1
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Pharaoh E, Diamond M, Jarvie HP, Ormerod SJ, Rutt G, Vaughan IP. Potential drivers of changing ecological conditions in English and Welsh rivers since 1990. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 946:174369. [PMID: 38955282 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174369] [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: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024]
Abstract
River invertebrate communities across Europe have been changing in response to variations in water quality over recent decades, but the underlying drivers are difficult to identify because of the complex stressors and environmental heterogeneity involved. Here, using data from ∼4000 locations across England and Wales, collected over 29 years, we use three approaches to help resolve the drivers of spatiotemporal variation in the face of this complexity: i) mapping changes in invertebrate richness and community composition; ii) structural equation modelling (SEM) to distinguish land cover, water quality and climatic influences; and iii) geographically weighted regression (GWR) to identify how the apparent relationships between invertebrate communities and abiotic variables change across the area. Mapping confirmed widespread increases in richness and the proportion of pollution-sensitive taxa across much of England and Wales. It also revealed regions where pollution-sensitive taxa or overall richness declined, the former primarily in the uplands. SEMs confirmed strong increases in average biochemical oxygen demand and nutrient concentrations related to urban and agricultural land cover, but only a minority of land cover's effect upon invertebrate communities was explained by average water chemistry, highlighting potential factors such as episodic extremes or emerging contaminants. GWR identified strong geographical variation in estimated relationships between macroinvertebrate communities and environmental variables, with evidence that the estimated negative impacts of nutrients and water temperature were increasing through time. Overall the results are consistent with widespread biological recovery of Britain's rivers from past gross organic pollution, whilst highlighting declines in some of the most diverse and least impacted streams. Modelling points to a complex and changing set of drivers, highlighting the multifaceted impacts of catchment land cover and the evolving role of different stressors, with the relationship to gross organic pollution weakening, whilst estimated nutrient and warming effects strengthened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Pharaoh
- Water Research Institute and School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Mark Diamond
- Environment Agency, PO Box 12, Warrington WA4 1HG, UK
| | - Helen P Jarvie
- Water Institute and Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada; UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Steve J Ormerod
- Water Research Institute and School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
| | - Graham Rutt
- Natural Resources Wales, Southwest Area Environmental Assessment & Advice Team, Swansea University, Singleton Campus, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Ian P Vaughan
- Water Research Institute and School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
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2
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Becker E, Vonk JA, van Kouwen LAH, Verdonschot PFM, Kraak MHS. Species specific responses to stressors hamper Trichoptera recovery. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 945:173992. [PMID: 38901595 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173992] [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: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Worldwide, aquatic biodiversity is severely threatened as a result of anthropogenic pressures such as pollution, habitat destruction and climate change. Widescale legislation resulted in reduced nutrient- and pesticide loads, and restoration measures allowed modest recovery of freshwater biodiversity. However, from 2010 onwards, recovery in the otherwise unrestored aquatic habitats stagnated. The aim of the present study was therefore to reveal long-term trends in aquatic biodiversity in an anthropogenic landscape and to explain the observed patterns. To this end, over 40 years of biomonitoring data of the indicative taxa group Trichoptera (caddisflies), with an exceptionally high spatial and temporal resolution, was employed. Periods of recovery, stagnation, and decline were delineated using linear and non-linear modelling approaches. Subsequently, species were grouped based on abundance patterns over time and this grouping was used to ascertain species-specific responses to anthropogenic stressors using a trait-based approach. Richness and abundance of all Trichoptera jointly, as well as of the five most abundant and the remaining 136 species, significantly increased from 1980 to significant breakpoints from 2010 onwards, after which these metrics, except the abundances of the 5 most abundant, declined significantly. Trend-based species groupings were not significantly explained by biological traits or ecological preferences. However, Trichoptera species increasing in abundance were less sensitive to climate change and poor water quality, or concerned sensitive species which benefited from restoration measures. Species with stable or declining abundances showed higher sensitivity to climate change. The Trichoptera declining in abundance indicated that conditions in non-protected or restored habitats did not improve due to climate change on top of the other anthropogenic pressures. These observations reinforce the need for increased efforts to improve the only moderately restored water- and habitat quality in anthropogenic landscapes to halt further aquatic ecosystem degradation and to turn biodiversity losses again into recoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elmar Becker
- Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - J Arie Vonk
- Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Leon A H van Kouwen
- Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; HAS green academy, 's-Hertogenbosch 5223 DE, the Netherlands
| | - Piet F M Verdonschot
- Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Michiel H S Kraak
- Freshwater and Marine Ecology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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3
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Brown EA, Hellenthal RA, Mahon MB, Rumschlag SL, Rohr JR. Range maps and waterbody occupancy data for 1158 freshwater macroinvertebrate genera in the contiguous USA. Sci Data 2024; 11:993. [PMID: 39266558 PMCID: PMC11393311 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03845-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Accepted: 08/29/2024] [Indexed: 09/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Range maps are used to estimate the geographic extent of taxa, providing valuable information for biodiversity and conservation research and management. Freshwater macroinvertebrates are not well-represented in the range map literature relative to freshwater vertebrates. To address this knowledge gap, we provide range maps for 1158 freshwater macroinvertebrate genera based on two decades of publicly available occurrence data from the USEPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, which included 11,628 sites and 6,906,990 organisms across the contiguous USA. Maps were created by applying unweighted and weighted pair group method with arithmetic mean clustering and single-linkage clustering algorithms to the occurrence data and creating three layers of polygons from the minimum convex hulls of clusters. A total of 25 freshwater macroinvertebrate classes are represented in the range map dataset. Most mapped genera were insects (394/1158), followed by malacostracans (242/1158), polychaetes (182/1158), and bivalves (121/1158). Additionally, we provide waterbody type percent occupancy data for all genera, detailing how genera are partitioned between boatable streams, wadeable streams, inland lakes, Laurentian Great Lakes, and coastal estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan A Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA.
