Effects of temperature change pattern on the hatching of zooplankton resting eggs and community structure

To test the hypotheses that temperature change pattern affects the hatching of zooplankton resting eggs and community structure, we conducted an ex situ experiment under three temperature change patterns 12 °C (low temperature) → 20 °C (moderate temperature) → 28 °C (high temperature), denoted as LMH; 20 °C → 28 °C → 12 °C, MHL; 28 °C → 12 °C → 20 °C, HLM. The results showed that temperature change pattern affects the number of emerged zooplankton species, but does not affect the number of emerged zooplankton individuals. Brachionus , Trichocerca , Synchaeta , Keratella and Filinia give larger contributions to the number of emerged zooplankton species, and Brachionus , Trichocerca , Synchaeta , Keratella , Filinia , Anuraeopsis , Hexarthra and Collotheca give larger contributions to the number of emerged zooplankton individuals. Six dominant rotifer species are shared under LMH, MHL and HLM. The effects of temperature change pattern and initial incubation temperature on the hatching of resting eggs are genus and species dependent. Species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson diversity index and evenness index are higher in the zooplankton community hatched under MHL and HLM than under LMH. There are compositional differences among zooplankton communities hatched under LMH, MHL and HLM. These findings provide mechanistic insights into understanding the ecological functions of resting egg banks and the differences in zooplankton abundance among growing seasons.