On one invariant in the centuries-old dynamics of the species structure in freshwater zooplankton

Abstract

Dynamics of the species structure of Cladocera based on the materials on bottom sediments has been studied for 3000- and 6000-year periods in two lakes. The community of one of these lakes has reached a dynamic climax, and the community of the other lake is at the stage of directing succession. The species structure of both communities is approximated well by the Motomura–Whittaker equation (i.e., model of geometrical series). For each of the studied lakes, the main parameter of this model (the coefficient of geometrical progression) does not differ significantly from its theoretically derived value equaled to 1–exp(–1) = 0.632. A stable relationship is found between species diversity of the community, the rate of ecological succession, and the coefficient of geometrical progression.