Benthic microalgae respond more strongly to warming and salinity than zooplankton

Key Points

• The aim is to understand how increasing temperature and decreasing salinity affect benthic microalgae and zooplankton communities.
• Conducted a mesocosm experiment with benthic diatoms and zooplankton
• Monitored changes in temperature and salinity
• Assessed composition, diversity, and biomass of communities
• Benthic microalgae exhibited greater changes in composition and biomass compared to zooplankton
• Diversity of benthic diatoms responded more strongly to environmental changes
• Zooplankton showed less variation in response to warming and salinity