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Sergeant CJ, Moore JW, Whited DC, Pitman KJ, Connor M, Sexton EK. An interdisciplinary synthesis of floodplain ecosystem dynamics in a rapidly deglaciating watershed. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169245. [PMID: 38072264 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 11/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Glacier retreat is rapidly transforming some watersheds, with ramifications for water supply, ecological succession, important species such as Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), and cultural uses of landscapes. To advance a more holistic understanding of the evolution of proglacial landscapes, we integrate multiple lines of knowledge starting in the early 1900s with contemporary data from the Taaltsux̱éi (Tulsequah) Watershed in British Columbia, Canada. Our objectives were to: 1) synthesize recent historical geography and Indigenous Knowledge, including glacier dynamics, and hydrology; 2) describe the limnology of a proglacial lake; 3) quantify decadal-scale downstream physical floodplain change; and 4) characterize riverine physical, chemical, and biological differences relative to distance from the proglacial lake. Since 1982, the Tulsequah Glacier has receded 0.07 km/yr, exposing a cold, deep, and growing proglacial lake. The downstream floodplain is rapidly changing; satellite imagery analysis revealed a 14 % increase in vegetation from 2003 to 2017 and Indigenous Knowledge described increases in vegetation and wildlife habitat over the last century. Contemporary measurements of physical-chemical water properties differed across sites representing the upper and lower watershed, and mainstem and off-channel habitats. Catches of juvenile salmonids in the upper watershed (closer to the glacier) were mostly limited to warmer, clearer groundwater-fed channels, whereas in the lower watershed there were salmonids in both groundwater-fed and mainstem habitats. There was limited zooplankton taxa diversity from the proglacial lake and benthic macroinvertebrates in the river. Collectively, our synthesis suggests that the transformation of proglacial landscapes experiencing rapid ice loss can be influenced by interlinked abiotic processes of glacier retreat, lake formation, and altered hydrology, as well as corresponding biological processes such as beaver repopulation, wetland formation, and riparian vegetation growth. These factors, along with expected increases to proglacial lake productivity and salmon habitat suitability, are an important consideration for forward-looking watershed management of glacier-fed rivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Sergeant
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, 32125 Bio Station Ln, Polson, MT 59860-6815, USA.
| | - Jonathan W Moore
- Earth2Ocean Research Group, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
| | - Diane C Whited
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, 32125 Bio Station Ln, Polson, MT 59860-6815, USA.
| | - Kara J Pitman
- Earth2Ocean Research Group, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Mark Connor
- Lands, Resources, and Fisheries, Taku River Tlingit First Nation, P.O. Box 132, Atlin, BC V0W 1A0, Canada.
| | - Erin K Sexton
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, 32125 Bio Station Ln, Polson, MT 59860-6815, USA.
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2
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Wilkes MA, Carrivick JL, Castella E, Ilg C, Cauvy-Fraunié S, Fell SC, Füreder L, Huss M, James W, Lencioni V, Robinson C, Brown LE. Glacier retreat reorganizes river habitats leaving refugia for Alpine invertebrate biodiversity poorly protected. Nat Ecol Evol 2023:10.1038/s41559-023-02061-5. [PMID: 37142743 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02061-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Alpine river biodiversity around the world is under threat from glacier retreat driven by rapid warming, yet our ability to predict the future distributions of specialist cold-water species is currently limited. Here we link future glacier projections, hydrological routing methods and species distribution models to quantify the changing influence of glaciers on population distributions of 15 alpine river invertebrate species across the entire European Alps, from 2020 to 2100. Glacial influence on rivers is projected to decrease steadily, with river networks expanding into higher elevations at a rate of 1% per decade. Species are projected to undergo upstream distribution shifts where glaciers persist but become functionally extinct where glaciers disappear completely. Several alpine catchments are predicted to offer climate refugia for cold-water specialists. However, present-day protected area networks provide relatively poor coverage of these future refugia, suggesting that alpine conservation strategies must change to accommodate the future effects of global warming.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Wilkes
- School of Life Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - J L Carrivick
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - E Castella
- Section of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - C Ilg
- VSA, Swiss Water Association, Glattbrugg, Switzerland
| | - S Cauvy-Fraunié
- INRAE, UR RIVERLY, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne, France
| | - S C Fell
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - L Füreder
- Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - M Huss
- Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, Switzerland
| | - W James
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - V Lencioni
- Climate and Ecology Unit, Research and Museum Collections Office, MUSE- Science Museum of Trento, Trento, Italy
| | - C Robinson
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag, Duebendorf, CH and Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - L E Brown
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
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3
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Lu Q, Zhang SY, Du J, Liu Q, Dong C, Zhao J, Wang Y, Yao M. Multi-group biodiversity distributions and drivers of metacommunity organization along a glacial-fluvial-limnic pathway on the Tibetan plateau. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 220:115236. [PMID: 36621545 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Extensive global glacial retreats are threatening cryosphere ecosystem functioning and the associated biota in glacier-fed water systems. Understanding multi-group biodiversity distributions and compositional variation across diverse but hydrologically linked habitats under varying glacial influences will help explain the mechanisms underlying glacial community organization and ecosystem processes. However, such data are generally lacking due to the difficulty of obtaining biodiversity information across wide taxonomic ranges. Here, we used a multi-marker environmental DNA metabarcoding approach to simultaneously investigate the spatial patterns of community compositions and assembly mechanisms of four taxonomic groups (cyanobacteria, diatoms, invertebrates, and vertebrates) along the flowpaths of a tributary of Lake Nam Co on the Tibetan Plateau-from its glacier headwaters, through its downstream river and wetlands, to its estuary. We detected 869 operational taxonomic units: 119 cyanobacterial, 395 diatom, 269 invertebrate, and 86 vertebrate. Taxonomic richnesses consistently increased from upstream to downstream, and although all groups showed community similarity distance decay patterns, the trend for vertebrates was the weakest. Cyanobacteria, diatom, and invertebrate community compositions were significantly correlated with several environmental factors, while the vertebrate community was only correlated with waterway width. Variation partitioning analysis indicated that varying extents of environmental conditions and spatial factors affected community organizations for different groups. Furthermore, stochastic processes contributed prominently to the microorganisms' community assembly (Sloan's neutral model R2 = 0.77 for cyanobacteria and 0.73 for diatoms) but were less important for macroorganisms (R2 = 0.21 for invertebrates and 0.15 for vertebrates). That trend was further substantiated by modified stochasticity ratio analyses. This study provides the first holistic picture of the diverse biotic communities residing in a series of hydrologically connected glacier-influenced habitats. Our results both uncovered the distinct mechanisms that underlie the metacommunity organizations of different glacial organisms and helped comprehensively predict the ecological impacts of the world's melting glaciers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Si-Yu Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jianqing Du
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qiang Liu
- Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 101408, China
| | - Chunxia Dong
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Jindong Zhao
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yanfen Wang
- College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Meng Yao
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
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4
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Alric B, Geffard O, Chaumot A. Metal bioavailable contamination engages richness decline, species turnover but unchanged functional diversity of stream macroinvertebrates at the scale of a French region. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 308:119565. [PMID: 35659553 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems are the main source of water for sustaining life on earth, and the biodiversity they support is the main source of valuable goods and services for human populations. Despite growing recognition of the impairment of freshwater ecosystems by micropollutant contamination, different conceptual and methodological considerations can newly be addressed to improve our understanding of the ecological impact into these ecosystems. Here, we originally combined in situ ecotoxicology and community ecology concepts to unveil the mechanisms structuring macroinvertebrate communities along a regional contamination gradient. The novelty of our study lies in the use of an innovative biomonitoring approach (measurement of metal contents in caged crustaceans) allowing to quantify and compare on a regional scale the levels of bioavailable metal contamination to which stream communities are exposed. We were hence able to identify 23 streams presenting a significant gradient of bioavailable metal contamination within the same catchment area in the South West of France, from which we also obtained data on the composition of resident macroinvertebrate communities. Analyses of structural and functional integrity of communities revealed an unexpected decoupling between taxonomic and functional diversity of communities in response to bioavailable metal contamination. We show that despite the negative impact of bioavailable metal contamination exposure on taxonomic diversity (with an average species loss of 17% in contaminated streams), functional diversity is maintained through a process of non-random species replacement by functional redundant species at the regional scale. Such unanticipated findings call for a deeper characterization of metal-tolerant communities' ability to cope with environmental variability in multi-stressed ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Alric
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Laboratoire d'écotoxicologie, F-69625, Villeurbanne, France; Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Station Biologique de Roscoff, AD2M, UMR 7144, F-29680, Roscoff, France.