| | - Ronald A Hellenthal
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Michael B Mahon
- U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Samantha L Rumschlag
- U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure, Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division, 6201 Congdon Blvd., Duluth, MN, USA
| | - Jason R Rohr
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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4
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Dudgeon D, Strayer DL. Bending the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss: what are the prospects? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024. [PMID: 39221642 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2024] [Revised: 08/21/2024] [Accepted: 08/22/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Freshwater biodiversity conservation has received substantial attention in the scientific literature and is finally being recognized in policy frameworks such as the Global Biodiversity Framework and its associated targets for 2030. This is important progress. Nonetheless, freshwater species continue to be confronted with high levels of imperilment and widespread ecosystem degradation. An Emergency Recovery Plan (ERP) proposed in 2020 comprises six measures intended to "bend the curve" of freshwater biodiversity loss, if they are widely adopted and adequately supported. We review evidence suggesting that the combined intensity of persistent and emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity has become so serious that current and projected efforts to preserve, protect and restore inland-water ecosystems may be insufficient to avert substantial biodiversity losses in the coming decades. In particular, climate change, with its complex and harmful impacts, will frustrate attempts to prevent biodiversity losses from freshwater ecosystems already affected by multiple threats. Interactions among these threats will limit recovery of populations and exacerbate declines resulting in local or even global extinctions, especially among low-viability populations in degraded or fragmented ecosystems. In addition to impediments represented by climate change, we identify several other areas where the absolute scarcity of fresh water, inadequate scientific information or predictive capacity, and a widespread failure to mitigate anthropogenic stressors, are liable to set limits on the recovery of freshwater biodiversity. Implementation of the ERP rapidly and at scale through many widely dispersed local actions focused on regions of high freshwater biodiversity and intense threat, together with an intensification of ex-situ conservation efforts, will be necessary to preserve native freshwater biodiversity during an increasingly uncertain climatic future in which poorly understood, emergent and interacting threats have become more influential. But implementation of the ERP must be accompanied by measures that will improve water, energy and food security for humans - without further compromising the condition of freshwater ecosystems. Unfortunately, the inadequate political implementation of policies to arrest widely recognized environmental challenges such as climate change do not inspire confidence about the possible success of the ERP. In many parts of the world, the Anthropocene future seems certain to include extended periods with an absolute scarcity of uncontaminated surface runoff that will inevitably be appropriated by humans. Unless there is a step-change in societal awareness of - and commitment to - the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, together with necessary actions to arrest climate change, implementation of established methods for protecting freshwater biodiversity may not bend the curve enough to prevent continued ecosystem degradation and species loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Dudgeon
- Division of Ecology & Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - David L Strayer
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, P.O. Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545, USA
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5
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van Klink R, Sheard JK, Høye TT, Roslin T, Do Nascimento LA, Bauer S. Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2024; 379:20230101. [PMID: 38705179 PMCID: PMC11070268 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Insects are the most diverse group of animals on Earth, yet our knowledge of their diversity, ecology and population trends remains abysmally poor. Four major technological approaches are coming to fruition for use in insect monitoring and ecological research-molecular methods, computer vision, autonomous acoustic monitoring and radar-based remote sensing-each of which has seen major advances over the past years. Together, they have the potential to revolutionize insect ecology, and to make all-taxa, fine-grained insect monitoring feasible across the globe. So far, advances within and among technologies have largely taken place in isolation, and parallel efforts among projects have led to redundancy and a methodological sprawl; yet, given the commonalities in their goals and approaches, increased collaboration among projects and integration across technologies could provide unprecedented improvements in taxonomic and spatio-temporal resolution and coverage. This theme issue showcases recent developments and state-of-the-art applications of these technologies, and outlines the way forward regarding data processing, cost-effectiveness, meaningful trend analysis, technological integration and open data requirements. Together, these papers set the stage for the future of automated insect monitoring. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roel van Klink
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Seckendorff-Platz 1 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Julie Koch Sheard
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstrasse 4, Leipzig 04103, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, Leipzig 04318, Germany
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Institute of Biodiversity, Dornburger Straße 159, Jena 07743, Germany
- Department of Biology, Animal Ecology, University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Straße 8, Marburg 35043, Germany
| | - Toke T. Høye
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, C. F. Møllers Allé 8, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
- Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Aarhus C 8000, Denmark
| | - Tomas Roslin
- Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Ulls väg 18B, Uppsala 75651, Sweden
