Dispersal, connectivity, and local conditions determine zooplankton community composition in artificially connected ponds

Abstract

Human-induced increases in ecosystem connectivity can have metacommunity-wide impacts; however, little to no research has tested this assumption. We examined both the mass-effect and species-sorting theories in relation to zooplankton communities in ponds with or without artificial connections to other ponds. We measured the species-abundance composition of the zooplankton community, direct distances between ponds, and several environmental factors (chlorophyll a, Secchi depth, nutrients) in 18 ponds. The results indicated that the zooplankton communities among unconnected ponds were significantly related to environmental and distance factors. In contrast, the communities among connected ponds were not related to any of the predictive factors. Variance in zooplankton species composition was explained by the spatial arrangement of ponds and local environmental conditions. This study demonstrated that artificial connections to other ponds alter the metacommunity structure of zooplankton communities. © Inter-Research 2010.