Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different?
Functional diversity measures help to understand the underlying mechanisms explaining the relationship between organisms and environment. This work examined the mesozooplankton community of an estuary under the hypothesis that the upper (< 25 psu) and lower (> 25 psu) zones are functio...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1004193/full |
| _version_ | 1798014538392535040 |
|---|---|
| author | Laura Sanvicente-Añorve Mitzi Sánchez-Campos Miguel Alatorre-Mendieta Elia Lemus-Santana Edlin Guerra-Castro |
| author_facet | Laura Sanvicente-Añorve Mitzi Sánchez-Campos Miguel Alatorre-Mendieta Elia Lemus-Santana Edlin Guerra-Castro |
| author_sort | Laura Sanvicente-Añorve |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Functional diversity measures help to understand the underlying mechanisms explaining the relationship between organisms and environment. This work examined the mesozooplankton community of an estuary under the hypothesis that the upper (< 25 psu) and lower (> 25 psu) zones are functionally different in terms of feeding strategies, trophic groups, camouflage, buoyancy, and defense against predators, due to the salinity gradient. We used the ‘community-weighted mean trait values’ (CWM) and a fuzzy correspondence analysis (FCA) in combination with three functional indices (FRic: functional richness, FEve: functional evenness, FDiv: functional divergence) to test our hypothesis. Zooplankton samples were taken in the tropical Sontecomapan estuary, southern Gulf of Mexico, in June 2018 and October 2019. A total of 21 zooplankton groups were recognized, all of them present in the lower estuary. Results showed significant differences (p< 0.05) in the FRic and FDiv values between the two zones, as well in the CWM metric. Results of the FCA showed that the lower estuary was characterized by herbivorous filter feeders that use watery bodies, flattened body forms, mucus houses, or ‘wings’ for buoyancy; highly transparent bodies (associated with gelatinous body structure) for camouflage and predators’ avoidance and, shells or carapaces as antipredator tactics. The upper estuary was characterized by omnivorous cruising predators that use their appendages or swim bladders for buoyancy, with ‘medium’ and ‘low’ levels of transparency, associated with chitinous and skin-protected body structures, which provide alternative ways for camouflage and spines or fast swimming behavior to protect from predators. These findings evidenced that the upper and lower zones of an estuary exhibit differences in the function of the zooplankton community and shed new light on the comprehension of estuaries’ ecological function. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:20:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c90c35f5fdd469085b63423d508f481 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T15:20:16Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c90c35f5fdd469085b63423d508f4812022-12-22T04:16:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452022-12-01910.3389/fmars.2022.10041931004193Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different?Laura Sanvicente-Añorve0Mitzi Sánchez-Campos1Miguel Alatorre-Mendieta2Elia Lemus-Santana3Edlin Guerra-Castro4Laboratorio de Ecología de Sistemas Pelágicos, Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad Acuática, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, MexicoLaboratorio de Ecología de Sistemas Pelágicos, Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad Acuática, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, MexicoLaboratorio de Oceanografía Física, Departamento de Procesos Oceánicos y Costeros, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, MexicoLaboratorio de Ecología de Sistemas Pelágicos, Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad Acuática, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, MexicoLaboratorio de Ecología Marina, Departamento de Sistemas y Procesos Naturales, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Mérida, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mérida, MexicoFunctional diversity measures help to understand the underlying mechanisms explaining the relationship between organisms and environment. This work examined the mesozooplankton community of an estuary under the hypothesis that the upper (< 25 psu) and lower (> 25 psu) zones are functionally different in terms of feeding strategies, trophic groups, camouflage, buoyancy, and defense against predators, due to the salinity gradient. We used the ‘community-weighted mean trait values’ (CWM) and a fuzzy correspondence analysis (FCA) in combination with three functional indices (FRic: functional richness, FEve: functional evenness, FDiv: functional divergence) to test our hypothesis. Zooplankton samples were taken in the tropical Sontecomapan estuary, southern Gulf of Mexico, in June 2018 and October 2019. A total of 21 zooplankton groups were recognized, all of them present in the lower estuary. Results showed significant differences (p< 0.05) in the FRic and FDiv values between the two zones, as well in the CWM metric. Results of the FCA showed that the lower estuary was characterized by herbivorous filter feeders that use watery bodies, flattened body forms, mucus houses, or ‘wings’ for buoyancy; highly transparent bodies (associated with gelatinous body structure) for camouflage and predators’ avoidance and, shells or carapaces as antipredator tactics. The upper estuary was characterized by omnivorous cruising predators that use their appendages or swim bladders for buoyancy, with ‘medium’ and ‘low’ levels of transparency, associated with chitinous and skin-protected body structures, which provide alternative ways for camouflage and spines or fast swimming behavior to protect from predators. These findings evidenced that the upper and lower zones of an estuary exhibit differences in the function of the zooplankton community and shed new light on the comprehension of estuaries’ ecological function.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1004193/fullfunctional diversityfunctional traitszooplanktonfeeding strategiestrophic groupscamouflage |
| spellingShingle | Laura Sanvicente-Añorve Mitzi Sánchez-Campos Miguel Alatorre-Mendieta Elia Lemus-Santana Edlin Guerra-Castro Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? Frontiers in Marine Science functional diversity functional traits zooplankton feeding strategies trophic groups camouflage |
| title | Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? |
| title_full | Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? |
| title_fullStr | Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? |
| title_short | Zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system: Are lower and upper estuaries functionally different? |
| title_sort | zooplankton functional traits in a tropical estuarine system are lower and upper estuaries functionally different |
| topic | functional diversity functional traits zooplankton feeding strategies trophic groups camouflage |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1004193/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurasanvicenteanorve zooplanktonfunctionaltraitsinatropicalestuarinesystemarelowerandupperestuariesfunctionallydifferent AT mitzisanchezcampos zooplanktonfunctionaltraitsinatropicalestuarinesystemarelowerandupperestuariesfunctionallydifferent AT miguelalatorremendieta zooplanktonfunctionaltraitsinatropicalestuarinesystemarelowerandupperestuariesfunctionallydifferent AT elialemussantana zooplanktonfunctionaltraitsinatropicalestuarinesystemarelowerandupperestuariesfunctionallydifferent AT edlinguerracastro zooplanktonfunctionaltraitsinatropicalestuarinesystemarelowerandupperestuariesfunctionallydifferent |