Taxonomic and functional composition of the algal benthos exhibits similar successional trends in response to nutrient supply and current velocity

Abstract

In an effort to identify the causes and patterns of temporal change in periphytic communities, we examined biomass accumulation, taxonomic and functional composition, rate of species turnover, and pairwise species correlations in response to variability in current velocity and nutrient supply in artificial stream flumes. Divergent patterns in community growth and succession were observed between nutrient treatments and, to a lesser extent, between flow treatments best described by shifts in taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically, understory low profile species, tolerant to low resource supply, became dominant under low nutrients, while overstory high profile and motile species with higher nutrient demands dominated the high nutrient treatments. Increased resource supply or current velocity did not influence the species turnover rate, measured by a time-lag analysis. Interspecific interactions, especially competition, did not appear to be driving community dynamics, as the number of positive and negative pairwise species correlations ranged between low and extremely low, respectively. The overwhelming majority of correlations were not significant, indicating that species within the biofilm matrix were not perceptibly influencing one another. Thus, temporal trends in taxonomic and functional composition were largely environmentally driven, signifying that coexistence in biofilms is defined by the same mechanism along the hierarchy from species to functional groups.