| | - Olivier Geffard
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Laboratoire d'écotoxicologie, F-69625, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Arnaud Chaumot
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Laboratoire d'écotoxicologie, F-69625, Villeurbanne, France
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5
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Hose GC, Chariton A, Daam MA, Di Lorenzo T, Galassi DMP, Halse SA, Reboleira ASPS, Robertson AL, Schmidt SI, Korbel KL. Invertebrate traits, diversity and the vulnerability of groundwater ecosystems. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. C. Hose
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University NSW 2109 Australia
| | - A. Chariton
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University NSW 2109 Australia
| | - M. A. Daam
- CENSE ‐ Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research NOVA School of Science and Technology NOVA University Lisbon, 2829‐516 Caparica Portugal
| | - T. Di Lorenzo
- Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems of the National Research Council Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino Firenze Italy
- Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology Romanian Academy, Clinicilor 5, Cluj Napoca 400006 Romania
| | - D. M. P. Galassi
- Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences University of L'Aquila Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67100 L'Aquila Italy
| | - S. A. Halse
- Bennelongia Environmental Consultants, Jolimont WA 6014 Australia
| | - A. S. P. S. Reboleira
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa Lisbon Portugal
- Natural History Museum of Life and Health Sciences Denmark and University of Copenhagen Universitetsparken 15, 2100 Copenhagen Denmark
| | - A. L. Robertson
- School of Life and Health Sciences University of Roehampton, Holybourne Avenue, London SW15 4JD UK
| | - S. I. Schmidt
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Hydrobiology Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budějovice Czech Republic
- Present address: Department of Lake Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Magdeburg Germany
| | - K. L. Korbel
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University NSW 2109 Australia
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6
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Bai X, Zhao W, Wang J, Ferreira CSS. Reducing plant community variability and improving resilience for sustainable restoration of temperate grassland. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 207:112149. [PMID: 34619132 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Grassland ecosystem is important for the realization of the global sustainable development goals (e.g. Goal 15) since it provides irreplaceable services for human beings, supporting human health and sustainable development. Most studies have focused on improving grassland restoration techniques, but less attention has been paid to grassland ecosystem stability in succession. Plant community stability of temperate grassland in arid and semi-arid regions is analyzed through 38 sampling sites in Inner Mongolia, China. The degradation succession sequence of grassland is established by principal component analysis, and the species diversity and functional diversity along degradation gradient analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis. The results show that (1) functional diversity has higher explanatory power for community stability than species diversity due to the functional dispersion of plant traits; (2) climate factors rather than grazing or soil control plant community diversity and stability at regional scale; (3) the resistance of plant community does not change in degradation succession, but the trade-off effect of stability components in different plant communities differ, such as the order of trade-off effects (e.g. community resilience (ET)>community resistance (RT)>structural variability (St)>functional variability (Fu) in the community dominated by Stipa grandis, RT>ET>St>Fu in Leymus chinensis community, St>ET>Fu>RT in Stipa capillata community, RT>St>Fu>ET in Artemisia frigida community, St>Fu>ET>RT in Cleistogenes squarrosa community, and Fu>St>RT>ET in Artemisia halodendron community); (4) grassland ecosystem with higher diversity shows greater resilience and lower variability than those with single species, which supports the established diversity hypothesis. Furthermore, sustainable grassland restoration should reduce community variability and improve resilience. These findings highlight the response of diversity to stability in temperate grassland and provide scientific support for grassland ecosystem protection and restoration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohang Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Zhuhai Branch of State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Advanced Institute of Natural Sciences, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai, 519087, China
| | - Wenwu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| | - Jing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Carla Sofia Santos Ferreira
- Department of Physical Geography and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm SE, 10691, Sweden; Navarino Environmental Observatory, Costa Navarino, Navarino Dunes, 24001, Messinia, Greece
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7
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Eagle LJB, Milner AM, Klaar MJ, Carrivick JL, Wilkes M, Brown LE. Extreme flood disturbance effects on multiple dimensions of river invertebrate community stability. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:2135-2146. [PMID: 34363703 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Multidimensional analysis of community stability has recently emerged as an overarching approach to evaluating ecosystem response to disturbance. However, the approach has previously been applied only in experimental and modelling studies. We applied this concept to an 18-year time series (2000-2017) of macroinvertebrate community dynamics from a southeast Alaskan river to further develop and test the approach in relation to the effects of two extreme flood events occurring in 2005 (event 1) and 2014 (event 2). Five components of stability were calculated for pairs of pre- or post-event years. Individual components were tested for differences between pre- and post-event time periods. Stability components' pairwise correlations were assessed and ellipsoids of stability were developed for each time period and compared to a null model derived from the permuted dataset. Only one stability component demonstrated a significant difference between time periods. In contrast, 80% of moderate and significant correlations between stability components were degraded post-disturbance and significant changes to the form of stability ellipsoids were observed. Ellipsoids of stability for all periods after the initial disturbance (2005) were not different to the null model. Our results illustrate that the dimensionality of stability approach can be applied to natural ecosystem time-series data. The major increase in dimensionality of stability observed following disturbance potentially indicates significant shifts in the processes which drive stability following disturbance. This evidence improves our understanding of community response beyond what is possible through analysis of individual stability components.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alexander M Milner
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.,Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
| | - Megan J Klaar
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Martin Wilkes
- Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry, UK
| | - Lee E Brown
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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8
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Bao Y, Feng Y, Qiu C, Zhang J, Wang Y, Lin X. Organic matter- and temperature-driven deterministic assembly processes govern bacterial community composition and functionality during manure composting. WASTE MANAGEMENT (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2021; 131:31-40. [PMID: 34091236 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.05.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although many studies have shown that microbial communities play important roles in organic waste composting due to the involvement of specific microbial taxa with metabolic functions, the underlying ecological processes of community assembly and governing factors remain elusive. Thus, a chicken manure composting experiment as a model system of microbially mediated organic waste composting was conducted. Ecological null modeling and metabolic functional prediction combined with electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) were used to quantify assembly processes governing bacterial community composition and functions during composting. The results showed the predominant role of deterministic assembly processes in shifting community compositions both across and within composting stages. Stochastic assembly processes also concomitantly influenced microbial community compositions. Changes in the organic matter (OM) content and its chemical properties and temperature governed bacterial community assembly processes throughout the stages by selecting specific bacterial taxa such as Cardiobacteriales, Bacteroidales, and Lachnospiraceae on day 1, Firmicutes on days 6, 25 and 37, and Sphingobacteriales, Thermoactinomycetaceae, Actinobacteria, and Novibacillus on day 45. These taxa ultimately influenced community functions such as environmental information processing, carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, cellular processes, and genetic information processes involved in composting. Taken together, this study indicates that deterministic assembly processes governed by OM content and quality as well as temperature influenced microbial community turnover and determined community functions during composting. These results are important for better understanding and predicting microbial-driven composting and for ultimately manipulating microorganisms for environmentally-friendly composting outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanyuan Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China
| | - Youzhi Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China.
