Journal
HYDROBIOLOGIA
Volume 653, Issue 1, Pages 15-28Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10750-010-0341-5
Keywords
Phytoplankton; Community structure; Functional diversity; Traits; Growth; Temperature; Harmful algal blooms; Adaptive dynamics
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Funding
- US National Science Foundation
- J.S. McDonnell Foundation
- Direct For Computer & Info Scie & Enginr [0916720] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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In addition to answering Hutchinson's question Why are there so many species?, we need to understand why certain species are found only under certain environmental conditions and not others. Trait-based approaches are being increasingly used in ecology to do just that: explain and predict species distributions along environmental gradients. These approaches can be successful in understanding the diversity and community structure of phytoplankton. Among major traits shaping phytoplankton distributions are resource utilization traits, morphological traits (with size being probably the most influential), grazer resistance traits, and temperature responses. We review these trait-based approaches and give examples of how trait data can explain species distributions in both freshwater and marine systems. We also outline new directions in trait-based approaches applied to phytoplankton such as looking simultaneously at trait and phylogenetic structure of phytoplankton communities and using adaptive dynamics models to predict trait evolution.
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