyu Zhang2Tao Wang3Kangshun Zhao4Huan Zhang5Jinhe Huang6Hongxia Wang7Xianghong Kong8Jun Xu9Min Zhang10Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaHubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaInstitute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, ChinaHubei Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Pond Aquaculture, Engineering Research Center of Green Development for Conventional Aquatic Biological Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, ChinaMultiple stressors, including climate change, eutrophication, and pesticide contamination, are significant drivers of the decline in lake zoobenthos. Zoobenthos play a crucial role in aquatic ecosystems, impacting energy dynamics, nutrient cycling, and sediment degradation. However, these stressors have led to a decrease in the abundance and diversity of zoobenthos, resulting in notable changes in species composition and structure. Eutrophication typically increases zoobenthos abundance while reducing taxonomic diversity. Climate change, such as warming and heatwaves, also affects the zoobenthos community structure, with different species exhibiting varying levels of adaptability to temperature changes. Additionally, pesticides like imidacloprid have negative effects on the survival and growth of zoobenthos. However, the interactions between imidacloprid and other stressors remain understudied. Here, we used 48 mesocosms (2500 L) to simulate shallow lakes. We combined nutrient loading, sustained warming, and the imidacloprid pesticide to test how these stressors interactively influence the survival and community of zoobenthos. The experimental results demonstrate that elevated temperatures have a significant impact on aquatic benthic organisms under different treatment conditions. The increase in temperature led to a notable rise in species richness and α-diversity, primarily attributed to the stimulation of metabolic activities in zoobenthos, promoting their growth and reproduction. This finding underscores the potential influence of climate change on aquatic benthic ecosystems, particularly in terms of its promoting effect on α-diversity. However, it is essential to note that elevated temperatures also reduced β-diversity among different sites, implying a potential trend toward homogenization in zoobenthos communities under warmer conditions. Moreover, this study revealed the interactive effects of multiple stressors on the diversity of aquatic benthic communities. Specifically, the pesticide imidacloprid’s impact on zoobenthos is not isolated but demonstrates complex effects within various treatment interactions. In the presence of both temperature elevation and the addition of imidacloprid, the presence of imidacloprid appears to counteract the adverse effects of temperature elevation, resulting in increased species diversity. However, when imidacloprid coincides with nutrient input, it significantly affects α-diversity negatively. These findings highlight the complexity of zoobenthos responses to multiple stressors and how these factors influence both α-diversity and β-diversity. They provide valuable insights for further research on the conservation and management of ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3722climate changeeutrophicationpesticide contaminationmultiple stressorszoobenthosα-diversity |
| spellingShingle | Xiaoqi Xu Guohuan Su Peiyu Zhang Tao Wang Kangshun Zhao Huan Zhang Jinhe Huang Hongxia Wang Xianghong Kong Jun Xu Min Zhang Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment Animals climate change eutrophication pesticide contamination multiple stressors zoobenthos α-diversity |
| title | Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment |
| title_full | Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment |
| title_short | Effects of Multiple Environmental Stressors on Zoobenthos Communities in Shallow Lakes: Evidence from a Mesocosm Experiment |
| title_sort | effects of multiple environmental stressors on zoobenthos communities in shallow lakes evidence from a mesocosm experiment |
| topic | climate change eutrophication pesticide contamination multiple stressors zoobenthos α-diversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/23/3722 |
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