Project:BB|3555

Title
BIOPOOL - EuroDIVERSITY - Connectivity, dispersal and priority effects as drivers of biodiversity and ecosystem function in pond and pool communities
Acronym
 
URL
StartDate
2006-06-01
EndDate
2010-01-01
Amount
 

Abstract

In this project, we will use pond communities throughout Europe as model systems for testing central hypotheses on the impact of dispersal, colonization and priority effects on community build-up and their consequences for ecosystem functioning. Our main objectives are to (1) characterise the relative importance of dispersal (determined by regional factors), historical effects (e.g. priority effects, partly mediated by propagule banks) and assemblage processes (driven by local factors) on biodiversity, and to (2) quantify the effect of diversity and genetic variation on ecosystem functioning, particularly exploitation efficiency and resistance to biological invasions. Because of their small size, ponds and pools are ideal for field and mesocosm experiments. Their importance for biodiversity and vulnerability to human impact has been widely recognized and led to the construction of many new pools. This creates numerous opportunities for wellcontrolled colonization “experiments” in the natural environment. We will exploit the unique opportunities of ponds and pools as models of naturally isolated systems. Our approach is to use a combination of observational studies, field and mesocosm experiments, pond restoration experiments, molecular ecological research, and modelling work to evaluate key hypotheses concerning the importance of regional (dispersal) and local (assemblage) factors for both within and between species diversity, as well as ecosystem function. We will study a range of organisms with different biological characteristics that naturally co-occur in the same habitats (unicellular algae, cyanobacteria, zooplankton, macrophytes), and will explicitly consider the interplay between within- and between-species diversity.
The legacy of BIOPOOL will be (a) better insight in processes structuring communities in ponds and pools, (b) better understanding of key issues in community assemblage, processes determining biodiversity and its functional consequences, (c) protocols, modelling tools and a sound logistic framework to use ponds and pools as effective model systems in ecology, evolutionary biology, biodiversity research and conservation biology.

Keywords

biodiversity, pools, ponds, dispersal, priority effects, colonization, ecosystem functioning, biological invasion

People

Name Role Start End
Vyverman, Wim co-promotor 2006-06-01 2008-06-01
De Meester, Luc promotor 2006-06-01 2008-06-01

Orgunits

Name Role Start End
Protistology & Aquatic Ecology member 2006-06-01 2008-06-01
Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Evolutionary Biology member 2006-06-01 2008-06-01