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Leandro A. Do Nascimento
- Science Department, biometrio.earth, Dr.-Schoenemann-Str. 38, Saarbrücken 66123 Deutschland, Germany
| | - Silke Bauer
- Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, Birmensdorf CH-8903, Switzerland
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Seerose 1, Sempach 6204, Switzerland
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Sciencepark 904, Amsterdam 1098 XH, The Netherlands
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16 Zürich 8092, Switzerland
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6
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Nguyen HH, Peters K, Kiesel J, Welti EAR, Gillmann SM, Lorenz AW, Jähnig SC, Haase P. Stream macroinvertebrate communities in restored and impacted catchments respond differently to climate, land-use, and runoff over a decade. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 929:172659. [PMID: 38657809 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172659] [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: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Identifying which environmental drivers underlie degradation and improvements of ecological communities is a fundamental goal of ecology. Achieving this goal is a challenge due to diverse trends in both environmental conditions and ecological communities across regions, and it is constrained by the lack of long-term parallel monitoring of environmental and community data needed to study causal relationships. Here, we identify key environmental drivers using a high-resolution environmental - ecological dataset, an ensemble of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) model, and ecological models to investigate effects of climate, land-use, and runoff on the decadal trend (2012-2021) of stream macroinvertebrate communities in a restored urban catchment and an impacted catchment with mixed land-uses in Germany. The decadal trends showed decreased precipitation, increased temperature, and reduced anthropogenic land-uses, which led to opposing runoff trends - with decreased runoff in the restored catchment and increased runoff in the impacted catchment. The two catchments also varied in decadal trends of taxonomic and trait composition and metrics. The most significant improvements over time were recorded in communities of the restored catchment sites, which have become wastewater free since 2007 to 2009. Within the restored catchment sites, community metric trends were primarily explained by land-use and evaporation trends, while community composition trends were mostly associated with precipitation and runoff trends. Meanwhile, the communities in the impacted catchment did not undergo significant changes between 2012 and 2021, likely influenced by the effects of prolonged droughts following floods after 2018. The results of our study confirm the significance of restoration and land-use management in fostering long-term improvements in stream communities, while climate change remains a prodigious threat. The coupling of long-term biodiversity monitoring with concurrent sampling of relevant environmental drivers is critical for preventative and restorative management in ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanh H Nguyen
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Kristin Peters
- Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany.
| | - Jens Kiesel
- Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Germany.
| | - Ellen A R Welti
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
| | - Svenja M Gillmann
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
| | - Armin W Lorenz
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
| | - Sonja C Jähnig
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany; Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Peter Haase
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
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7
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Welti EAR, Bowler DE, Sinclair JS, Altermatt F, Álvarez-Cabria M, Amatulli G, Angeler DG, Archambaud G, Arrate Jorrín I, Aspin T, Azpiroz I, Baker NJ, Bañares I, Barquín Ortiz J, Bodin CL, Bonacina L, Bonada N, Bottarin R, Cañedo-Argüelles M, Csabai Z, Datry T, de Eyto E, Dohet A, Domisch S, Dörflinger G, Drohan E, Eikland KA, England J, Eriksen TE, Evtimova V, Feio MJ, Ferréol M, Floury M, Forcellini M, Forio MAE, Fornaroli R, Friberg N, Fruget JF, Garcia Marquez JR, Georgieva G, Goethals P, Graça MAS, House A, Huttunen KL, Jensen TC, Johnson RK, Jones JI, Kiesel J, Larrañaga A, Leitner P, L'Hoste L, Lizée MH, Lorenz AW, Maire A, Manzanos Arnaiz JA, Mckie B, Millán A, Muotka T, Murphy JF, Ozolins D, Paavola R, Paril P, Peñas Silva FJ, Polasek M, Rasmussen J, Rubio M, Sánchez Fernández D, Sandin L, Schäfer RB, Schmidt-Kloiber A, Scotti A, Shen LQ, Skuja A, Stoll S, Straka M, Stubbington R, Timm H, Tyufekchieva VG, Tziortzis I, Uzunov Y, van der Lee GH, Vannevel R, Varadinova E, Várbíró G, Velle G, Verdonschot PFM, Verdonschot RCM, Vidinova Y, Wiberg-Larsen P, Haase P. Time series of freshwater macroinvertebrate abundances and site characteristics of European streams and rivers. Sci Data 2024; 11:601. [PMID: 38849407 PMCID: PMC11161585 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03445-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Freshwater macroinvertebrates are a diverse group and play key ecological roles, including accelerating nutrient cycling, filtering water, controlling primary producers, and providing food for predators. Their differences in tolerances and short generation times manifest in rapid community responses to change. Macroinvertebrate community composition is an indicator of water quality. In Europe, efforts to improve water quality following environmental legislation, primarily starting in the 1980s, may have driven a recovery of macroinvertebrate communities. Towards understanding temporal and spatial variation of these organisms, we compiled the TREAM dataset (Time seRies of European freshwAter Macroinvertebrates), consisting of macroinvertebrate community time series from 1,816 river and stream sites (mean length of 19.2 years and 14.9 sampling years) of 22 European countries sampled between 1968 and 2020. In total, the data include >93 million sampled individuals of 2,648 taxa from 959 genera and 212 families. These data can be used to test questions ranging from identifying drivers of the population dynamics of specific taxa to assessing the success of legislative and management restoration efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen A R Welti
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, 63571, Germany.
