Insights into β-diversity of periphytic protozoan fauna along the water column of marine ecosystems

Abstract

It has been increasingly recognized that there is high relevance in determining the β-diversity of communities along an environmental gradient for bioassessment of environmental quality status. To evaluate the vertical variations in β-diversity of periphytic protozoan fauna, in response to environmental heterogeneity in marine ecosystems, a baseline survey was conducted at the four water depths in the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Results demonstrated that (1) the species distribution presented different patterns at four water depths; (2) both compositional and community structure showed a significant vertical variation in multivariate dispersions from surface layer to the deeper layers; and (3) β-diversity measures generally increased from depths of 1 m to 5 m. These findings suggest that the homogeneity in the periphytic communities are of a high variability along the water column of marine ecosystems.