麻豆淫院

Rainfall can have dramatic effects on the microbial communities living in urban lakes, a new paper published in the reveals.

The study, "Rainfall's ripple effect: unveiling the hidden impact on planktonic fungi in urban lakes," revealed that rainfall significantly impacts the structure and dynamics of planktonic fungal communities in urban lakes, and provides new insights into the ecological roles of fungi in freshwater ecosystems.

Researchers from Bengbu University and Hubei Normal University in China investigated the impact of rainfall on planktonic fungal communities in Qingshan Lake, an urban lake in Huangshi City, Hubei Province, in order to understand the mechanisms by which precipitation influences microbial communities in small lake ecosystems.

Precipitation events

The study suggests that precipitation could be an important driver in shaping fungal community dynamics and ecological functions within aquatic ecosystems and has implications for understanding the broader impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems, as precipitation patterns are expected to change in the coming decades, said corresponding author Dr. Yuntao Li, of Bengbu University.

"The real-world problem we addressed is the lack of understanding of how precipitation events affect the microbial communities in urban lakes. Specifically, we aimed to investigate how rainfall influences the diversity, abundance, and ecological niches of planktonic fungi in these ecosystems," said Dr. Li.

The team collected water samples from Qingshan Lake before and after rainfall events, and analyzed the planktonic fungal communities using high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR. The findings showed that rainfall significantly reduced fungal species richness and evenness, altered community composition, and modified the distribution of fungal guilds.

Parasitic fungi

Notably, parasitic fungi emerged as key biomarkers, and rainfall altered their abundance and distribution in the lake. Furthermore, the researchers observed changes in the relative abundance of different fungal phyla and genera, with a notable increase in Chytridiomycota and a decrease in Ascomycota following precipitation.

"One surprising finding was the marked increase in the abundance of Rhizophlyctis, a soil-inhabiting chytrid, following rainfall. This suggests that surface runoff during precipitation events facilitates the transport of terrestrial fungi into lake ecosystems," said Dr. Li.

"Our study highlights the importance of considering precipitation as an important driver in shaping fungal community dynamics and ecological functions within aquatic ecosystems. This has implications for understanding the broader impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems, as precipitation patterns are expected to change in the coming decades.

Urban lakes

"Understanding how these changes affect microbial communities can help inform management strategies to protect urban lakes and their biodiversity," said Dr. Li.

"Future research should explore the long-term effects of precipitation on planktonic fungal communities in urban lakes, as well as the potential interactions between fungi and other microbial groups within these ecosystems. Additionally, studies in different lake types and climates would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the global impacts of precipitation on freshwater microbial communities."