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, 22630, USA.
| | - Diana E Bowler
- Department of Ecosystem Services, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, 07743, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, 04318, Germany
| | - James S Sinclair
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, 63571, Germany
| | - Florian Altermatt
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Mario Álvarez-Cabria
- IHCantabria - Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, 39011, Spain
| | - Giuseppe Amatulli
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - David G Angeler
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 75651, Sweden
- IMPACT, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
- Brain Capital Alliance, San Francisco, CA, USA
- School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Gaït Archambaud
- INRAE, Aix Marseille Univ, RECOVER, Aix-en-Provence, 13182, France
| | | | | | - Iker Azpiroz
- Ekolur Asesoría Ambiental SLL, Oiartzun, 20180, Spain
| | - Nathan Jay Baker
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology of Hydrobionts, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos Str. 2, Vilnius, 08412, Lithuania
| | - Iñaki Bañares
- Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Obras Hidráulicas, Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, Donostia-San Sebastián, 20004, Spain
| | - José Barquín Ortiz
- IHCantabria - Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, 39011, Spain
| | - Christian L Bodin
- LFI - The Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, 5838, Norway
| | - Luca Bonacina
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences - DISAT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Núria Bonada
- FEHM-Lab (Freshwater Ecology, Hydrology and Management), Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Facultat de Biologia, Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain
| | - Roberta Bottarin
- Eurac Research, Institute for Alpine Environment, Bolzano/Bozen, 39100, Italy
| | - Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles
- FEHM-Lab, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), CSIC, Carrer de Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Zoltán Csabai
- HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute, 3 Klebelsberg Kuno, H8237, Tihany, Hungary
- Department of Hydrobiology, University of Pécs, Pécs, 7624, Hungary
| | - Thibault Datry
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne, F-69625, France
| | - Elvira de Eyto
- Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services, Marine Institute, Newport, F28PF65, Ireland
| | - Alain Dohet
- Environmental Research and Innovation department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4362, Luxembourg
| | - Sami Domisch
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Gerald Dörflinger
- Water Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Nicosia, 1047, Cyprus
| | - Emma Drohan
- Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dundalk, A91 K584, Ireland
| | - Knut A Eikland
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Oslo/Lillehammer, Norway
| | | | - Tor E Eriksen
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA Denmark), 2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark
| | - Vesela Evtimova
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | - Maria J Feio
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ARNET, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | - Martial Ferréol
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne, F-69625, France
| | - Mathieu Floury
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
- University of Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Maxence Forcellini
- INRAE, UR RiverLy, Centre de Lyon-Villeurbanne, Villeurbanne, F-69625, France
| | - Marie Anne Eurie Forio
- Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Riccardo Fornaroli
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences - DISAT, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Nikolai Friberg
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA Denmark), 2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark
- University of Copenhagen, Freshwater Biological section, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
- University of Leeds, water@leeds, School of Geography, Leeds, UK
| | | | - Jaime R Garcia Marquez
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Galia Georgieva
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | - Peter Goethals
- Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
| | - Manuel A S Graça
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ARNET, Coimbra, 3000-456, Portugal
| | | | - Kaisa-Leena Huttunen
- Department of Ecology and Genetics, University of Oulu, Oulu, 90014, Finland
- Nature Solutions Unit, Finnish Environment Institute, Oulu, 90014, Finland
| | | | - Richard K Johnson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 75651, Sweden
| | - J Iwan Jones
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Jens Kiesel
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Department of Hydrology and Water Resources Management, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Institute for Natural Resource Conservation, Kiel, 24118, Germany
| | - Aitor Larrañaga
- Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, 48940, Spain
| | - Patrick Leitner
- Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lionel L'Hoste
- Environmental Research and Innovation department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4362, Luxembourg
| | | | - Armin W Lorenz
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, 45141, Germany
| | - Anthony Maire
- EDF Recherche et Développement, Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, Chatou, 78401, France
| | | | - Brendan Mckie
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, 75651, Sweden
| | - Andrés Millán
- Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, Murcia, 30100, Spain
| | - Timo Muotka
- Nature Solutions Unit, Finnish Environment Institute, Oulu, 90014, Finland
| | - John F Murphy
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK
| | - Davis Ozolins
- Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, LV-1004, Latvia
