Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems
Abstract Rivers are crucial to biogeochemical cycles, connecting terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric systems. However, their ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events. Here we used the environmental DNA approach to assess the impact of extreme drought-heatwave events on the...
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| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02143-1 |
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| _version_ | 1850029108571930624 |
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| author | Jixuan Lyu Yong Shi Tao Liu Xiaomei Xu Shengjing Liu Guang Yang Dong Peng Yubing Qu Shuo Zhang Chonghao Chen Yanxu Zhang Jianhua Gao |
| author_facet | Jixuan Lyu Yong Shi Tao Liu Xiaomei Xu Shengjing Liu Guang Yang Dong Peng Yubing Qu Shuo Zhang Chonghao Chen Yanxu Zhang Jianhua Gao |
| author_sort | Jixuan Lyu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Rivers are crucial to biogeochemical cycles, connecting terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric systems. However, their ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events. Here we used the environmental DNA approach to assess the impact of extreme drought-heatwave events on the aquatic plankton communities of the Yangtze River. We showed that an extreme drought-heatwave event reduced the α diversity of communities, increased their β diversity, and simultaneously simplified and destabilized community network structure. This event also shifted the dominant algae taxa from Bacillariophyta to Cyanobacteria, accompanied by increases in organic carbon and labile organic carbon contents. Globally, temperature rises during this extreme drought-heatwave event are more pronounced in high-latitude regions, likely amplifying impacts on river ecosystem biodiversity and stability. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of river ecosystems to extreme events and underscore the need to mitigate climate change’s effects on river ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d2cb8aa0e0d24c85bd0915a7e6237aa9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-d2cb8aa0e0d24c85bd0915a7e6237aa92025-08-20T02:59:37ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-03-016111210.1038/s43247-025-02143-1Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystemsJixuan Lyu0Yong Shi1Tao Liu2Xiaomei Xu3Shengjing Liu4Guang Yang5Dong Peng6Yubing Qu7Shuo Zhang8Chonghao Chen9Yanxu Zhang10Jianhua Gao11School of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversityCollaborative Innovation Center of South China Sea Studies, Nanjing UniversitySchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversityNanjing University, School of Atmospheric Sciences, 163 Xianlin Road, Qixia DistinctSchool of Geography and Ocean Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing UniversityAbstract Rivers are crucial to biogeochemical cycles, connecting terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric systems. However, their ecosystems are increasingly threatened by extreme weather events. Here we used the environmental DNA approach to assess the impact of extreme drought-heatwave events on the aquatic plankton communities of the Yangtze River. We showed that an extreme drought-heatwave event reduced the α diversity of communities, increased their β diversity, and simultaneously simplified and destabilized community network structure. This event also shifted the dominant algae taxa from Bacillariophyta to Cyanobacteria, accompanied by increases in organic carbon and labile organic carbon contents. Globally, temperature rises during this extreme drought-heatwave event are more pronounced in high-latitude regions, likely amplifying impacts on river ecosystem biodiversity and stability. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of river ecosystems to extreme events and underscore the need to mitigate climate change’s effects on river ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02143-1 |
| spellingShingle | Jixuan Lyu Yong Shi Tao Liu Xiaomei Xu Shengjing Liu Guang Yang Dong Peng Yubing Qu Shuo Zhang Chonghao Chen Yanxu Zhang Jianhua Gao Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems |
| title_full | Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems |
| title_fullStr | Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems |
| title_short | Extreme drought-heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the Yangtze River ecosystems |
| title_sort | extreme drought heatwave events threaten the biodiversity and stability of aquatic plankton communities in the yangtze river ecosystems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02143-1 |
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