TY  - JOUR
A1  - Santana, Lucineide Maria
A1  - Weithoff, Guntram
A1  - Ferragut, Carla
T1  - Seasonal and spatial functional shifts in phytoplankton communities of five tropical reservoirs
JF  - Aquatic ecology : the international forum covering research in freshwater and marine environments
N2  - Trait-based approaches have become increasingly important and valuable in understanding phytoplankton community assembly and composition. These approaches allow for comparisons between water bodies with different species composition. We hypothesize that similar changes in environmental conditions lead to similar responses with regard to functional traits of phytoplankton communities, regardless of trophic state or species composition. We studied the phytoplankton (species composition, community trait mean and diversity) of five reservoirs in Brazil along a trophic gradient from ultra-oligotrophic to meso-eutrophic. Samples at two seasons (summer/rainy and winter/dry) with a horizontal and vertical resolution were taken. Using multivariate analysis, the five reservoirs separated, despite some overlap, according to their environmental variables (mainly total phosphorus, conductivity, pH, chlorophyll a). However, between the seasonal periods, the reservoirs shifted in a similar direction in the multi-dimensional space. The seasonal response of the overall phytoplankton community trait mean differed between the ultra-oligotrophic and the other reservoirs, with three reservoirs exhibiting a very similar community trait mean despite considerable differences in species composition. Within-season differences between different water layers were low. The functional diversity was also unrelated to the trophic state of the reservoirs. Thus, seasonal environmental changes had strong influence on the functional characteristics of the phytoplankton community in reservoirs with distinct trophic condition and species composition. These results demonstrate that an ataxonomic trait-based approach is a relevant tool for comparative studies in phytoplankton ecology.
KW  - Functional traits
KW  - Plankton
KW  - Seasonality
KW  - Tropical system
KW  - Diversity indices
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-017-9634-3
SN  - 1386-2588
SN  - 1573-5125
VL  - 51
SP  - 531
EP  - 543
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Brose, Ulrich
A1  - Chipperfield, Joseph D.
A1  - Clough, Yann
A1  - Farwig, Nina
A1  - Geissler, Katja
A1  - Graham, Catherine H.
A1  - Grimm, Volker
A1  - Hickler, Thomas
A1  - Huth, Andreas
A1  - May, Felix
A1  - Meyer, Katrin M.
A1  - Pagel, Jörn
A1  - Reineking, Björn
A1  - Rillig, Matthias C.
A1  - Shea, Katriona
A1  - Schurr, Frank Martin
A1  - Schroeder, Boris
A1  - Tielbörger, Katja
A1  - Weiss, Lina
A1  - Wiegand, Kerstin
A1  - Wiegand, Thorsten
A1  - Wirth, Christian
A1  - Zurell, Damaris
T1  - How can we bring together empiricists and modellers in functional biodiversity research?
JF  - Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft für Ökologie
N2  - Improving our understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and our capacity to inform ecosystem management requires an integrated framework for functional biodiversity research (FBR). However, adequate integration among empirical approaches (monitoring and experimental) and modelling has rarely been achieved in FBR. We offer an appraisal of the issues involved and chart a course towards enhanced integration. A major element of this path is the joint orientation towards the continuous refinement of a theoretical framework for FBR that links theory testing and generalization with applied research oriented towards the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. We further emphasize existing decision-making frameworks as suitable instruments to practically merge these different aims of FBR and bring them into application. This integrated framework requires joint research planning, and should improve communication and stimulate collaboration between modellers and empiricists, thereby overcoming existing reservations and prejudices. The implementation of this integrative research agenda for FBR requires an adaptation in most national and international funding schemes in order to accommodate such joint teams and their more complex structures and data needs.
KW  - Biodiversity theory
KW  - Biodiversity experiments
KW  - Conservation management
KW  - Decision-making
KW  - Ecosystem functions and services
KW  - Forecasting
KW  - Functional traits
KW  - Global change
KW  - Monitoring programmes
KW  - Interdisciplinarity
Y1  - 2013
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2013.01.001
SN  - 1439-1791
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
SP  - 93
EP  - 101
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Jena
ER  -