| | - Riku Paavola
- Oulanka Research Station, University of Oulu Infrastructure Platform, Kuusamo, 93900, Finland
- Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, Faculty of Technology, University of Oulu, 90014, Oulu, Finland
| | - Petr Paril
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 61137, Czech Republic
| | | | - Marek Polasek
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 61137, Czech Republic
| | - Jes Rasmussen
- Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA Denmark), 2300, Copenhagen S, Denmark
| | - Manu Rubio
- Ekolur Asesoría Ambiental SLL, Oiartzun, 20180, Spain
| | | | - Leonard Sandin
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Oslo/Lillehammer, Norway
| | - Ralf B Schäfer
- Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, 1180, Vienna, Austria
- Research Center One Health Ruhr, University Alliance Ruhr, Universitätsstrasse 2, 45141, Essen, Germany
| | - Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber
- Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, 1180, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alberto Scotti
- Eurac Research, Institute for Alpine Environment, Bolzano/Bozen, 39100, Italy
- APEM Ltd, Riverview, A17 - The Embankment Business Park - SK4 3GN, Heaton Mersey, Stockport, UK
| | - Longzhu Q Shen
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Institute for Green Science, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 15213, USA
| | - Agnija Skuja
- Institute of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, LV-1004, Latvia
| | - Stefan Stoll
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, 45141, Germany
- Department of Environmental Planning and Technology, University of Applied Sciences Trier, Birkenfeld, 55761, Germany
| | - Michal Straka
- Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, 61137, Czech Republic
- T.G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, p.r.i., Brno, 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Rachel Stubbington
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK
| | - Henn Timm
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Chair of Hydrobiology and Fishery, Centre for Limnology, Elva vald, 61117, Estonia
| | - Violeta G Tyufekchieva
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | - Iakovos Tziortzis
- Department Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Yordan Uzunov
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | - Gea H van der Lee
- Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, 6708, PB, Netherlands
| | - Rudy Vannevel
- Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, 9000, Belgium
- Flanders Environment Agency, Aalst, 9300, Belgium
| | - Emilia Varadinova
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
- South-West University "Neofit Rilski", Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Department of Geography, Ecology and Environment Protection, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
| | - Gábor Várbíró
- Department of Tisza River Research, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Debrecen, 4026, Hungary
| | - Gaute Velle
- LFI - The Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bergen, 5838, Norway
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, 5006, Norway
| | - Piet F M Verdonschot
- Estonian University of Life Sciences, Chair of Hydrobiology and Fishery, Centre for Limnology, Elva vald, 61117, Estonia
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098, XH, Netherlands
| | - Ralf C M Verdonschot
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG11 8NS, UK
| | - Yanka Vidinova
- Department of Aquatic Ecosystems, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 1000, Bulgaria
| | | | - Peter Haase
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, 63571, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, 45141, Germany
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8
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Sexton AN, Beisel JN, Staentzel C, Wolter C, Tales E, Belliard J, Buijse AD, Martínez Fernández V, Wantzen KM, Jähnig SC, Garcia de Leaniz C, Schmidt-Kloiber A, Haase P, Forio MAE, Archambaud G, Fruget JF, Dohet A, Evtimova V, Csabai Z, Floury M, Goethals P, Várbiró G, Cañedo-Argüelles M, Larrañaga A, Maire A, Schäfer RB, Sinclair JS, Vannevel R, Welti EAR, Jeliazkov A. Inland navigation and land use interact to impact European freshwater biodiversity. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:1098-1108. [PMID: 38773326 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02414-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024]
Abstract
Inland navigation in Europe is proposed to increase in the coming years, being promoted as a low-carbon form of transport. However, we currently lack knowledge on how this would impact biodiversity at large scales and interact with existing stressors. Here we addressed this knowledge gap by analysing fish and macroinvertebrate community time series across large European rivers comprising 19,592 observations from 4,049 sampling sites spanning the past 32 years. We found ship traffic to be associated with biodiversity declines, that is, loss of fish and macroinvertebrate taxonomic richness, diversity and trait richness. Ship traffic was also associated with increases in taxonomic evenness, which, in concert with richness decreases, was attributed to losses in rare taxa. Ship traffic was especially harmful for benthic taxa and those preferring slow flows. These effects often depended on local land use and riparian degradation. In fish, negative impacts of shipping were highest in urban and agricultural landscapes. Regarding navigation infrastructure, the negative impact of channelization on macroinvertebrates was evident only when riparian degradation was also high. Our results demonstrate the risk of increasing inland navigation on freshwater biodiversity. Integrative waterway management accounting for riparian habitats and landscape characteristics could help to mitigate these impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron N Sexton
- Fondation pour la Recherche sur la Biodiversité, Centre de Synthèse et d'Analyse sur la Biodiversité, Montpellier, France.
