Spatial patterns of genetic diversity, community composition and occurrence of native and non-native amphipods in naturally replicated tributary streams

Gene flow in a pioneer plant metapopulation (Myricaria germanica) at the catchment scale in a fragmented alpine river system

River alterations for natural hazard mitigation and land reclamation result in habitat decline and fragmentation for riparian plant species. Extreme events such as floods are responsible for additional local species loss or population decline. Tributaries might provide refugia and subsequent source populations for the colonization of downstream sites in connected riverine networks with metapopulations of plant species. In this study, we analyzed the metapopulation structure of the endangered riparian shrub species Myricaria germanica along the river Isel, Austria, which is part of the Natura 2000 network, and its tributaries. The use of 22 microsatellite markers allowed us to assess the role of tributaries and single populations as well as gene flow up- and downstream. The analysis of 1307 individuals from 45 sites shows the influence of tributaries to the genetic diversity at Isel and no overall isolation by distance pattern. Ongoing bidirectional gene flow is revealed by the detection of first-generation migrants in populations of all tributaries as well as the river Isel, supporting upstream dispersal by wind (seeds) or animals (seeds and pollen). However, some populations display significant population declines and high inbreeding, and recent migration rates are non-significant or low. The genetic pattern at the mouth of river Schwarzach into Isel and shortly thereafter river Kalserbach supports the finding that geographically close populations remain connected and that tributaries can form important refugia for M. germanica in the dynamic riverine network. Conservation and mitigation measures should therefore focus on providing sufficient habitat along tributaries of various size allowing pioneer plants to cope with extreme events in the main channel, especially as they are expected to be more frequent under changing climate.

Small-scale phenotypic differentiation along complex stream gradients in a non-native amphipod

Background

Selective landscapes in rivers are made up by an array of selective forces that vary from source to downstream regions or between seasons, and local/temporal variation in fitness maxima can result in gradual spatio-temporal variation of phenotypic traits. This study aimed at establishing freshwater amphipods as future model organisms to study adaptive phenotypic diversification (evolutionary divergence and/or adaptive plasticity) along stream gradients.

Methods

We collected Gammarus roeselii from 16 sampling sites in the Rhine catchment during two consecutive seasons (summer and winter). Altogether, we dissected n = 1648 individuals and quantified key parameters related to morphological and life-history diversification, including naturally selected (e.g., gill surface areas) as well as primarily sexually selected traits (e.g., male antennae). Acknowledging the complexity of selective regimes in streams and the interrelated nature of selection factors, we assessed several abiotic (e.g., temperature, flow velocity) and biotic ecological parameters (e.g., conspecific densities, sex ratios) and condensed them into four principal components (PCs).

Results

Generalized least squares models revealed pronounced phenotypic differentiation in most of the traits investigated herein, and components of the stream gradient (PCs) explained parts of the observed differences. Depending on the trait under investigation, phenotypic differentiation could be ascribed to variation in abiotic conditions, anthropogenic disturbance (influx of thermally polluted water), or population parameters. For example, female fecundity showed altitudinal variation and decreased with increasing conspecific densities, while sexual dimorphism in the length of male antennae—used for mate finding and assessment—increased with increasing population densities and towards female-biased sex ratios.

Conclusions

We provide a comprehensive protocol for comparative analyses of intraspecific variation in life history traits in amphipods. Whether the observed phenotypic differentiation over small geographical distances reflects evolutionary divergence or plasticity (or both) remains to be investigated in future studies. Independent of the mechanisms involved, variation in several traits is likely to have consequences for ecosystem functions. For example, leaf-shredding in G. roeselii strongly depends on body size, which varied in dependence of several ecological parameters.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12983-019-0327-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Dispersal syndromes can impact ecosystem functioning in spatially structured freshwater populations

Dispersal can strongly influence ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Besides the direct contribution of dispersal to population dynamics, dispersers often differ in their phenotypic attributes from non-dispersers, which leads to dispersal syndromes. The consequences of such dispersal syndromes have been widely explored at the population and community level; however, to date, ecosystem-level effects remain unclear. Here, we examine whether dispersing and resident individuals of two different aquatic keystone invertebrate species have different contributions to detrital processing, a key function in freshwater ecosystems. Using experimental two-patch systems, we found no difference in leaf consumption rates with dispersal status of the common native species Gammarus fossarum. In Dikerogammarus villosus, however, a Ponto-Caspian species now expanding throughout Europe, dispersers consumed leaf litter at roughly three times the rate of non-dispersers. Furthermore, this put the contribution of dispersing D. villosus to leaf litter processing on par with native G. fossarum, after adjusting for differences in organismal size. Given that leaf litter decomposition is a key function in aquatic ecosystems, and the rapid species turnover in freshwater habitats with range expansions of non-native species, this finding suggests that dispersal syndromes may have important consequences for ecosystem functioning.

Do priority effects outweigh environmental filtering in a guild of dominant freshwater macroinvertebrates?

Abiotic conditions have long been considered essential in structuring freshwater macroinvertebrate communities. Ecological drift, dispersal and biotic interactions also structure communities, and although these mechanisms are more difficult to detect, they may be of equal importance in natural communities. Here, we hypothesized that in 10 naturally replicated headwater streams in eastern Switzerland, locally dominant amphipod species would be associated with differences in environmental conditions. We conducted repeated surveys of amphipods and used a hierarchical joint species distribution model to assess the influence of different drivers on species co-occurrences. The species had unique environmental requirements, but a distinct spatial structure in their distributions was unrelated to habitat. Species co-occurred much less frequently than predicted by the model, which was surprising because laboratory and field evidence suggests they are capable of coexisting in equal densities. We suggest that niche preemption may limit their distribution and that a blocking effect related to the specific linear configuration of streams determines which species colonizes and dominates a given stream catchment, thus suggesting a new solution a long-standing conundrum in freshwater ecology.

Antagonistic effects of biological invasion and environmental warming on detritus processing in freshwater ecosystems

Global biodiversity is threatened by multiple anthropogenic stressors but little is known about the combined effects of environmental warming and invasive species on ecosystem functioning. We quantified thermal preferences and then compared leaf-litter processing rates at eight different temperatures (5.0–22.5 °C) by the invasive freshwater crustacean Dikerogammarus villosus and the Great Britain native Gammarus pulex at a range of body sizes. D. villosus preferred warmer temperatures but there was considerable overlap in the range of temperatures that the two species occupied during preference trials. When matched for size, G. pulex had a greater leaf shredding efficiency than D. villosus, suggesting that invasion and subsequent displacement of the native amphipod will result in reduced ecosystem functioning. However, D. villosus is an inherently larger species and interspecific variation in shredding was reduced when animals of a representative size range were compared. D. villosus shredding rates increased at a faster rate than G. pulex with increasing temperature suggesting that climate change may offset some of the reduction in function. D. villosus, but not G. pulex, showed evidence of an ability to select those temperatures at which its shredding rate was maximised, and the activation energy for shredding in D. villosus was more similar to predictions from metabolic theory. While per capita and mass-corrected shredding rates were lower in the invasive D. villosus than the native G. pulex, our study provides novel insights in to how the interactive effects of metabolic function, body size, behavioural thermoregulation, and density produce antagonistic effects between anthropogenic stressors.