RT Journal Article
T1 A diatom functional-based approach to assess changing environmental conditions in temporary depressional wetlands
A1 Riato, Luisa
A1 Della Bella, Valentina
A1 Leira Campos, Antón Manoel
A1 Taylor, J.C.
A1 Oberholster, P.J.
K1 Diatom
K1 Life-form
K1 Ecological guild
K1 Ionic composition
K1 Stressor
K1 Temporal variability
K1 Wetland
AB Functional-based assessments to identify the effects of human-induced disturbances on diatom communities are increasingly used. However, information on the response of functional groups to natural disturbances in temporary depressional wetlands is limited although important for the development of temporary wetland biological assessments. We assessed how diatom life-form and ecological guilds responded to a seasonal hydrological and hydrochemical gradient in three least human-disturbed, temporary depressional wetlands. We assigned species to their respective life-form and ecological guild groups and compared metric composition along the gradient. Overall, temporal variability in alkalinity and ionic composition, essentially Na+, as well as hydrological factors, wetland depth and total relative evapotranspiration (ETo), were good predictors of diatom species and functional group composition. Low profile guilds dominated by pioneer life-forms showed the strongest relationship with higher disturbance levels (i.e. increasing Na+, alkalinity with a decrease in depth). Similarly, the planktonic guild and tube-living, rosette and adnate life-forms dominated at higher disturbance levels whereas the high profile diatoms displayed the reverse trend. Our study shows the effectiveness of functional-based assessments beyond traditional species-based approaches for understanding and predicting community responses to temporal changes in environmental conditions. We also highlight the benefit of using both life-forms and ecological guilds where a broad set of metrics can enhance our understanding of the mechanisms relating diatom composition to environmental stressors and provide signs of underlying ecological processes.
PB Elsevier
SN 1470-160X
YR 2017
FD 2017
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39014
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39014
LA eng
NO Riato, L., Della Bella, V., Leira, M., Taylor, J. C., & Oberholster, P. J. (2017). A diatom functional-based approach to assess changing environmental conditions in temporary depressional wetlands. Ecological indicators, 78, 205-213.
NO Coaltech Research Association Research Fellowship
NO South African National Research Foundation (NRF)
DS Minerva
RD 19 abr 2026