Zooplankton community size structure across lakes within a semiarid landscape: the effect of temperature and salinity.

MARIANI, MATIAS; VIGNATTI, ALICIA; ECHANIZ, SANTIAGO; CUETO, GERARDO; ZAGARESE, H. E.; DIOVISALVI, N

JOURNAL OF PLANKTON RESEARCH

OXFORD UNIV PRESS

Año: 2023

0142-7873

Body size is a master trait controlling biological communities and ecosystem functioning. Mean population size notonly depends on the size of individuals, but also on the size distribution of individuals within the population. Meancommunity size is additionally influenced by the composition of species (larger- or smaller-sized species). Shallow lakeswithin semi-arid landscapes are prone to experience large changes in temperature and salinity (Ti), which aect thezooplankton size structure. Higher temperatures are expected to result in smaller average body size, while the eect ofsalinity appears to depend on the range under study. Here we analyze zooplankton body size patterns across shallowlakes from the semi-arid central region of Argentina. All community size descriptors point to decreasing size and anarrow size range at higher temperatures. On the other hand, the maximum average community body size occurred atintermediate (∼30 gL−1) salinity levels. The combined eect of both variables resulted in a bell-shaped pattern, withmaximum community body size toward lower temperatures and intermediate salinities. Based on future temperaturescenarios, one may anticipate an overall decrease in community body size. But such prediction is strongly conditionedby regional and local trends in salinity