Interactome‐based abiotic and biotic impacts on biodiversity of plankton communities in disturbed wetlands

Abstract

AbstractAimDespite great efforts for conservation, biodiversity in wetland ecosystems is still losing at an alarming rate. Thus, it is crucial to deeply understand ecological processes and mechanisms that potentially affect the loss of biodiversity.LocationSanjiang wetland in Sanjiang floodplain, north‐east China.MethodsBiological samples and environmental data were collected from five approximate habitats under different anthropogenic disturbance levels from Sanjiang wetland. Biodiversity of plankton communities (i.e., bacterioplankton and zooplankton) was characterized by high‐throughput sequencing‐based metabarcoding. Multidisciplinary methods including interactome‐based construction of scale‐free networks were employed to examine the complex biotic interactions and abiotic influence on plankton biodiversity.ResultsBoth environmental variables and community composition of plankton communities varied significantly among five habitats. Environmental filtering was identified as the dominant ecological process that drove the distinct community composition and geographical distribution of biodiversity. However, the significantly influential factors were different for bacterioplankton (e.g., pH and As) and zooplankton communities (e.g., NH4 and TP). In total, environmental factors could explain approximately 30% of community variation for both types of plankton communities. Based on interactome networks, more organism‐associated edges were identified than environment‐associated edges. Such a pattern suggests that, in addition to environmental influence, biotic interactions also play a crucial role to shape biodiversity variation.Main conclusionsBoth abiotic factors and biotic interactions largely contributed to the distinct composition and geographical distribution of bacterioplankton and zooplankton communities in Sanjiang wetland. Therefore, the interactome‐based investigation is recommended to examine synthesized impacts of abiotic and biotic variables, and such a comprehensive survey can largely facilitate our understanding of ecological processes and associated mechanisms that drive the loss of wetland biodiversity. Results from comprehensive surveys can help identify conservation priorities and improve the predictability of conservation programmes.