Effects of water temperature on freshwater macroinvertebrates: a systematic review

Abstract

Water temperature is one of the main abiotic factors affecting the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems and its alteration can have important effects on biological communities. Macroinvertebrates are excellent bio-indicators and have been used for decades to assess the status of aquatic ecosystems as a result of environmental stresses; however, their responses to temperature are poorly documented and have not been systematically evaluated. The aims of this review are: (i) to collate and summarize responses of freshwater macroinvertebrates to different temperature conditions, comparing the results of experimental and theoretical studies; (ii) to understand how the focus of research on the effects of temperature on macroinvertebrates has changed during the last 51 years; and (iii) to identify research gaps regarding temperature responses, ecosystem types, organism groups, spatiotemporal scales, and geographical regions to suggest possible research directions. We performed a comparative assessment of 223 publications that specifically consider freshwater macroinvertebrates and address the effects of temperature. Short-term studies performed in the laboratory and focusing on insects exposed to a range of temperatures dominated. Field studies were carried out mainly in Europe, at catchment scale and almost exclusively in rivers; they mainly investigated responses to water thermal regime at the community scale. The most frequent biological responses tested were growth rate, fecundity and the time and length of emergence, whereas ecological responses mainly involved composition, richness, and distribution. Thermal research on freshwater macroinvertebrates has undergone a shift since the 2000s when studies involving extended spatiotemporal scales and investigating the effects of global warming first appeared. In addition, recent studies have considered the effects of temperature at genetic and evolutionary scales. Our review revealed that the effects of temperature on macroinvertebrates are manifold with implications at different levels, from genes to communities. However, community-level physiological, phenological and fitness responses tested on individuals or populations should be studied in more detail given their macroecological effects are likely to be enhanced by climate warming. In addition, most field studies at regional scales have used air temperature as a proxy for water temperature; obtaining accurate water temperature data in future studies will be important to allow proper consideration of the spatial thermal heterogeneity of water bodies and any effects on macroinvertebrate distribution patterns. Finally, we found an uneven number of studies across different ecosystems and geographic areas, with lentic bodies and regions outside the West underrepresented. It will also be crucial to include macroinvertebrates of high-altitude and tropical areas in future work because these groups are most vulnerable to climate warming for multiple reasons. Further studies on temperature-macroinvertebrate relatio...

Plasticity of upper thermal limits of Australian Paratya spp. (Decapoda, Atyidae) and considerations of climate-change adaptation

“…Predicting the consequences of increasing mean and extreme stream water temperatures on the survival and distribution of stream invertebrates is key to understanding the impacts of climate change on stream biota and riverine ecosystems (Stewart et al 2013;Kim et al 2017;Bonacina et al 2023). The ability to acclimatise to changing thermal conditions is expected to be a primary factor that dictates the robustness of stream invertebrates to increasing stream temperatures (Palmer et al 2009;Rohr et al 2018).…”

“…One of the most critical factors affecting ULT is respiration/metabolic rate. Because metabolic rate increases as temperature rises, which raises biological oxygen demand and therefore requires greater oxygen concentrations to sustain normal bodily functions (Verberk and Calosi 2012;Verberk et al 2020;Bonacina et al 2023). We aerated the containers used in the ramping assay, which may have reduced low-oxygen stress in the experiment; however, this might not occur in the natural environment.…”

“…Climate change-associated stream warming disrupts biological communities and severs ecological linkages. Despite this, there are significant gaps in our knowledge of the environmental tolerances, including the ULT of this ecologically significant group (Bonacina et al 2023).…”

“…Geographical distribution shifts are a potential effect of mortality because of exceedance of thermal limits of stream invertebrates (Verdelhos et al 2015). In a review of the effects of climate change and water temperature on stream invertebrates, Bonacina et al (2023) recommended that community-level physiological responses of individuals or populations should be studied in more detail, given that their ecological effects are likely to be enhanced by climate warming. Understanding the upper lethal temperature (ULT), plasticity and response of stream invertebrate species and populations to possible future conditions helps forecast the ecological consequences of climate change (Dallas and Rivers-Moore 2018;Morley et al 2019;Hidalgo-Galiana et al 2021).…”

Repeated elevational clines of early life‐history traits and their proximate mechanisms in brown trout

“…Climate warming can affect various individual traits by accelerating physiological processes immediately and by indirectly influencing the strength and even nature of ecological interactions (Beacham & Murray, 1990; Bonacina et al, 2022; Lindmark et al, 2022; Rudolf & Roman, 2018), eventually altering whole populations (Ohlberger, 2013; Yang & Rudolf, 2010). In addition to such immediate effects, environmental conditions, including temperature, to which populations have been exposed over generations can also affect various individual traits through transgenerational plasticity in‐ and/or natural selection on‐the traits (Angilletta, 2009; Bell & Hellmann, 2019; Endler, 1986; Leicht & Seppälä, 2019), again eventually influencing whole populations (Donelan et al, 2020; Pelletier et al, 2009).…”