| | - Chongwen Qiu
- Guangdong Haina Institute of Agriculture, Huizhou, 516000, PR China
| | - Jianwei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China
| | - Yiming Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China
| | - Xiangui Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, PR China.
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9
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Zhao W, Pan F, Meng F, Soininen J, Tupola V, Ren M, Zhu L, Wang J. Cross-taxon congruence of aquatic microbial communities across geological ages in Iceland: Stochastic and deterministic processes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 774:145103. [PMID: 33607439 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Biotic groups usually have nonrandom cross-taxon relationships in their biodiversity or compositions across sites, but it is poorly known how such congruence varies across long-term ecosystem development, and what are the ecological processes underlying biodiversity patterns. Here, we examined the cross-taxon congruence in diversity and compositions of bacteria, fungi and diatoms in streams from four regions with different geological ages in Iceland, and further studied their community assembly processes. Bacteria and fungi showed contrasting trends in alpha and gamma diversities across geological ages, while their beta diversity patterns were consistent, being the lowest in the oldest region. The three taxonomic groups had the strongest cross-taxon congruence of beta diversity in the oldest region, while the weakest for intermediate-aged regions. Although environmental variables played important roles in shaping their congruence, biotic interaction had nonnegligible influences. Deterministic processes, being dominant for bacteria and fungi, had the highest relative influence in intermediate-aged regions, whereas diatoms showed higher stochasticity. We proposed a four-phase conceptual model to show how the balance of deterministic and stochastic processes changes across geological ages. Taken together, our results provide an advanced understanding of cross-taxon congruence and community assembly processes for aquatic communities over long-term periods of geological age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqian Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Feiyan Pan
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
| | - Fanfan Meng
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Janne Soininen
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Vilja Tupola
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, Helsinki FIN-00014, Finland
| | - Minglei Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Lifeng Zhu
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
| | - Jianjun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
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10
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Abstract
We carried out an overview of the studies on the traits of the meiofauna of the littoral zone of lakes to investigate the question relating to the Raunkiaeran shortfall (lack of knowledge on biological traits). For this purpose, we selected a series of keywords associated with response and effect traits (feeding habits, locomotion and substrate relation, body size, shape and mass, life history, reproductive strategy, respiration and thermal tolerance) and we counted the relative frequency of occurrence in a set of scientific papers retrieved from Web of Science. The results showed that, except for the traits related to diet and feeding habits, the Raunkiaeran shortfall is very pronounced for all meiofaunal taxa of the littoral zone of lakes, especially for those related to soft-bodied organisms. The reason behind this deficiency concerns many aspects ranging from the high taxonomic expertise required to the intrinsic difficulties of observing organisms of such a small size. The relationship with temperature has not been sufficiently explored and formalized in any of the examined traits; this research aspect needs to be rapidly addressed since the prospects of climate change impacts on lake littorals are expected to be particularly severe.
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11
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Kang S, Niu J, Zhang Q, Zhang X, Han G, Zhao M. Niche differentiation is the underlying mechanism maintaining the relationship between community diversity and stability under grazing pressure. Glob Ecol Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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12
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Abstract
Glaciers are important drivers of environmental heterogeneity and biological diversity across mountain landscapes. Worldwide, glaciers are receding rapidly due to climate change, with important consequences for biodiversity in mountain ecosystems. However, the effects of glacier loss on biodiversity have never been quantified across a mountainous region, primarily due to a lack of adequate data at large spatial and temporal scales. Here, we combine high-resolution biological and glacier change (ca. 1850-2015) datasets for Glacier National Park, USA, to test the prediction that glacier retreat reduces biodiversity in mountain ecosystems through the loss of uniquely adapted meltwater stream species. We identified a specialized cold-water invertebrate community restricted to the highest elevation streams primarily below glaciers, but also snowfields and groundwater springs. We show that this community and endemic species have unexpectedly persisted in cold, high-elevation sites, even in catchments that have not been glaciated in ∼170 y. Future projections suggest substantial declines in suitable habitat, but not necessarily loss of this community with the complete disappearance of glaciers. Our findings demonstrate that high-elevation streams fed by snow and other cold-water sources continue to serve as critical climate refugia for mountain biodiversity even after glaciers disappear.
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13
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Pitman KJ, Moore JW, Sloat MR, Beaudreau AH, Bidlack AL, Brenner RE, Hood EW, Pess GR, Mantua NJ, Milner AM, Radić V, Reeves GH, Schindler DE, Whited DC. Glacier Retreat and Pacific Salmon. Bioscience 2020; 70:220-236. [PMID: 32174645 PMCID: PMC7064434 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaciers have shaped past and present habitats for Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in North America. During the last glacial maximum, approximately 45% of the current North American range of Pacific salmon was covered in ice. Currently, most salmon habitat occurs in watersheds in which glacier ice is present and retreating. This synthesis examines the multiple ways that glacier retreat can influence aquatic ecosystems through the lens of Pacific salmon life cycles. We predict that the coming decades will result in areas in which salmon populations will be challenged by diminished water flows and elevated water temperatures, areas in which salmon productivity will be enhanced as downstream habitat suitability increases, and areas in which new river and lake habitat will be formed that can be colonized by anadromous salmon. Effective conservation and management of salmon habitat and populations should consider the impacts of glacier retreat and other sources of ecosystem change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara J Pitman
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Jonathan W Moore
- Earth2Oceans Research Group, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
| | | | - Anne H Beaudreau
- College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Juneau, Alaska
| | - Allison L Bidlack
- Alaska Coastal Rainforest Center, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska
| | | | - Eran W Hood
- Environmental Science Program, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, Alaska
| | - George R Pess
- National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Seattle, Washington
| | - Nathan J Mantua
- Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Santa Cruz, California
| | - Alexander M Milner
- School of Geography, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska
| | - Valentina Radić
- Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gordon H Reeves
- US Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon
| | - Daniel E Schindler
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
| | - Diane C Whited
- Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana, Polson, Montana
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14
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A global synthesis of biodiversity responses to glacier retreat. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:1675-1685. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-1042-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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15
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Pastick NJ, Jorgenson MT, Goetz SJ, Jones BM, Wylie BK, Minsley BJ, Genet H, Knight JF, Swanson DK, Jorgenson JC. Spatiotemporal remote sensing of ecosystem change and causation across Alaska. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2019; 25:1171-1189. [PMID: 29808518 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2018] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary climate change in Alaska has resulted in amplified rates of press and pulse disturbances that drive ecosystem change with significant consequences for socio-environmental systems. Despite the vulnerability of Arctic and boreal landscapes to change, little has been done to characterize landscape change and associated drivers across northern high-latitude ecosystems. Here we characterize the historical sensitivity of Alaska's ecosystems to environmental change and anthropogenic disturbances using expert knowledge, remote sensing data, and spatiotemporal analyses and modeling. Time-series analysis of moderate-and high-resolution imagery was used to characterize land- and water-surface dynamics across Alaska. Some 430,000 interpretations of ecological and geomorphological change were made using historical air photos and satellite imagery, and corroborate land-surface greening, browning, and wetness/moisture trend parameters derived from peak-growing season Landsat imagery acquired from 1984 to 2015. The time series of change metrics, together with climatic data and maps of landscape characteristics, were incorporated into a modeling framework for mapping and understanding of drivers of change throughout Alaska. According to our analysis, approximately 13% (~174,000 ± 8700 km2 ) of Alaska has experienced directional change in the last 32 years (±95% confidence intervals). At the ecoregions level, substantial increases in remotely sensed vegetation productivity were most pronounced in western and northern foothills of Alaska, which is explained by vegetation growth associated with increasing air temperatures. Significant browning trends were largely the result of recent wildfires in interior Alaska, but browning trends are also driven by increases in evaporative demand and surface-water gains that have predominately occurred over warming permafrost landscapes. Increased rates of photosynthetic activity are associated with stabilization and recovery processes following wildfire, timber harvesting, insect damage, thermokarst, glacial retreat, and lake infilling and drainage events. Our results fill a critical gap in the understanding of historical and potential future trajectories of change in northern high-latitude regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal J Pastick
- Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. (contractor to the U.S. Geological Survey), Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
| | | | - Scott J Goetz
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona
| | - Benjamin M Jones
- Alaska Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Anchorage, Alaska
| | - Bruce K Wylie
- Earth Resources Observation and Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
| | - Burke J Minsley
- Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
| | - Hélène Genet
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska
| | - Joseph F Knight
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
| | | | - Janet C Jorgenson
- Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, Alaska
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16
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Gabbud C, Robinson CT, Lane SN. Summer is in winter: Disturbance-driven shifts in macroinvertebrate communities following hydroelectric power exploitation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 650:2164-2180. [PMID: 30290357 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 09/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In Alpine streams, humans have strongly modified the interactions between hydraulic processes, geomorphology and aquatic life through dams, flow abstraction at water intakes and river channel engineering. To mitigate these impacts, research has addressed both minimum flows and flow variability to sustain aquatic ecosystems. Whilst such environmental flows might work downstream of dams, this may not be the case for water intakes. Intakes, generally much smaller than dams, are designed to abstract water and to leave sediment behind. Sediment accumulation then results in the need to flush intakes periodically, often more frequently than daily in some highly glaciated basins. Sediment delivery downstream is then maintained through short duration floods with very high sediment loads. Here we tested the hypothesis that sediment flushing, and the associated high frequency of bed disturbance, controls in-stream habitat and macroinvertebrate assemblages. We collected macroinvertebrates over a 17-month period from an Alpine stream as well as a set of lateral unperturbed tributaries that served as controls. In contrast to established conceptual models, our results showed that the stream is largely void of life during summer, but that populations recover rapidly as the frequency of intake flushing falls in early autumn, producing richer and larger populations in winter and early spring. The recovery in autumn may be due to the recruitment of individuals from tributaries. We conclude that intake flushing in summer inverts expected summer-winter macroinvertebrate abundances, and questions the extent to which environmental flows in intake-impacted Alpine streams will lead to improvements in instream macrofauna unless sediment also is managed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chrystelle Gabbud
- Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Christopher T Robinson
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland; Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH-Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Stuart N Lane
- Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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17
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Abstract
As humans increasingly alter the surface geomorphology of the Earth, a multitude of artificial aquatic systems have appeared, both deliberately and accidentally. Human modifications to the hydroscape range from alteration of existing waterbodies to construction of new ones. The extent of these systems makes them important and dynamic components of modern landscapes, but their condition and provisioning of ecosystem services by these systems are underexplored, and likely underestimated. Instead of accepting that artificial ecosystems have intrinsically low values, environmental scientists should determine what combination of factors, including setting, planning and construction, subsequent management and policy, and time, impact the condition of these systems. Scientists, social scientists, and policymakers should more thoroughly evaluate whether current study and management of artificial aquatic systems is based on the actual ecological condition of these systems, or judged differently, due to artificiality, and consider resultant possible changes in goals for these systems. The emerging recognition and study of artificial aquatic systems presents an exciting and important opportunity for science and society.
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18
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Milner AM, Picken JL, Klaar MJ, Robertson AL, Clitherow LR, Eagle L, Brown LE. River ecosystem resilience to extreme flood events. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:8354-8363. [PMID: 30250708 PMCID: PMC6145017 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2018] [Revised: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Floods have a major influence in structuring river ecosystems. Considering projected increases in high-magnitude rainfall events with climate change, major flooding events are expected to increase in many regions of the world. However, there is uncertainty about the effect of different flooding regimes and the importance of flood timing in structuring riverine habitats and their associated biotic communities. In addition, our understanding of community response is hindered by a lack of long-term datasets to evaluate river ecosystem resilience to flooding. Here we show that in a river ecosystem studied for 30 years, a major winter flood reset the invertebrate community to a community similar to one that existed 15 years earlier. The community had not recovered to the preflood state when recurrent summer flooding 9 years later reset the ecosystem back to an even earlier community. Total macroinvertebrate density was reduced in the winter flood by an order of magnitude more than the summer flood. Meiofaunal invertebrates were more resilient to the flooding than macroinvertebrates, possibly due to their smaller body size facilitating greater access to in-stream refugia. Pacific pink salmon escapement was markedly affected by the winter flood when eggs were developing in redds, compared to summer flooding, which occurred before the majority of eggs were laid. Our findings inform a proposed conceptual model of three possible responses to flooding by the invertebrate community in terms of switching to different states and effects on resilience to future flooding events. In a changing climate, understanding these responses is important for river managers to mitigate the biological impacts of extreme flooding effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M. Milner
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
- Institute of Arctic BiologyUniversity of AlaskaFairbanksAlaskaUSA
| | - Jessica L. Picken
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
- School of Biological and Chemical SciencesQueen Mary University of LondonLondonUK
| | - Megan J. Klaar
- School of Geography & water@leedsUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | | | - Leonie R. Clitherow
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental SciencesUniversity of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Lawrence Eagle
- School of Geography & water@leedsUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
| | - Lee E. Brown
- School of Geography & water@leedsUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK
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19
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Lencioni V. Glacial influence and stream macroinvertebrate biodiversity under climate change: Lessons from the Southern Alps. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 622-623:563-575. [PMID: 29223080 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Revised: 11/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/23/2017] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this work was to highlight the main ecological predictors driving invertebrate distribution in eight glacier-fed streams in the Southern Alps. Thirty-five sites belonging to four stream types were sampled monthly during the ablation season of one, two or three years between 1996 and 2014. Taxa from glacial (kryal and glacio-rhithral) and non-glacial (kreno-rhithral and lake outlet) sites were separated by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) along a glacial influence gradient and a hydrological-altitudinal gradient. High glacial influence was associated mainly with low maximum water temperature (Tmax), high Glacial Index (calculated as a function of glacier area and distance from the glacier), and the abundance of Diamesa species (D. steinboecki, D. goetghebueri, D. zernyi, and D. latitarsis). Change-point analysis and Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis confirmed the CCA results in identifying these Diamesa species as the taxa with the strongest preference for high percent glacier cover in the catchment (change point~30%) and low Tmax (change point~6°C). Temporal changes in community structure were highlighted in seven sites fed by glaciers under different retreat rates. Where the rate was faster and the remaining glacier smaller (≪1km2), the most cold-stenothermal kryal inhabitant, D. steinboecki, almost disappeared or survived only as brachypterous populations, whereas other Diamesinae (Pseudokiefferiella parva), Orthocladiinae (e.g. Eukiefferiella, Orthocladius), Limoniidae, Baetidae, Nemouridae, and non-insect taxa (e.g. Oligochaeta, Hydracarina) became more abundant. Upstream migration was observed in Diamesa spp. which conquered new stream reaches left free by the retreating glacier, and euriecious taxa which colonized reaches with ameliorated environmental conditions, no longer the exclusive habitat of Diamesa spp. Co-occurrence of stochastic and deterministic assembly processes seem to drive spatio-temporal changes in these invertebrate communities. Long-term ecological studies on the adaptive biology of kryal species will be useful to predict the fate of Alpine biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Lencioni
- Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, I-38122 Trento, Italy.
