Abstract
The seasonal and spatial eukaryotic phytoplankton composition in the Fenhe River was investigated based on the 18S rDNA V4 region. The relationship between phytoplankton functional groups and environmental factors was explored to effectively capture the responses of these taxa to environmental gradients and their effects on ecosystem function. Our results indicated that the Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta had higher relative abundance than other taxa, and their diversity and richness indices in spring were higher than those in other seasons. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analyses detected that the potential seasonal biomarkers included Desmodesmus, Cyclotella, Pseudoschroederia, Discostella, Scenedesmus, Monoraphidium, and Nannochloropsis; the spatial biomarkers included Amphora, Neochloris, Hindakia, Pseudomuriella, Coccomyxa, Chloroidium, Scherffelia, Chromochloris, and Scotinosphaera. The systemic evolution and distribution characteristics of the first 50 representative sequences showed that the dominant genus included Desmodesmus in spring, Pseudopediastrum in summer, Mychonastes in autumn, and Monoraphidium in winter. Main seasonal variation of phytoplankton functional groups was as follows: spring (J + F + C + X1) → summer (J + F + X1 + X2) → autumn (J + F + X1 + C) → winter (X1 + J + B + X2). Pearson correlation, redundancy analysis, and variance partitioning analysis showed temperature and phosphate were the determining factors causing the changes of phytoplankton functional groups and community composition in the Fenhe River.
Highlights
The seasonal and spatial eukaryotic phytoplankton composition in the Fenhe River was investigated based on the 18S rDNA V4 region
A study has suggested that species richness and community composition estimated based on the V4 region are similar to those estimated using full-length ribosomal RNA g enes[17]; the V4 region is suitable for environmental studies
The 18S rDNA V4 region revealed that the diversity and composition of phytoplankton varied with seasons, and the diversity and number of species in spring were significantly higher than that in other seasons
Summary
The seasonal and spatial eukaryotic phytoplankton composition in the Fenhe River was investigated based on the 18S rDNA V4 region. Redundancy analysis, and variance partitioning analysis showed temperature and phosphate were the determining factors causing the changes of phytoplankton functional groups and community composition in the Fenhe River. Our understanding of the geographical distribution pattern of microbial communities and the ecological factors affecting the diversity in urban river is still very limited. Previous studies have shown that phytoplankton does not usually show strong diffusion r estrictions[10,11], indicating that its distribution is more likely influenced by local environmental variables. These variables can include nutrient concentrations, light c onditions[12], water temperatures[13], pH, and predation by grazers and z ooplankton[14], all of which are the main factors affecting the growth and reproduction of algae in water bodies. In biodiversity research, the combination of species diversity and its functions is useful for the understanding of the patterns of diversity and their underlying mechanisms
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