Comparison of three functional classification approaches to characterize phytoplankton response to environmental heterogeneity: a case study in NE China wetlands

Abstract

Functional classification is widely recognized as an important approach for characterizing phytoplankton community response to environmental change in freshwater ecosystems. However, there are few studies of that type examining the northeast (NE) China wetlands. The study aimed to evaluate the capacities of phytoplankton functional groups (FGs), morpho-functional groups (MFGs), and morphology-based functional groups (MBFGs), to characterize phytoplankton response to environmental heterogeneity in two wetlands with different nutrient levels. Water quality variables and phytoplankton were examined in the Longfeng and Hulanhe wetlands located on the Songnen Plain, NE China, in 2013. Multivariate analyses (RDA) were performed to compare three functional classification approaches to environmental heterogeneity. Our results revealed that all three functional classification approaches (FGs, MFGs, and MBFG) could characterize the phytoplankton community response to environmental heterogeneity. MBFG had the highest cumulative percentage variance of species composition. We suggest using MBFG as a routine tool to characterize environmental heterogeneity in wetlands NE China. Furthermore, total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), electrical conductivity (EC), and pH were key predictors for regulating the ecological distribution of the phytoplankton community pattern in the study area. This study further highlights that MBFG is a relevant tool in assessing ecological health in wetland ecosystems.