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20
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Brown LE, Khamis K, Wilkes M, Blaen P, Brittain JE, Carrivick JL, Fell S, Friberg N, Füreder L, Gislason GM, Hainie S, Hannah DM, James WHM, Lencioni V, Olafsson JS, Robinson CT, Saltveit SJ, Thompson C, Milner AM. Functional diversity and community assembly of river invertebrates show globally consistent responses to decreasing glacier cover. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:325-333. [PMID: 29255301 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0426-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Global change threatens invertebrate biodiversity and its central role in numerous ecosystem functions and services. Functional trait analyses have been advocated to uncover global mechanisms behind biodiversity responses to environmental change, but the application of this approach for invertebrates is underdeveloped relative to other organism groups. From an evaluation of 363 records comprising >1.23 million invertebrates collected from rivers across nine biogeographic regions on three continents, consistent responses of community trait composition and diversity to replicated gradients of reduced glacier cover are demonstrated. After accounting for a systematic regional effect of latitude, the processes shaping river invertebrate functional diversity are globally consistent. Analyses nested within individual regions identified an increase in functional diversity as glacier cover decreases. Community assembly models demonstrated that dispersal limitation was the dominant process underlying these patterns, although environmental filtering was also evident in highly glacierized basins. These findings indicate that predictable mechanisms govern river invertebrate community responses to decreasing glacier cover globally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee E Brown
- water@leeds and School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
| | - Kieran Khamis
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Martin Wilkes
- Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry, UK
| | - Phillip Blaen
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | | | - Sarah Fell
- water@leeds and School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Nikolai Friberg
- water@leeds and School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.,Norsk Institutt for Vannforskning, Oslo, Norway
| | - Leopold Füreder
- River Ecology and Conservation Research, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Gisli M Gislason
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | - David M Hannah
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | | | - Valeria Lencioni
- Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology Department, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, Trento, Italy
| | - Jon S Olafsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | | | | | - Craig Thompson
- Department of Environmental Science, Western Wyoming Community College, Rock Springs, WY, USA
| | - Alexander M Milner
- School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.,Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA
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21
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Woods JS, Damiani M, Fantke P, Henderson AD, Johnston JM, Bare J, Sala S, de Souza DM, Pfister S, Posthuma L, Rosenbaum RK, Verones F. Ecosystem quality in LCIA: status quo, harmonization, and suggestions for the way forward. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT 2018; 23:1995-2006. [PMID: 31097881 PMCID: PMC6516497 DOI: 10.1007/s11367-017-1422-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) results are used to assess potential environmental impacts of different products and services. As part of the UNEP-SETAC life cycle initiative flagship project that aims to harmonize indicators of potential environmental impacts, we provide a consensus viewpoint and recommendations for future developments in LCIA related to the ecosystem quality area of protection (AoP). Through our recommendations, we aim to encourage LCIA developments that improve the usefulness and global acceptability of LCIA results. METHODS We analyze current ecosystem quality metrics and provide recommendations to the LCIA research community for achieving further developments towards comparable and more ecologically relevant metrics addressing ecosystem quality. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We recommend that LCIA development for ecosystem quality should tend towards species-richnessrelated metrics, with efforts made towards improved inclusion of ecosystem complexity. Impact indicators-which result from a range of modeling approaches that differ, for example, according to spatial and temporal scale, taxonomic coverage, and whether the indicator produces a relative or absolute measure of loss-should be framed to facilitate their final expression in a single, aggregated metric. This would also improve comparability with other LCIA damage-level indicators. Furthermore, to allow for a broader inclusion of ecosystem quality perspectives, the development of an additional indicator related to ecosystem function is recommended. Having two complementary metrics would give a broader coverage of ecosystem attributes while remaining simple enough to enable an intuitive interpretation of the results. CONCLUSIONS We call for the LCIA research community to make progress towards enabling harmonization of damage-level indicators within the ecosystem quality AoP and, further, to improve the ecological relevance of impact indicators.
