Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Bjarni K. Kristjánsson, Joseph Phillips, Camille A.-L. Leblanc
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1 - Háskólinn á Hólum, 2 - Creighton University, USA
Kynnir / Presenter: Bjarni Kristjánsson
Understanding factors that shape and maintain biodiversity is essential to understand how ecosystems respond to crises. Observed biodiversity is likely the result of the interaction of neutral and niche-based processes. We studied unique ecosystems found in groundwater filled lava caves, near Lake Mývatn, and tested the relative importance of these processes for benthic and epibenthic invertebrate communities. If neutral processes drive community structure among ponds there should be no clear relationships between the structure of communities and ecological factors. If, however, niche-based processes are important we should see clear relationships with ecological variables across caves . Both communities were species poor with low densities of invertebrates, dominated by crustaceans, mainly Cladocera. The epibenthic communities seemed to be mostly shaped by neutral processes. The benthic communities, on the other hand, were shaped by both neutral and niche-based processes, where the availability of energy, and to some extent pH, were the main drivers of the community structure. These results show that both neutral and niche-based processes are important, and research should focus on understanding both of them and their interaction. The study ponds are representative of a number of freshwater ecosystems – cold water springs - that are extremely vulnerable to human disturbance, making it even more important to understand how their biodiversity is shaped and maintained.