Diversity of dormant and active zooplankton stages: spatial patterns across scales in temperate riverine floodplains

Abstract In dynamic systems, many species use dormancy as a strategy to survive harsh periods and disperse through time, fundamental aspect scarcely explored in metacommunities studies. We compared spatial patterns of resting egg bank active zooplankton diversity across scales (rotifers cladocerans), relationships between environmental factors their composition riverine floodplains the Danube River. The was similarly or even more heterogeneous than communities, signals community homogenization detected for communities were not observed bank. strong rotifers local hydrological parameters suggest that floods would weaken diversity–environment relationships, communities. These results imply stages are affected by different processes contribute homogenizing tendencies Our study contributes thorough understanding shows need further investigate temporal banks within framework metacommunities.