Most zooplankton species inhabiting seasonal ponds produce dormant stages to overcome the dry seasons. Zooplankton specimens emerging from the sediment contribute to the ecological dynamics of these ecosystems, because they constitute important energy sources for higher trophic levels in aquatic food webs. In contrast to snapshot studies of the active communities, studying the ecological correlates of the distribution of the egg bank can help identify the potential drivers of zooplankton composition. We tested the association of local (habitat structure and water chemistry), climatic and spatial predictors with the alpha and beta diversity of zooplankton hatchling communities in subtropical seasonal ponds. Incubation experiments were conducted with sediment samples from 11 ponds distributed along an approximately 500‐km latitudinal gradient in southern Brazil. We assessed the patterns for the total community, Cladocera only and Rotifera only. The alpha diversity of the total community and Cladocera were primarily related to substrate heterogeneity. Annual rainfall and substrate heterogeneity jointly influenced the beta diversity of the total community. Annual rainfall solely influenced the beta diversity of Cladocera, while substrate heterogeneity influenced the overall beta diversity of Rotifera. Overall, the distinct relationships of the total hatchling community and Cladocera and Rotifera with the explanatory datasets suggest differing sensitivities of the zooplankton groups to impacts in habitat structure and climatic conditions in subtropical seasonal ponds.

中文翻译：

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季节性亚热带池塘浮游动物孵化场群落的α和β多样性的生态相关性

居住在季节性池塘中的大多数浮游动物产生休眠阶段以克服干旱季节。从沉积物中浮游动物标本有助于这些生态系统的生态动力学，因为它们构成了提高水生食物网中营养水平的重要能源。与活跃社区的快照研究相比，研究卵库分布的生态相关性可以帮助识别浮游动物组成的潜在驱动因素。我们测试了亚热带季节性池塘中局部（栖息地的结构和水化学），气候和空间预测因子与浮游生物孵化群落的α和β多样性的关联。对巴西南部沿约500 km纬度梯度分布的11个池塘的沉积物样本进行了孵化实验。我们评估了仅Cladocera和Rotifera的整个社区的模式。总群落和克拉科菌属的α多样性主要与底物异质性有关。年降水量和底物异质性共同影响了整个群落的β多样性。年降水量仅影响克拉克藻的β多样性，而底物异质性影响轮虫的总体β多样性。全面的，