Eco-morphological traits inform responses of diatom assemblages to urbanization in rivers in China

Biological traits are increasingly used in bioassessments, but it remains unclear whether they exhibit more consistent and stronger responses to environmental stressors compared with species metrics. We surveyed benthic diatom assemblages in rivers in Shenzhen city of China, and compared responses between diatom indicator species and eco-morphological traits to urbanization disturbance. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) diatom traits show seasonally consistent and strong responses to urbanization, and (2) diatom traits influence species’ responses to urbanization. Approximately 40