Studia botanica hungarica

Author(s): Selmeczy, Géza (G. B.), Király, Edit (E.), Lengyel, E., Zsuga-Biró, Rita (R.), Stenger-Kovács, Cs. & Abbas, Azal (A.)
Title: Distance-decay relationships in lotic environments: a case study from the Lake Balaton region, Hungary
Year: 2025
Volume: 56
Pages: 15-24.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17110/StudBot.2025.56.1.15

Abstract: A high number of processes and parameters are responsible for shaping phytoplankton communities, among which nutrient availability and light intensity most often receive particular attention; however, the distance between communities (distance-decay relationships – DDRs) has been little studied in this context. Thus, to extend our knowledge, DDRs were studied in lotic waterbodies in the region of Lake Balaton (Hungary). Our analysis shows that the distance-decay relationship does not affect the structure of the phytoplankton community across different streams. However, when examining different locations in the same streams, we found a small but significant effect. We conclude that deterministic processes like environmental filtering and species interaction are more important mechanisms shaping the structure of communities than stochastic processes like dispersal mechanisms and random effects.
Keywords: diversity, algal communities, Reynolds’s functional group, tychoplankton
Subject: ecology, botany

Journal: Studia botanica hungarica
Journal abbreviation: Studia bot. hung.
ISSN: 0301-7001
Publisher: Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest
Editor(s): Papp, B., Buczkó, K., B-Béres, V. & Stenger-Kovács, Cs.