Unravelling Biodiversity, Assembly Mechanisms and Coexistence Patterns of Abundant and Rare Microeukaryotes in Water and Sediment: New Insights From Volcanic Lakes in Arxan Geopark

Abstract

Volcanic lakes are unique ecosystems often characterised by distinct physicochemical conditions that shape microbial biodiversity and community dynamics. However, the ecological roles, biodiversity, coexistence patterns, and assembly mechanisms of abundant and rare microeukaryotic biospheres in these environments remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated their distinct patterns in water and sediment from volcanic lakes in Arxan Geopark, China. Our findings demonstrated that sediment harboured significantly higher microbial biodiversity than water, with rare microeukaryotes exhibiting greater diversity than abundant microeukaryotes in both habitats. In sediment, biodiversity was predominantly driven by water content (WC) and total phosphorus (TP), whereas in water, temperature, pH, TP and loss on ignition (LOI) played pivotal roles. Abundant biosphere contributed more to community stability, while rare biosphere showed greater sensitivity to environmental fluctuations. Community assembly processes also varied: water communities were shaped by drift (DR), dispersal limitation (DL) and homogeneous selection (HoS), while sediment communities were predominantly governed by DL and DR. Abundant biosphere was predominantly influenced by stochastic processes, while rare biosphere showed greater sensitivity to both deterministic and stochastic processes. These results highlight the distinct contributions of abundant and rare biospheres to community dynamics and stability, emphasising the importance of environmental context in shaping microbial interactions.

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