Dynamics of fish dispersal during river-floodplain connectivity and its implications for community assembly

In river-floodplain ecosystems, overbank flows interact with floodplain geomorphology to generate a network of transient inter-waterbody connections. Heterogeneity in the characteristics of these connections may interact with species-specific dispersal capacity to affect the maintenance of diversity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Aquatic sciences Vol. 78; no. 2; pp. 355 - 365
Main Authors:	Stoffels, Rick J, Rehwinkel, Rohan A, Price, Amina E, Fagan, William F
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Cham Springer International Publishing 01-04-2016 Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Animal populations Aquatic ecosystems Biomedical and Life Sciences Brackish Community composition Community ecology community structure Dispersal Ecology ecosystems Emigration Fish fish communities Floodplains Freshwater & Marine Ecology Geomorphology habitats Heterogeneity Immigration interspecific variation Lakes Life history Life Sciences Marine & Freshwater Sciences Oceanography Research Article Rivers surface water Metacommunity processes Flood-Pulse Concept Movement ecology Temporal ecology Transient connectivity
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Summary:	In river-floodplain ecosystems, overbank flows interact with floodplain geomorphology to generate a network of transient inter-waterbody connections. Heterogeneity in the characteristics of these connections may interact with species-specific dispersal capacity to affect the maintenance of diversity and community assembly on the floodplain. We modelled the immigration and emigration rates of nine species of fish entering and leaving a large floodplain lake during a hydrological connection with the parent river. Dispersal rates were modelled as a continuous function of time-since-connection over 3 months, with the aim of testing for species-specific patterns in (a) the timing and magnitudes of lateral dispersal, and (b) the balance between total immigration into, and emigration from, the lake. Significant interspecific variation in the timing and magnitude of lateral dispersal was evident. Magnitude of lateral dispersal was not a function of local abundance for all species. Further, the balance between immigration to, and emigration from, the lake varied significantly across species, and over time within species. The immigration–emigration balance of a species was not related to its magnitude of lateral dispersal, but may be related to its behavioural and life-history traits. Spatial heterogeneity in the duration of inter-waterbody connections may interact with species-specific dispersal functions to shape assembly of floodplain communities. Accordingly, habitat heterogeneity among floodplain waterbodies is not strictly necessary for heterogeneity in fish community composition. These dynamics have implications for the maintenance of diversity in river-floodplain fish metacommunities under both natural and managed connectivity regimes.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00027-015-0437-0 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1015-1621 1420-9055
DOI:	10.1007/s00027-015-0437-0