| | | | - Cybill Staentzel
- Université de Strasbourg, ENGEES, CNRS, LIVE UMR 7362, Strasbourg, France
| | - Christian Wolter
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Evelyne Tales
- University of Paris-Saclay, INRAE, HYCAR, Antony, France
| | | | - Anthonie D Buijse
- Department of Freshwater Ecology and Water Quality, Deltares, Delft, the Netherlands
- Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Vanesa Martínez Fernández
- Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, E.T.S. Ingeniería de Montes, Forestal y del Medio Natural, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Karl M Wantzen
- UNESCO Chair 'Fleuves et Patrimoine', CNRS UMRS CITERES, Tours University, Tours, France
- CNRS UMR LIVE, Strasbourg University, Strasbourg, France
| | - Sonja C Jähnig
- Department of Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carlos Garcia de Leaniz
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
- CIM Marine Reseach Center, University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain
| | - Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber
- Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, BOKU Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Peter Haase
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg, Essen, Germany
| | | | - Gait Archambaud
- INRAE, Aix Marseille University, RECOVER, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | | | - Alain Dohet
- Environmental Research and Innovation Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Belvaux, Luxembourg
| | - Vesela Evtimova
- Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Zoltán Csabai
- Department of Hydrobiology, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
- HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute, Tihany, Hungary
| | - Mathieu Floury
- University of Paris-Saclay, INRAE, HYCAR, Antony, France
| | - Peter Goethals
- Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Gábor Várbiró
- Department of Tisza Research, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Centre for Ecological Research, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles
- FEHM Lab, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research IDAEA, CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aitor Larrañaga
- Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Anthony Maire
- Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique et Environnement, EDF R&D, Chatou, France
| | - Ralf B Schäfer
- Faculty of Biology, University of Duisburg, Essen, Germany
- University Alliance Ruhr, Research Center One Health Ruhr, Essen, Germany
| | - James S Sinclair
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Rudy Vannevel
- Department of Animal Sciences and Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Environment Agency, VMM Flanders, Aalst, Belgium
| | - Ellen A R Welti
- Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA
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9
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van Klink R, Bowler DE, Gongalsky KB, Shen M, Swengel SR, Chase JM. Disproportionate declines of formerly abundant species underlie insect loss. Nature 2024; 628:359-364. [PMID: 38123681 PMCID: PMC11006610 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06861-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Studies have reported widespread declines in terrestrial insect abundances in recent years1-4, but trends in other biodiversity metrics are less clear-cut5-7. Here we examined long-term trends in 923 terrestrial insect assemblages monitored in 106 studies, and found concomitant declines in abundance and species richness. For studies that were resolved to species level (551 sites in 57 studies), we observed a decline in the number of initially abundant species through time, but not in the number of very rare species. At the population level, we found that species that were most abundant at the start of the time series showed the strongest average declines (corrected for regression-to-the-mean effects). Rarer species were, on average, also declining, but these were offset by increases of other species. Our results suggest that the observed decreases in total insect abundance2 can mostly be explained by widespread declines of formerly abundant species. This counters the common narrative that biodiversity loss is mostly characterized by declines of rare species8,9. Although our results suggest that fundamental changes are occurring in insect assemblages, it is important to recognize that they represent only trends from those locations for which sufficient long-term data are available. Nevertheless, given the importance of abundant species in ecosystems10, their general declines are likely to have broad repercussions for food webs and ecosystem functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roel van Klink
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Computer Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
| | - Diana E Bowler
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, UK
| | - Konstantin B Gongalsky
- A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Minghua Shen
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | | | - Jonathan M Chase
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Computer Science, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
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10
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Wu A, Xiong X, Zhou G, Barmon M, Li A, Tang X, Liu J, Zhang Q, Liu S, Chu G, Zhang D. Climate change-related biodiversity fluctuations and composition changes in an old-growth subtropical forest: A 26-yr study. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 914:169899. [PMID: 38184245 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.169899] [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: 10/11/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/08/2024]
Abstract
