Ecological but Not Biological Traits of European Riverine Invertebrates Respond Consistently to Anthropogenic Impacts
ABSTRACT Aim To determine which riverine invertebrate traits respond consistently to anthropogenic impacts across multiple biogeographic regions. Location Europe. Time Period 1981–2021. Major Taxa Studied Riverine invertebrates. Methods We compiled a database of riverine invertebrate community time series for 673 sites across six European countries spanning six freshwater ecoregions. We compared trait responses to anthropogenic impacts (quantified as changes in ‘ecological quality’) among regions for seven ‘ecological’ traits, which reflect habitat preferences, and nine ‘biological’ traits (e.g., morphology or life history), which represent taxon‐specific attributes that can influence ecosystem processes. Results Four ecological traits (current, microhabitat, salinity and trophic preferences) and one biological trait (dispersal mode) responded consistently across regions. These responses were primarily driven by spatial differences among poorer to better quality sites. Responses to temporal changes in quality were comparable but less pronounced. Main Conclusions Consistent responses to anthropogenic impacts across multiple ecological traits indicate these traits may improve broader scale measurements, comparisons and predictions of community responses. However, we could not use ecological traits to identify the actions of specific stressors because multiple traits always responded as a group. Inconsistent responses across almost all biological traits indicated that these traits may be less predictive of impacts across regions. Predictions of how biological traits, and associated ecosystem processes, respond to anthropogenic impacts may be most effective at regional scales where responses are more consistent.
Authors
- R.C.M. Verdonschot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0977-5975)
- James S. Sinclair (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-7342)
- Peter Haase (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9340-0438)
- Michal Straka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9949-9555)
- J. Iwan Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7238-2509)
- Libuše Barešová (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2646-8579)
- John F. Murphy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2102-7686)
- Ellen A. R. Welti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6944-3422)
- Gábor Várbíró (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5907-3472)
- Zoltán Csabai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1700-2574)
- Aitor Larrañaga (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0185-9154)
- Marek Polášek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3213-7135)
- Petr Pařil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7471-997X)
- Núria Bonada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2983-3335)
- Ralf Bernhard Schäfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3510-1701)
- Rachel Stubbington (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8475-5109)
- Jes Jessen Rasmussen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5932-3125)
Institutions
- Queen Mary University of London (GB)
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CZ)
- Masaryk University (CZ)
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (US)
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M (DE)
- Danish National Institute of Public Health (DK)
- National Zoological Park (US)
- HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute (HU)
- HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research (HU)
- T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute (CZ)
- Conservation Biology Institute
- Nottingham Trent University (GB)
- University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
- Universitat de Barcelona (ES)
- University of Pecs (HU)
- Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Global Ecology and Biogeography
- Published
- 2024-10-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13931
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and ecology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.38
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Technology Agency of the Czech Republic
- Sight Research UK
- Grantová Agentura České Republiky
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Natural Environment Research Council