1. Recent evidence shows that in lotic, physically‐dominated ecosystems like large rivers, zooplankton can develop spatially structured assemblages and fulfill functionally important roles. While refuting the long‐standing notion that riverine zooplankton communities are numerically depauperate and spatially homogeneous, this also shows that the importance of abiotic and biotic drivers and the consistency of ecological patterns are still poorly understood for these communities.
2. We collected zooplankton along 300 km of the Illinois River for 5 years to test the influence of a suite of biotic and abiotic variables on zooplankton density, biomass, and diversity. We hypothesized abiotic variables such as temperature, turbidity, and velocity would be predominant predictors, with biotic variables like planktivory becoming important when physical factors do not constrain them.
3. Results showed basin‐wide declines in zooplankton taxonomic richness as planktivory from the invading silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) increased. In contrast, density and biomass were explained by abiotic factors at the basin scale, with velocity, turbidity, and pH driving biomass and velocity driving density. We also found that both the driving factors and the plankton responses varied among the upper, middle, and lower sections of the Illinois River.
4. We conclude that while zooplankton communities of the Illinois River are highly structured in space, the driving forces behind their distribution patterns are not simple. Instead, there is a complex spatio‐temporal template of biological, chemical, and hydraulic factors shaping these communities in the Illinois River. Along with emphasizing the importance of spatial heterogeneity in large river ecosystems, these results also support a growing view that invasive species interactions can supersede the well‐established role of abiotic factors in explaining global freshwater diversity losses. This also highlights the importance of including long‐term zooplankton sampling in ecological monitoring programs in diverse and productive large river systems like the Illinois.

中文翻译：

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随着时间的推移，大型河浮游动物群落如何应对非生物和生物驱动因素？一个复杂且受空间影响的示例

1. 最近的证据表明，在大自然河流这样的以身体为主导的生态系统中，浮游动物可以发展空间结构的组合，并发挥重要的功能。尽管驳斥了长期的观点，即河流浮游动物群落在数量上是退化的，并且在空间上是同质的，但这也表明，对于这些群落，非生物和生物驱动因素的重要性以及生态模式的一致性仍然知之甚少。
2. 我们收集了伊利诺伊河300公里沿线5年的浮游动物，以测试一系列生物和非生物变量对浮游动物密度，生物量和多样性的影响。我们假设温度，浊度和速度等非生物变量是主要的预测指标，浮游生物等生物变量在物理因素不限制它们的情况下变得很重要。
3. 结果表明全流域下降在浮游动物分类丰富从入侵鲢（planktivory鲢 鲢增加）。相反，密度和生物量由流域尺度上的非生物因素来解释，其中速度，浊度和pH驱动生物量和速度驱动密度。我们还发现，驱动因素和浮游生物的响应在伊利诺伊河的上，中和下部分之间都不同。
4. 我们得出的结论是，虽然伊利诺伊河的浮游动物群落在空间上高度结构化，但其分布方式背后的驱动力并不简单。取而代之的是，有一个复杂的时空模板，由生物，化学和水力因素组成，构成了伊利诺伊河中的这些群落。除了强调大河流生态系统中空间异质性的重要性外，这些结果还支持一种日益增长的观点，即入侵物种之间的相互作用可以取代非生物因素在解释全球淡水多样性丧失方面已确立的作用。这也凸显了将长期浮游动物采样纳入伊利诺伊州等多种生产性大河流系统的生态监测计划中的重要性。