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Affiliation(s)
- John S Woods
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Mattia Damiani
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research Group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, 361 rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, F-34196 Montpellier, France
| | - Peter Fantke
- Division for Quantitative Sustainability Assessment, Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Bygningstorvet 116, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Andrew D Henderson
- University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin, TX 78701, USA
- Noblis, Inc., San Antonio, TX 78232, USA
| | - John M Johnston
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 960 College Station Rd, Athens, GA 30605, USA
| | - Jane Bare
- US EPA, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West MLK Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
| | - Serenella Sala
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate D: Sustainable Resource, Bioeconomy unit, Via E. Fermi, 2749 Ispra, VA, Italy
| | - Danielle Maia de Souza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, T6G 2P5, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Stephan Pfister
- ETH Zurich, Institute of Environmental Engineering, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Leo Posthuma
- RIVM (Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment), Centre for Sustainability, Environment and Health, P.O. Box 1, 3720, BA Bilthoven, the Netherlands
- Department of Environmental Science, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525, AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ralph K Rosenbaum
- ITAP, Irstea, Montpellier SupAgro, Univ Montpellier, ELSA Research Group and ELSA-PACT Industrial Chair, 361 rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, F-34196 Montpellier, France
| | - Francesca Verones
- Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Sem Sælands vei 7, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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22
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Fell SC, Carrivick JL, Brown LE. The Multitrophic Effects of Climate Change and Glacier Retreat in Mountain Rivers. Bioscience 2017; 67:897-911. [PMID: 29599537 PMCID: PMC5862337 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/bix107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is driving the thinning and retreat of many glaciers globally. Reductions of ice-melt inputs to mountain rivers are changing their physicochemical characteristics and, in turn, aquatic communities. Glacier-fed rivers can serve as model systems for investigations of climate-change effects on ecosystems because of their strong atmospheric–cryospheric links, high biodiversity of multiple taxonomic groups, and significant conservation interest concerning endemic species. From a synthesis of existing knowledge, we develop a new conceptual understanding of how reducing glacier cover affects organisms spanning multiple trophic groups. Although the response of macroinvertebrates to glacier retreat has been well described, we show that there remains a relative paucity of information for biofilm, microinvertebrate, and vertebrate taxa. Enhanced understanding of whole river food webs will improve the prediction of river-ecosystem responses to deglaciation while offering the potential to identify and protect a wider range of sensitive and threatened species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C Fell
- Sarah Fell is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan L Carrivick
- Sarah Fell is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom
| | - Lee E Brown
- Sarah Fell is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom
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23
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Milner AM, Khamis K, Battin TJ, Brittain JE, Barrand NE, Füreder L, Cauvy-Fraunié S, Gíslason GM, Jacobsen D, Hannah DM, Hodson AJ, Hood E, Lencioni V, Ólafsson JS, Robinson CT, Tranter M, Brown LE. Glacier shrinkage driving global changes in downstream systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:9770-9778. [PMID: 28874558 PMCID: PMC5603989 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1619807114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glaciers cover ∼10% of the Earth's land surface, but they are shrinking rapidly across most parts of the world, leading to cascading impacts on downstream systems. Glaciers impart unique footprints on river flow at times when other water sources are low. Changes in river hydrology and morphology caused by climate-induced glacier loss are projected to be the greatest of any hydrological system, with major implications for riverine and near-shore marine environments. Here, we synthesize current evidence of how glacier shrinkage will alter hydrological regimes, sediment transport, and biogeochemical and contaminant fluxes from rivers to oceans. This will profoundly influence the natural environment, including many facets of biodiversity, and the ecosystem services that glacier-fed rivers provide to humans, particularly provision of water for agriculture, hydropower, and consumption. We conclude that human society must plan adaptation and mitigation measures for the full breadth of impacts in all affected regions caused by glacier shrinkage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander M Milner
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom;
- Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775
| | - Kieran Khamis
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Tom J Battin
- Stream Biofim and Ecosystem Research Laboratory, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - John E Brittain
- Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, 0318 Oslo, Norway
| | - Nicholas E Barrand
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Leopold Füreder
- River Ecology and Conservation Research, Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement 247 CNRS-Université Paris-Sud-9191, 91198 Gif-sur Yvette, France
- Institut National de Recherche en Sciences et Technologies pour l'Environnement et l'Agriculture, Milieux Aquatiques, Écologie et Pollutions - Lyon, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Gísli Már Gíslason
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Dean Jacobsen
- Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - David M Hannah
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew J Hodson
- Department of Geography, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Eran Hood
- Department of Natural Science, University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau, AK 99801
| | - Valeria Lencioni
- Invertebrate Zoology and Hydrobiology Department, MUSE-Museo delle Scienze, I-38123 Trento, Italy
| | - Jón S Ólafsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | | | - Martyn Tranter
- Bristol Glaciology Centre, Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1SS, United Kingdom
| | - Lee E Brown
- School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
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Hotaling S, Finn DS, Joseph Giersch J, Weisrock DW, Jacobsen D. Climate change and alpine stream biology: progress, challenges, and opportunities for the future. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2017; 92:2024-2045. [PMID: 28105701 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Revised: 12/04/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems and affecting biodiversity in many ways. For streams, receding alpine glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, basal resources, and threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Alpine streams harbour substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity. Climate change is expected to affect alpine stream biodiversity across many levels of biological resolution from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Herein, we describe the current state of alpine stream biology from an organism-focused perspective. We begin by reviewing seven standard and emerging approaches that combine to form the current state of the discipline. We follow with a call for increased synthesis across existing approaches to improve understanding of how these imperiled ecosystems are responding to rapid environmental change. We then take a forward-looking viewpoint on how alpine stream biologists can make better use of existing data sets through temporal comparisons, integrate remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies, and apply genomic tools to refine knowledge of underlying evolutionary processes. We conclude with comments about the future of biodiversity conservation in alpine streams to confront the daunting challenge of mitigating the effects of rapid environmental change in these sentinel ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Hotaling
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, U.S.A
| | - Debra S Finn
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, U.S.A.,Departamento de Recursos Hídricos y Ciencias Ambientales, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - J Joseph Giersch
- U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, West Glacier, MT 59936, U.S.A
| | - David W Weisrock
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, U.S.A
| | - Dean Jacobsen
- Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Boersma KS, Nickerson A, Francis CD, Siepielski AM. Climate extremes are associated with invertebrate taxonomic and functional composition in mountain lakes. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8094-8106. [PMID: 27878081 PMCID: PMC5108261 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2016] [Revised: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate change is expected to increase climate variability and the occurrence of extreme climatic events, with potentially devastating effects on aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about the role of climate extremes in structuring aquatic communities or the interplay between climate and local abiotic and biotic factors. Here, we examine the relative influence of climate and local abiotic and biotic conditions on biodiversity and community structure in lake invertebrates. We sampled aquatic invertebrates and measured environmental variables in 19 lakes throughout California, USA, to test hypotheses of the relationship between climate, local biotic and environmental conditions, and the taxonomic and functional structure of aquatic invertebrate communities. We found that, while local biotic and abiotic factors such as habitat availability and conductivity were the most consistent predictors of alpha diversity, extreme climate conditions such as maximum summer temperature and dry-season precipitation were most often associated with multivariate taxonomic and functional composition. Specifically, sites with high maximum temperatures and low dry-season precipitation housed communities containing high abundances of large predatory taxa. Furthermore, both climate dissimilarity and abiotic dissimilarity determined taxonomic turnover among sites (beta diversity). These findings suggest that while local-scale environmental variables may predict alpha diversity, climatic variability is important to consider when projecting broad-scale aquatic community responses to the extreme temperature and precipitation events that are expected for much of the world during the next century.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Clinton D. Francis
