Senckenberg am Meer Wilhelmshaven, German Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research, Südstrand, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
PLoS One. 2021 Mar 18;16(3):e0248863. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248863. eCollection 2021.
A substantial fraction of the freshwater available in the Neotropical forests is enclosed within the rosettes of bromeliads that form small aquatic islands within a terrestrial landscape. These aquatic oases provide shelter, water, nutrients and resting of aggregation sites for several aquatic organisms, among them crustaceans. However, in comparison with the multitude of studies on open aquatic systems, our knowledge on crustaceans inhabiting semi-terrestrial habitats and phytotelmata is limited and their presence in such environments is poorly understood. The present study was carried out in two natural protected areas of the Yucatán Peninsula aiming to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in bromeliads. Sediment and water contained in four species of bromeliads have been collected in order to understand the diversity and dispersal strategies of crustaceans living in such habitats. From a total of 238 bromeliads surveyed, 55% were colonized by crustaceans. Sixteen copepod, three ostracod and one branchiopod species were recorded during this study, however only seven species are considered as true bromeliad inhabitants. Different degrees of association between crustaceans and bromeliad species were assessed with an indicator species analysis, where significant associations were found for all crustaceans. We found significant differences between bromeliad species and reserves and their associated fauna. In order to analyze the genetic diversity of this fauna, we sequenced several individuals of each species with two genetic markers (18S rRNA and COI mtDNA). Bayesian analyses and the Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent method (GMYC), delimited 7 well supported species. A comparison of the dispersal strategies used by different species, including passive dispersal, phoretic behavior and active dispersal, is included. This study stresses the need of studying meiofauna of phytotelms, which could be used as an indicator of local diversity in Neotropical forests.
在新热带森林中，大量的可用淡水被封闭在凤梨科植物的莲座丛中，这些凤梨科植物在陆地上形成了小型水生岛屿。这些水生绿洲为许多水生生物提供了庇护、水、营养物质和聚集栖息场所，其中包括甲壳类动物。然而，与大量关于开放水生系统的研究相比，我们对栖息在半陆地生境和植物内生境中的甲壳类动物的了解有限，对它们在这些环境中的存在也知之甚少。本研究在尤卡坦半岛的两个自然保护区进行，旨在了解生活在凤梨科植物中的甲壳类动物的多样性和扩散策略。为了了解生活在这些栖息地中的甲壳类动物的多样性和扩散策略，从四种凤梨科植物中采集了沉积物和水。在总共调查的 238 株凤梨科植物中，有 55%被甲壳类动物所占据。在本研究中记录了 16 种桡足类、3 种介形类和 1 种鳃足类，但只有 7 种被认为是真正的凤梨科植物居民。通过指示物种分析评估了甲壳类动物与凤梨科植物物种之间不同程度的关联，结果发现所有甲壳类动物都存在显著关联。我们发现，凤梨科植物物种和保护区及其相关动物群之间存在显著差异。为了分析该动物群的遗传多样性，我们使用两个遗传标记（18S rRNA 和 COI mtDNA）对每个物种的多个个体进行了测序。贝叶斯分析和广义混合 Yule 合并方法（GMYC）将 7 个支持度高的物种进行了划分。本研究比较了不同物种所采用的扩散策略，包括被动扩散、寄生物行为和主动扩散。这项研究强调了研究植物内生境中的小型生物的必要性，它们可以作为新热带森林中本地多样性的指示物。
