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Chinese Journal of Ecology ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (8): 1602-1610.doi: 10.13292/j.1000-4890.202208.014

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Spatio-temporal characteristics and driving factors of zooplankton community structure in the Shaanxi section of Weihe River, China.

BAI Hai-feng1,2, WANG Yi-rui3,4, SONG Jin-xi1,2,4*, XU Wen-jin1,2, WU Qiong1,2, ZHANG Yan1,2   

  1. (1Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China; 2Yellow River Institute of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an 710127, China; 3University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; 4State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Framing on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China).

  • Online:2022-08-10 Published:2022-08-16

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Abstract: As one of the tributaries of the Yellow River, Weihe River occupies an important position in the ecological protection and high quality development of the Yellow River basin. With the intensification of climate change and comprehensive catchment environmental management, aquatic community and water environmental quality in Weihe River had substantially changed in recent years. To identify the spatio-temporal variations of zooplankton communities and the key driving factors, and to provide theoretical basis for water resources management and aquatic ecological protection, we conducted six times survey in dry season (March, April, and May) and wet season (August, September, and October) of 2017 in nine transects (27 sampling sites) of the Shaanxi section of Weihe River. A total of 41 zooplankton species were recorded, with rotifers as the dominant group (18 species). The zooplankton species richness was higher in wet season (32 species) than that in dry season (26 species). The zooplankton density and biomass was 1.7-499.5 ind·L-1 and 0.0017-0.616 mg·L-1, respectively. Zooplankton density and biomass were higher in dry season than in wet season, and both were generally increased from upstream to downstream. The dominant species were Opercularia articulate, Difflugia globulosa, Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus angularis, and Brachionus urceus. The Shannon diversity index, Pielou evenness index and Margalef richness index were 1.74-3.62, 0.47-0.98, and 0.48-3.00, respectively. According to the diversity index of zooplankton, water quality in the Shaanxi section of Weihe River was at the medium pollution level. Results of canonical correspondence analysis showed that altitude and total dissolved solids were the main factors driving the zooplankton community structure in dry season, while the current velocity and dissolved oxygen were important in wet season in the Shaanxi section of Weihe River.


Key words: Shaanxi section of Weihe River, zooplankton, community structure, water quality assessment, driving factor.