- Department of Biological SciencesCalifornia Polytechnic State UniversitySan Luis ObispoCAUSA
| | - Adam M. Siepielski
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of ArkansasFayettevilleARUSA
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Brown LE, Ramchunder SJ, Beadle JM, Holden J. Macroinvertebrate community assembly in pools created during peatland restoration. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2016; 569-570:361-372. [PMID: 27348701 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Many degraded ecosystems are subject to restoration attempts, providing new opportunities to unravel the processes of ecological community assembly. Restoration of previously drained northern peatlands, primarily to promote peat and carbon accumulation, has created hundreds of thousands of new open water pools. We assessed the potential benefits of this wetland restoration for aquatic biodiversity, and how communities reassemble, by comparing pool ecosystems in regions of the UK Pennines on intact (never drained) versus restored (blocked drainage-ditches) peatland. We also evaluated the conceptual idea that comparing reference ecosystems in terms of their compositional similarity to null assemblages (and thus the relative importance of stochastic versus deterministic assembly) can guide evaluations of restoration success better than analyses of community composition or diversity. Community composition data highlighted some differences in the macroinvertebrate composition of restored pools compared to undisturbed peatland pools, which could be used to suggest that alternative end-points to restoration were influenced by stochastic processes. However, widely used diversity metrics indicated no differences between undisturbed and restored pools. Novel evaluations of restoration using null models confirmed the similarity of deterministic assembly processes from the national species pool across all pools. Stochastic elements were important drivers of between-pool differences at the regional-scale but the scale of these effects was also similar across most of the pools studied. The amalgamation of assembly theory into ecosystem restoration monitoring allows us to conclude with more certainty that restoration has been successful from an ecological perspective in these systems. Evaluation of these UK findings compared to those from peatlands across Europe and North America further suggests that restoring peatland pools delivers significant benefits for aquatic fauna by providing extensive new habitat that is largely equivalent to natural pools. More generally, we suggest that assembly theory could provide new benchmarks for planning and evaluating ecological restoration success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee E Brown
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
| | | | - Jeannie M Beadle
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Joseph Holden
- water@leeds, School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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27
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Quenta E, Molina-Rodriguez J, Gonzales K, Rebaudo F, Casas J, Jacobsen D, Dangles O. Direct and indirect effects of glaciers on aquatic biodiversity in high Andean peatlands. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2016; 22:3196-3205. [PMID: 27058991 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The rapid melting of glacier cover is one of the most obvious impacts of climate change on alpine ecosystems and biodiversity. Our understanding of the impact of a decrease in glacier runoff on aquatic biodiversity is currently based on the 'glacier-heterogeneity-diversity' paradigm, according to which there is high α-diversity at intermediate levels of glacial influence due to the high degree of environmental heterogeneity caused by glacier water. This α-diversity pattern generates high levels of between-site aquatic community variation (high β diversity) and increases regional diversity (γ-diversity). There is a rich conceptual background in favor of this paradigm, but empirical data supporting it are scarce. We investigated this paradigm by analyzing the different diversity patterns (α, β and γ-diversity) of four aquatic groups (zooplankton, macroinvertebrates, algae and macrophytes) living in high-elevation peatlands (>4500 m above sea level). We sampled 200 pools from 20 peatlands along a glacier gradient in the Cordillera Real of Bolivia. We performed structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the potential mechanisms underlying the observed diversity patterns. Intermediate levels of glacial influence (15-20% cover) resulted in high heterogeneity, but α-diversity responded to glacial influence only for the zooplankton group (Cladocera). Our SEM analysis did not identify environmental heterogeneity as a significant variable explaining the relationship between glacier and α-diversity. Peatland area had a strong positive effect on heterogeneity and diversity. β-diversity was significantly associated with glacier gradient, and 12.9% of the total regional diversity (γ-diversity) was restricted to peatlands with a high degree of glacial influence. These species might be lost in a context of glacial retreat. These findings provide new insight into the potential effects of glacial retreat on the aquatic environment and biodiversity in the peatlands of the tropical Andes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estefania Quenta
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (IRBI), Université François-Rabelais, Tours, Tours, 37200, France
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR EGCE-UnivParisSud-CNRS-IRD-ParisSaclay, Gif-sur Yvette, 91198, France
- Unidad de Limnología, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, calle 27 Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Jorge Molina-Rodriguez
- Unidad de Limnología, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, calle 27 Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Karina Gonzales
- Unidad de Limnología, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, calle 27 Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - François Rebaudo
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR EGCE-UnivParisSud-CNRS-IRD-ParisSaclay, Gif-sur Yvette, 91198, France
- Centro de Análisis Espacial, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, calle 27 Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia
| | - Jérôme Casas
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (IRBI), Université François-Rabelais, Tours, Tours, 37200, France
| | - Dean Jacobsen
- Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 12 de Octubre, 1076 y Roca, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Olivier Dangles
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR EGCE-UnivParisSud-CNRS-IRD-ParisSaclay, Gif-sur Yvette, 91198, France
- Escuela de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 12 de Octubre, 1076 y Roca, Quito, Ecuador
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Ecological responses to experimental glacier-runoff reduction in alpine rivers. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12025. [PMID: 27338650 PMCID: PMC4931009 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Glacier retreat is a worldwide phenomenon with important consequences for the hydrological cycle and downstream ecosystem structure and functioning. To determine the effects of glacier retreat on aquatic communities, we conducted a 4-year flow manipulation in a tropical glacier-fed stream. Compared with an adjacent reference stream, meltwater flow reduction induces significant changes in benthic fauna community composition in less than 2 weeks. Also, both algal and herbivore biomass significantly increase in the manipulated stream as a response to flow reduction. After the flow reduction ceased, the system requires 14–16 months to return to its pre-perturbation state. These results are supported by a multi-stream survey of sites varying in glacial influence, showing an abrupt increase in algal and herbivore biomass below 11% glacier cover in the catchment. This study shows that flow reduction strongly affects glacier-fed stream biota, prefiguring profound ecological effects of ongoing glacier retreat on aquatic systems. Glacier retreat due to climate change can affect the biodiversity and ecosystem function. Here, Cauvy-Fraunié and colleagues manipulated the flow of tropical glacier-fed stream in the Ecuadorian Andes, and show that benthic fauna community composition requires several months before it can recover to the pre-blockade conditions.
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Pasotti F, Saravia LA, De Troch M, Tarantelli MS, Sahade R, Vanreusel A. Benthic Trophic Interactions in an Antarctic Shallow Water Ecosystem Affected by Recent Glacier Retreat. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141742. [PMID: 26559062 PMCID: PMC4641631 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The western Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing strong environmental changes as a consequence of ongoing regional warming. Glaciers in the area are retreating rapidly and increased sediment-laden meltwater runoff threatens the benthic biodiversity at shallow depths. We identified three sites with a distinct glacier-retreat related history and different levels of glacial influence in the inner part of Potter Cove (King George Island, South Shetland Islands), a fjord-like embayment impacted since the 1950s by a tidewater glacier retreat. We compared the soft sediment meio- and macrofauna isotopic niche widths (δ13C and δ15N stable isotope analysis) at the three sites to investigate possible glacier retreat-related influences on benthic trophic interactions. The isotopic niches were locally shaped by the different degrees of glacier retreat-related disturbance within the Cove. Wider isotopic niche widths were found at the site that has become ice-free most recently, and narrower niches at the older ice-free sites. At an intermediate state of glacier retreat-related disturbance (e.g. via ice-growler scouring) species with different strategies could settle. The site at the earliest stage of post-retreat development was characterized by an assemblage with lower trophic redundancy. Generally, the isotopic niche widths increased with increasing size spectra of organisms within the community, excepting the youngest assemblage, where the pioneer colonizer meiofauna size class displayed the highest isotopic niche width. Meiofauna at all sites generally occupied positions in the isotopic space that suggested a detrital-pool food source and/or the presence of predatory taxa. In general ice scour and glacial impact appeared to play a two-fold role within the Cove: i) either stimulating trophic diversity by allowing continuous re-colonization of meiofaunal species or, ii) over time driving the benthic assemblages into a more compact trophic structure with increased connectedness and resource recycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Pasotti
