# name
An experimental study to assess resistance and resilience strategies of freshwater diatoms to cope with drying in Mediterranean temporary rivers

# metadata.dc.description.abstract[].value
Temporary rivers are aquatic ecosystems
that alternate periods of water flow with dry periods.
Diatoms are a group of unicellular microalgae with a
high colonizing ability, but little is known about their
responses to drying. We carried out different resist-
ance and resilience experiments to evaluate temporal
and spatial dispersal capacity of diatoms during the
dry period. The resistance was tested experimen-
tally by rehydrating dried biofilms and sediments
from temporary rivers, whereas resilience was tested
by installing artificial mesocosms along a dry river
section. Disconnected pools were also sampled to
evaluate their propagule emission capacity. In turn,
dogs from the area were sampled to test potential
zoochory dispersal capacity. In the resistance experi-
ment, we found living diatoms in all the rehydrated
sediments but not in biofilms. Diatoms with mobility
traits, high ecological plasticity, and resistance spores
presented high, along with typical soil diatoms. In
the resilience experiment, all mesocosms hosted liv-
ing diatoms, which were low-profile, pioneering, and
small species. Diatoms found in the mesocosms were
also common in the disconnected pools, underscoring
the potential role of the latter as a propagule emission
zone. Dogs’ paws also had living diatoms, which evi-
dences that wild fauna could potentially act as passive
diatom vectors.

# metadata.dc.rights[].value
cc-by (c) Quevedo Ortiz, Guillermo et al., 2024

# metadata.dc.source[].value
Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals)

# metadata.dc.title[].value
An experimental study to assess resistance and resilience strategies of freshwater diatoms to cope with drying in Mediterranean temporary rivers