The detection and attribution of biodiversity change is of great scientific interest and central to policy effects aimed at meeting biodiversity targets. Yet, how such a diverse climate scenarios influence forest biodiversity and composition dynamics remains unclear, particularly in high diversity systems of subtropical forests. Here we used data collected from the permanent sample plot spanning 26 years in an old-growth subtropical forest. Combining various climatic events (extreme drought, subsequent drought, warming, and windstorm), we analyzed long-term dynamics in multiple metrics: richness, turnover, density, abundance, reordering and stability. We did not observe consistent and directional trends in species richness under various climatic scenarios. Still, drought and windstorm events either reduced species gains or increased species loss, ultimately increased species turnover. Tree density increased significantly over time as a result of rapid increase in smaller individuals due to mortality in larger trees. Climate events caused rapid changes in dominant populations due to a handful of species undergoing strong increases or declines in abundance over time simultaneously. Species abundance composition underwent significant changes, particularly in the presence of drought and windstorm events. High variance ratio and species synchrony weaken community stability under various climate stress. Our study demonstrates that all processes underlying forest community composition changes often occur simultaneously and are equally affected by climate events, necessitating a holistic approach to quantifying community changes. By recognizing the interconnected nature of these processes, future research should accelerate comprehensive understanding and predicting of how forest vegetation responds to global climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anchi Wu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Biologic Resources Protection and Utilization, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi 445000, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Xin Xiong
- Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang 332900, China; Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Guoyi Zhou
- Institute of Ecology, School of Applied Meteorology, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
| | - Milon Barmon
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution Graduate Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Andi Li
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Xuli Tang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Juxiu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Qianmei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Shizhong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Guowei Chu
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
| | - Deqiang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystem, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China
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11
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Qu Y, Keller V, Bachiller-Jareno N, Eastman M, Edwards F, Jürgens MD, Sumpter JP, Johnson AC. Significant improvement in freshwater invertebrate biodiversity in all types of English rivers over the past 30 years. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:167144. [PMID: 37730070 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167144] [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: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 09/14/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
There remains a persistent concern that freshwater biodiversity is in decline and being threatened by pollution. As the UK, and particularly England, is a densely populated nation with rivers of modest dilution capacity, this location is very suitable to examine how freshwater biodiversity has responded to human pressures over the past 30 years. A long-term dataset of 223,325 freshwater macroinvertebrate records from 1989 to 2018 for England was retrieved and examined. A sub-set of approximately 200 sites per English Region (1515 sites in total with 62,514 samples), with the longest and most consistent records were matched with predicted wastewater exposure, upstream land cover and terrain characteristics (latitude, altitude, slope gradient and flow discharge). To understand changes in macroinvertebrate diversity and sensitivity with respect to these parameters, the biotic indices of (i) overall family richness, (ii) Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera (EPT) family richness, and (iii) the Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) scores of NTAXA (number of scoring taxa) and (iv) ASPT (average score per taxon) were selected. A review of how close the BMWP scores come to those expected at minimally impacted reference sites was included. For all latitudes, altitudes, channel slope, river size, wastewater exposure levels, and differing proportions of upstream woodland, seminatural, arable and urban land cover, all diversity or sensitivity indices examined improved over this period, although this improvement has slowed in some cases post 2003. Mean overall family richness has increased from 15 to 25 family groups, a 66 % improvement. The improvement in mean EPT family richness (3 to 10 families, >300 % improvement), which are considered to be particularly sensitive to pollution, implies macroinvertebrate diversity has benefited from a national improvement in critical components of water quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueming Qu
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Virginie Keller
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Nuria Bachiller-Jareno
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK; University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2UP, UK
| | - Michael Eastman
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK; Met Office, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK
| | - Francois Edwards
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK; APEM Ltd, Chester CH4 0GZ, UK
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12
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Chen K, Midway SR, Peoples BK, Wang B, Olden JD. Shifting taxonomic and functional community composition of rivers under land use change. Ecology 2023; 104:e4155. [PMID: 37611172 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Land use intensification has led to conspicuous changes in plant and animal communities across the world. Shifts in trait-based functional composition have recently been hypothesized to manifest at lower levels of environmental change when compared to species-based taxonomic composition; however, little is known about the commonalities in these responses across taxonomic groups and geographic regions. We investigated this hypothesis by testing for taxonomic and geographic similarities in the composition of riverine fish and insect communities across gradients of land use in major hydrological regions of the conterminous United States. We analyzed an extensive data set representing 556 species and 33 functional trait modalities from 8023 fish communities and 1434 taxa and 50 trait modalities from 5197 aquatic insect communities. Our results demonstrate abrupt threshold changes in both taxonomic and functional community composition due to land use conversion. Functional composition consistently demonstrated lower land use threshold responses compared to taxonomic composition for both fish (urban p = 0.069; agriculture p = 0.029) and insect (urban p = 0.095; agriculture p = 0.043) communities according to gradient forest models. We found significantly lower thresholds for urban versus agricultural land use for fishes (taxonomic and functional p < 0.001) and insects (taxonomic p = 0.001; functional p = 0.033). We further revealed that threshold responses in functional composition were more geographically consistent than for taxonomic composition to both urban and agricultural land use change. Traits contributing the most to overall functional composition change differed along urban and agricultural land gradients and conformed to predicted ecological mechanisms underpinning community change. This study points to reliable early-warning thresholds that accurately forecast compositional shifts in riverine communities to land use conversion, and highlight the importance of considering trait-based indicators of community change to inform large-scale land use management strategies and policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, China