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | - Leonardo Ariel Saravia
- Institute of Sciences, National University of General Sarmiento, Juan María Gutierrez 1150, C.P.1613, Los Polvorines, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marleen De Troch
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Maria Soledad Tarantelli
- Institute of Animal Diversity and Ecology, CONICET, Fac.Cs. E.F. y Nat. National University of Cordoba, Av. Vélez Sársfield 299, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Ricardo Sahade
- Institute of Animal Diversity and Ecology, CONICET, Fac.Cs. E.F. y Nat. National University of Cordoba, Av. Vélez Sársfield 299, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Ann Vanreusel
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281/S8, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium
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30
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Cauvy-Fraunié S, Espinosa R, Andino P, Jacobsen D, Dangles O. Invertebrate Metacommunity Structure and Dynamics in an Andean Glacial Stream Network Facing Climate Change. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0136793. [PMID: 26308853 PMCID: PMC4550352 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0136793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Under the ongoing climate change, understanding the mechanisms structuring the spatial distribution of aquatic species in glacial stream networks is of critical importance to predict the response of aquatic biodiversity in the face of glacier melting. In this study, we propose to use metacommunity theory as a conceptual framework to better understand how river network structure influences the spatial organization of aquatic communities in glacierized catchments. At 51 stream sites in an Andean glacierized catchment (Ecuador), we sampled benthic macroinvertebrates, measured physico-chemical and food resource conditions, and calculated geographical, altitudinal and glaciality distances among all sites. Using partial redundancy analysis, we partitioned community variation to evaluate the relative strength of environmental conditions (e.g., glaciality, food resource) vs. spatial processes (e.g., overland, watercourse, and downstream directional dispersal) in organizing the aquatic metacommunity. Results revealed that both environmental and spatial variables significantly explained community variation among sites. Among all environmental variables, the glacial influence component best explained community variation. Overland spatial variables based on geographical and altitudinal distances significantly affected community variation. Watercourse spatial variables based on glaciality distances had a unique significant effect on community variation. Within alpine catchment, glacial meltwater affects macroinvertebrate metacommunity structure in many ways. Indeed, the harsh environmental conditions characterizing glacial influence not only constitute the primary environmental filter but also, limit water-borne macroinvertebrate dispersal. Therefore, glacier runoff acts as an aquatic dispersal barrier, isolating species in headwater streams, and preventing non-adapted species to colonize throughout the entire stream network. Under a scenario of glacier runoff decrease, we expect a reduction in both environmental filtering and dispersal limitation, inducing a taxonomic homogenization of the aquatic fauna in glacierized catchments as well as the extinction of specialized species in headwater groundwater and glacier-fed streams, and consequently an irreversible reduction in regional diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Cauvy-Fraunié
- IRD, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR EGCE, IRD-247 CNRS-UP Sud-9191, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Quito, Ecuador
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, Cotacota, La Paz, Bolivia
- * E-mail:
| | - Rodrigo Espinosa
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Patricio Andino
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Dean Jacobsen
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Quito, Ecuador
- Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Olivier Dangles
- IRD, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR EGCE, IRD-247 CNRS-UP Sud-9191, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Quito, Ecuador
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor San Andrés, Cotacota, La Paz, Bolivia
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Khamis K, Hannah DM, Brown LE, Tiberti R, Milner AM. The use of invertebrates as indicators of environmental change in alpine rivers and lakes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2014; 493:1242-1254. [PMID: 24650750 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2013] [Revised: 02/27/2014] [Accepted: 02/27/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
In alpine regions climatic change will alter the balance between water sources (rainfall, ice-melt, snowmelt, and groundwater) for aquatic systems, particularly modifying the relative contributions of meltwater, groundwater and rain to both rivers and lakes. While these changes are expected to have implications for alpine aquatic ecosystems, little is known about potential ecological tipping points and associated indicator taxa. We examined changes in biotic communities along a gradient of glacier influence for two study systems: (1) a stream network in the French Pyrénées; and (2) a network of lakes in the Italian Alps, with the aim of identifying potential indicator taxa (macroinvertebrates and zooplankton) of glacier retreat in these environments. To assess parallels in biotic responses across streams and lakes, both primary data and findings from other publications were synthesised. Using TITAN (Threshold Indicator Taxa ANalysis) changes in community composition of river taxa were identified at thresholds of <5.1% glacier cover and <66.6% meltwater contribution. Below these thresholds the loss of cold stenothermic benthic invertebrate taxa, Diamesa spp. and the Pyrenean endemic Rhyacophila angelieri was apparent. Some generalist taxa including Protonemura sp., Perla grandis, Baetis alpinus, Rhithrogena loyolaea and Microspectra sp. increased when glacier cover was <2.7% and <52% meltwater. Patterns were not as distinct for the alpine lakes, due to fewer sampling sites; however, Daphnia longispina grp. and the benthic invertebrate groups Plectopera and Planaria were identified as potential indicator taxa. While further work is required to assess potential indicator taxa for alpine lake systems, findings from alpine river systems were consistent between methods for assessing glacier influence (meltwater contribution/glacier cover). Hence, it is clear that TITAN could become a useful management tool, enabling: (i) the identification of taxa particularly sensitive to glacier retreat; and (ii) conservation efforts/resources to be better directed in alpine aquatic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Khamis
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - D M Hannah
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - L E Brown
- School of Geography/water@leeds, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
| | - R Tiberti
- DSTA, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e dell'Ambiente, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy; Alpine Wildlife Research Centre, Gran Paradiso National Park, Degioz 11, I-1101 Valsavarenche, Aosta, Italy
| | - A M Milner
- School of Geography Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA.
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Clitherow LR, Carrivick JL, Brown LE. Food web structure in a harsh glacier-fed river. PLoS One 2013; 8:e60899. [PMID: 23613751 PMCID: PMC3626691 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2012] [Accepted: 03/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glacier retreat is occurring across the world, and associated river ecosystems are expected to respond more rapidly than those in flowing waters in other regions. The river environment directly downstream of a glacier snout is characterised by extreme low water temperature and unstable channel sediments but these habitats may become rarer with widespread glacier retreat. In these extreme environments food web dynamics have been little studied, yet they could offer opportunities to test food web theories using highly resolved food webs owing to their low taxonomic richness. This study examined the interactions of macroinvertebrate and diatom taxa in the Ödenwinkelkees river, Austrian central Alps between 2006 and 2011. The webs were characterised by low taxon richness (13-22), highly connected individuals (directed connectance up to 0.19) and short mean food chain length (2.00-2.36). The dominant macroinvertebrates were members of the Chironomidae genus Diamesa and had an omnivorous diet rich in detritus and diatoms as well as other Chironomidae. Simuliidae (typically detritivorous filterers) had a diet rich in diatoms but also showed evidence of predation on Chironomidae larvae. Food webs showed strong species-averaged and individual size structuring but mass-abundance scaling coefficients were larger than those predicted by metabolic theory, perhaps due to a combination of spatial averaging effects of patchily distributed consumers and resources, and/or consumers deriving unquantified resources from microorganisms attached to the large amounts of ingested rock fragments. Comparison of food web structural metrics with those from 62 published river webs suggest these glacier-fed river food web properties were extreme but in line with general food web scaling predictions, a finding which could prove useful to forecast the effects of anticipated future glacier retreat on the structure of aquatic food webs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie R. Clitherow
- Faculty of Biological Science/water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lee E. Brown
- School of Geography/water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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Hagen M, Kissling WD, Rasmussen C, De Aguiar MA, Brown LE, Carstensen DW, Alves-Dos-Santos I, Dupont YL, Edwards FK, Genini J, Guimarães PR, Jenkins GB, Jordano P, Kaiser-Bunbury CN, Ledger ME, Maia KP, Marquitti FMD, Mclaughlin Ó, Morellato LPC, O'Gorman EJ, Trøjelsgaard K, Tylianakis JM, Vidal MM, Woodward G, Olesen JM. Biodiversity, Species Interactions and Ecological Networks in a Fragmented World. ADV ECOL RES 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-396992-7.00002-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
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