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Article dans une revue
Factors influencing the heterogeneity of benthic diatom communities along the shoreline of natural alpine lakes
Abstract : Littoral benthic diatom communities are pivotal indicators which react to coastline sources of pollution. Littoral communities, however, may be also strongly influenced by other environmental factors: we assumed that even in lakes without anthropogenic pressure, communities could be heterogeneous. To investigate the natural causes of community heterogeneity along shoreline, we sampled 58 pristine high-altitude lakes in the French Alps. Inside each lake, three different littoral stations were sampled. Water chemical composition was measured with major environmental settings. Lakes with homogeneous communities along their shoreline were dominated by pioneer species adapted to strong physical disturbances. The water renewal time in these lakes was short (a few days) and this conveyed strong turbulences. Lakes with heterogeneous communities along their shore had longer water renewal time and were dominated by high-profile diatoms that were able to compete for light and nutrients. The within-lake heterogeneity could be explained by the variability in coastline terrestrial habitats. This study illustrates how water turbulences can limit the expression of some ecological processes like interspecific competition and reduce heterogeneity when it is an overriding stressor. Finally, implications for lake managers are given in terms of monitoring efforts.
https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02618767
Déposant : Migration Prodinra <>
Soumis le : lundi 25 mai 2020 - 15:26:07
Dernière modification le : vendredi 6 novembre 2020 - 03:35:22
Déposant : Migration Prodinra <>
Soumis le : lundi 25 mai 2020 - 15:26:07
Dernière modification le : vendredi 6 novembre 2020 - 03:35:22
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