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Stephen R Midway
- Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Brandon K Peoples
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA
| | - Beixin Wang
- Department of Entomology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Julian D Olden
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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13
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Macko P, Derka T, Šamulková M, Novikmec M, Svitok M. Checklist, distribution, diversity, and rarity of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in Slovakia. Zookeys 2023; 1183:39-64. [PMID: 38314037 PMCID: PMC10836656 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1183.109819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the essential role of mayflies (Ephemeroptera) in freshwater ecosystems and their long-term use in research and routine biomonitoring in the Carpathian and Pannonian ecoregions, their distribution data are fragmentary and outdated. All published and unpublished data on mayflies from Slovakia was gathered and a database of > 15,000 species records from 2206 localities built with the aims (i) to critically revise available data and assess the completeness of the species inventory, (ii) to identify hotspots of species diversity, and (iii) to provide a benchmark for assessment of species rarity and conservation status in the region. After the critical revision of the data covering more than 100 years, the occurrence of 109 mayfly species in Slovakia was confirmed. The species inventory appears to be nearly complete, as evidenced by the rarefaction curve and a nonparametric species richness estimator. The highest mayfly gamma diversity was recorded below 500 m a.s.l. and in streams of the fifth order, which can be considered hotspots of mayfly diversity in the region. Six species were last recorded before 1990 and thus can be considered extinct in Slovakia. Twenty-nine species could be classified as very rare, with their occurrence frequency decreasing with increasing altitude and most of them being restricted to large lowland rivers and stagnant water habitats in their floodplains. In conclusion, our study provides comprehensive data on key freshwater bioindicators and suggests increasing conservation priorities, especially in lowland river floodplains occupied by several very rare mayfly species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrik Macko
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava 4, SlovakiaComenius University in BratislavaBratislavaSlovakia
| | - Tomáš Derka
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava 4, SlovakiaComenius University in BratislavaBratislavaSlovakia
| | - Michaela Šamulková
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava 4, SlovakiaComenius University in BratislavaBratislavaSlovakia
| | - Milan Novikmec
- Department of Biology and General Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, Ul. T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaTechnical University in ZvolenZvolenSlovakia
| | - Marek Svitok
- Department of Biology and General Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, Ul. T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaTechnical University in ZvolenZvolenSlovakia
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 30 05, České Budějovice, Czech RepublicUniversity of South BohemiaČeské BudějoviceCzech Republic
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14
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Vaughan IP. European river recovery might have run out of steam. Nature 2023; 620:493-494. [PMID: 37558784 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-02488-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
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15
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Hughes RM, Herlihy AT, Comeleo R, Peck DV, Mitchell RM, Paulsen SG. Patterns in and predictors of stream and river macroinvertebrate genera and fish species richness across the conterminous USA. KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS 2023; 424:1-16. [PMID: 37593206 PMCID: PMC10428169 DOI: 10.1051/kmae/2023014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Both native and non-native taxa richness patterns are useful for evaluating areas of greatest conservation concern. To determine those patterns, we analyzed fish and macroinvertebrate taxa richness data obtained at 3475 sites collected by the USEPA's National Rivers and Streams Assessment. We also determined which natural and anthropogenic variables best explained patterns in regional richness. Macroinvertebrate and fish richness increased with the number of sites sampled per region. Therefore, we determined residual taxa richness from the deviation of observed richness from predicted richness given the number of sites per region. Regional richness markedly exceeded average site richness for both macroinvertebrates and fish. Predictors of macroinvertebrate-genus and fish-species residual-regional richness differed. Air temperature was an important predictor in both cases but was positive for fish and negative for macroinvertebrates. Both natural and land use variables were significant predictors of regional richness. This study is the first to determine mean site and regional richness of both fish and aquatic macroinvertebrates across the conterminous USA, and the key anthropogenic drivers of regional richness. Thus, it offers important insights into regional USA biodiversity hotspots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M. Hughes
- Amnis Opes Institute, Corvallis, OR, USA
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Alan T. Herlihy
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Randy Comeleo
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - David V. Peck
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Richard M. Mitchell
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Northwest, MC 4502T, Washington, DC 20460, USA
| | - Steven G. Paulsen
- United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Center for Public Health and Environmental Assessment, Pacific Ecological Systems Division, Corvallis, OR, USA
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