Publications

Reference Role
De Meester, L., J. Vanoverbeke, J., R. Ortells & P. Spaak, 2006. Genetic structure of cyclic parthenogenetic zooplankton populations - a conceptual framework. Archiv Hydrobiol. 167: 217-244. author
Louette, G., M. Vander Elst & L. De Meester, 2006. Establishment success in young cladoceran communities: An experimental test. Limnol. Oceanogr. 51: 1021-1030. author
Scheffer, M., G.J. van Geest, K. Zimmer, E. Jeppesen, M. Sondergaard, M.G. Butler, M.A. Hanson, S. Declerck & L. De Meester, 2006. Small habitat size and isolation can promote species richness: second-order effects on biodiversity in shallow lakes and ponds. Oikos 112: 227-231 author
Van de Meutter, F., R. Stoks & L. De Meester, 2006. Lotic dispersal of lentic macroinvertebrates. Ecography 29: 223-230 author
Declerck, S., M. Vanderstukken, A. Pals, K. Muylaert & L. De Meester, 2007. Plankton biodiversity along a gradient of productivity and its mediation by macrophytes. Ecology 88: 2199-2210 author
De Meester, L., G. Louette, C. Duvivier, C. Van Damme & E. Michels, 2007. Genetic composition of resident populations influences establishment success of immigrant species. Oecologia 153: 431-440 author
Frisch, D. & Green, A.J. 2007. Copepods come first: rapid colonization of new temporary ponds. Fundamental and Applied Limnology - Archiv für Hydrobiologie 168/4: 289-297 author
Frisch, D., Green, A.J. & Figuerola, J. 2007. High dispersal capacity of a broad spectrum of aquatic invertebrates via waterbirds. Aquatic Sciences 69: 568-574 author
Hotový, J., Petrusek, A. 2007. Resting stage density and hatching of two cladoceran species from small ephemeral waters. Fundamental and Applied Limnology 169: 177-187 author
Louette, G. & L. De Meester, 2007. Predation and priority effects in experimental zooplankton communities. Oikos 116: 419-426 author
Louette, G., J. Vanoverbeke, R. Ortells & L. De Meester, 2007. The founding mothers: the genetic structure of newly established Daphnia populations. Oikos 116: 728-741 author
Petrusek, A., M. Cerny, J. Mergeay, and K. Schwenk. 2007. Daphnia in the Tatra Mountain lakes: multiple colonisation and hidden species diversity revealed by molecular markers. Fundamental and Applied Limnology 169:279-291 author
Van der Gucht, K., K. Cottenie, K. Muylaert, N. Vloemans, S. Cousin, S. Declerck, E. Jeppesen, J.-M. Conde-Porcuna, K. Schwenk, G. Zwart, H. Degans, W. Vyverman & L. De Meester, 2007. The power of species sorting: local factors drive bacterial community composition over a wide range of spatial scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 104: 20404-20409. * author
Vanoverbeke, J., K. De Gelas & L. De Meester, 2007. Habitat size and the genetic structure of a cyclical parthenogen, Daphnia magna. Heredity 98: 419-426 author
Aguilera, X., S. Declerck, A. Petrusek, T. Huyse & L. De Meester, 2008. The genetic legacy of polyploidy Bolivian Daphnia: the tropical Andes as a source for the North and South American D. pulicaria complex. Molecular Ecology 17: 1789-1800 author
Boven, L., B. Vanschoenwinkel, E. De Roeck, A. Hulsmans & L. Brendonck 2008. Diversity and distribution of large branchiopods in Kiskunság (Hungary): impact of local habitat and spatial factors and implications for conservation. Marine and Freshwater Research 59: 940-950. author
Forró, L., Korovchinsky, N. M., Kotov, A. A., Petrusek, A. 2008. Global diversity of cladocerans (Cladocera; Crustacea) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia, 595: 177-184 author
Petrusek, A., A. Hobæk, J. P. Nilssen, M. Skage, M. Černý, N. Brede and K. Schwenk. 2008. A taxonomic reappraisal of the European Daphnia longispina complex (Crustacea, Cladocera, Anomopoda). Zoologica Scripta 37: 507-519 author
Petrusek, A., Seďa, J., Macháček, J., Ruthová, Š., Šmilauer, P. 2008. Daphnia hybridization along ecological gradients in pelagic environments: the potential for the presence of hybrid zones in plankton. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 363: 2931-2941 author
Ruggiero, A., Céréghino, R., Figuerola, J., Marty, P. & Angélibert, S. 2008. Farm ponds make a contribution to the biodiversity of aquatic insects in a French agricultural landscape. Comptes Rendus Biologies 331 : 298-308 author
Urban, M., M.A. Leibold, P. Amarasekare, L. De Meester, R. Gomulkiewicz, M.E. Hochberg, C.A. Klausmeier, N. Loeuille, C. de Mazancourt, J. Norberg, J.H. Pantel, S.Y. Strauss, M. Vellend & M.J. Wade, 2008. The evolutionary ecology of metacommunities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23: 311-317 author
Vanormelingen, P., K. Cottenie, E. Michels, K. Muylaert, W. Vyverman & L. De Meester, 2008. The relative importance of dispersal and local processes in structuring phytoplankton communities in a set of highly interconnected ponds. Freshwat. Biol. 53: 2170-2183. author
Adamowicz S. J., Petrusek A., Colbourne J. K., Hebert P. D. N., Witt J. D. S. 2008. The scale of divergence: a phylogenetic appraisal of intercontinental allopatric speciation in a passively-dispersed freshwater zooplankton genus. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, DOI 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.026 author
Pfenninger, M., and K. Schwenk. 2007. Cryptic animal species are homogeneously distributed among taxa and biogeographical regions. BMC Evol. Biol. 7:121 author
Vanoverbeke, J., K. De Gelas & L. De Meester, 2007. Habitat size and the genetic structure of a cyclical parthenogen, Daphnia magna. Heredity 98: 419-426 author
Boven, L., R. Stoks, L. Forró & L. Brendonck 2008. Seasonal dynamics in water quality and vegetation cover in vernal pools with variable hydroperiod in Kiskunság (Hungary). Wetlands28: 401-410 author
Céréghino, R., J. Biggs, B. Oertli & S. Declerck. 2008. The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of a neglected freshwater habitat. Hydrobiologia 597: 1-6. author
Cucherousset, J., Santoul, F., Figuerola, J. & Céréghino, R. 2008. How do biodiversity patterns of river animals emerge from the distributions of common and rare species ? Biological Conservation 141 : 2984-2992 author
De Bie, T., S. Declerck, K. Martens, L. De Meester & L. Brendonck, 2008. A comparative analysis of cladoceran communities from different water body types: patterns in community composition and diversity. Hydrobiologia 597: 19-27 author
Louette, G., L. De Meester & S. Declerck, 2008. Assembly of zooplankton communities in newly created ponds. Freshwat. Biol. 53: 2309-2320. author
Vanoverbeke J. 2008. Modeling individual and population dynamics in a consumer resource system: behavior under food limitation and crowding and the effect on population cycling in Daphnia. Ecological Modelling 216: 385-401 author

created:2011-12-14 14:18:59 UTC, source:web

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