Late Quaternary chironomid community structure shaped by rate and magnitude of climate change

Mayfield, Roseanna J.; Langdon, Peter G.; Doncaster, C. Patrick; Dearing, John A.; Wang, Rong; Velle, Gaute; Davies, Kimberley; Brooks, Steve

doi:10.1002/jqs.3301

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 116 publications

(180 reference statements)

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“…Overall, we observed little temporal changes in functional diversity of chironomid communities (see temporal patterns of F2 in Fig. 5), which suggests a large degree of functional redundancy (Mayfield et al, 2021). The first FA-axis mainly represented temporal changes in larval size, whereas the second FA-axis mainly represented their feeding habits (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Unravelling chironomid biodiversity response to climate change in subarctic lakes across temporal and spatial scales

et al. 2022

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We combined paleolimnological reconstructions and space-for-time substitutions to unravel chironomid biodiversity responses to climate change in subarctic mountains across temporal and spatial scales. Using sediment records, we found that long-term temporal changes in chironomid taxonomic diversity were mainly induced by the temperature tolerance/optimum of species, while little changes in functional diversity were found due to the replacement of similar functional-type taxa within the community. Overall, paleolimnological reconstructions suggested the selection of larger chironomid species by long-term climate cooling and little changes in trophic guilds. Space-for-time substitutions showed, however that low-elevation lakes with forested have more sediment-feeding taxa and larger larvae than high-elevation lakes, thus, suggesting the selection of large chironomid morphotypes with a sediment-feeding mode under warmer climate. Space-for-time substitutions and paleolimnological reconstructions, therefore, gave contrasting results for the link between climate and functional diversity of chironomid communities, likely because space-for-time substitutions failed to match the extent of both spatial and temporal climatic gradients. We suggest that future studies must address biodiversity issues across both temporal and spatial scales as an improved understanding of biodiversity responses to climate change may help us to understand how biodiversity will be affected by ongoing and future change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Unravelling chironomid biodiversity response to climate change in subarctic lakes across temporal and spatial scales

et al. 2022

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“…As the climate continues to warm (Smith et al 2015) with associated increases in eutrophication (Douglas and Smol 1999; Antoniades et al 2011; Hessen et al 2017), the amount of stress high latitude lakes are exposed to is likely to increase. It is thought that high rates and magnitudes of climate change are required to alter aquatic community structures (Mayfield et al 2021). Thus the lack of structural change in the chironomid communities presented here suggests that the current level of climate and environmental change experienced by the lakes has not reached a high enough rate or magnitude to drive structural change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of chironomid community structure during historic climatic and environmental change in subarctic Alaska

Mayfield

Dearing

Doncaster

et al. 2022

Limnology & Oceanography

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By understanding lake ecosystem resilience in the face of increasing environmental and anthropogenic stress, we can hope to anticipate future ecosystem instability. We assess recent historic ecosystem resilience using composition and network analyses of empirical zoobenthos chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae; nonbiting midges) reconstructions from three Subarctic Alaskan lakes, spanning the last c. 200 yr. We measured community richness, turnover and structure using taxon richness, beta diversity, and network skewness, respectively. Simulated taxonomic networks were created to establish the sensitivity of these metrics to changes in taxon connectivity, and to inform the interpretation of empirical chironomid records. The models indicated that beta diversity was more sensitive to taxon loss, while skewness was more sensitive to taxon gain. Both beta diversity and skewness were required to understand structural change under taxon replacement. The simulated arrival of strongly connected taxa caused a greater decrease in skewness than the arrival of weakly connected taxa. The empirical data sets indicated a rise in taxon richness (measured as rarefaction) and beta diversity in the recent samples. Changes in chironomid composition were associated with climate warming (replacement of cold taxa with temperate taxa) and increased lake biological productivity (the arrival of macrophyte‐associated taxa). Skewness was predominantly negative across the lakes, indicating high taxon connectivity and structural stress. However, little directional change in the skewness trends suggests some resilience within the chironomid community structures in relation to the current levels of climate and environmental stress. Continued climatic warming, and associated rises in nutrient levels, may cause further structural stress and ecological degradation.

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“…It is important here to consider why an increases in beta diversity is detected in all four lakes while only three of them show a regime shift. In general, only large changes in dominant species tend to induce regime shifts, but increased beta diversity can reflect changes in dominant or rare species, producing a faster replacement of communities and a much more unstable community (Mayfield et al 2021). As such, a data set that shows increased beta diversity over recent years/decades may be a critical tool for lake management as the early increase in beta diversity could provide sufficient time to take appropriate actions ahead of an oncoming regime shift.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, in Tiancai Lake, changes in species composition are limited to rare taxa only, and as such a critical point has not been reached yet and the community remains in the same (current) regime with little structural change (McCann 2000; Mayfield et al 2020). Actually, the current climate change is occurring at an unprecedented rate that will continue over the coming decades (Smith et al 2015; Mayfield et al 2021). Limited by their low abundance, rare species will be firstly eliminated from such continuous climate change, leading to a loss of weak structural interactions within the communities (Burlakova et al 2011; Wang et al 2019; Mayfield et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Actually, the current climate change is occurring at an unprecedented rate that will continue over the coming decades (Smith et al 2015; Mayfield et al 2021). Limited by their low abundance, rare species will be firstly eliminated from such continuous climate change, leading to a loss of weak structural interactions within the communities (Burlakova et al 2011; Wang et al 2019; Mayfield et al 2021). As rare species are a critical component in defining the uniqueness of unionid communities, their continuous loss may eventually affect the capacity of communities to absorb climate impacts (Berlow 1999; Grimm et al 2013; Mayfield et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Human impacts alter driver–response relationships in lakes of Southwest China

Zheng

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2021

Limnology & Oceanography

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Biodiversity and ecological stability are closely linked, and over recent timescales, anthropogenic impacts have accelerated losses in both from local to global scales. We attempt to show the combined response of diversity and stability of an aquatic community to changes in human activity as a driver. To address this, we measured the diversity and variability of chironomids and their drivers and nature of response to external conditions over the last century, based on 4 lake sediment sequences from Southwest China, one of world's 36 biodiversity hotspots. Our results showed that the driver–response relationship was linear in a lake without direct human impacts but nonlinear in human directly impacted lakes. Recent decreases in alpha diversity and increases in beta diversity were commonly recorded in all four lakes, suggesting that both species loss and a faster replacement of chironomid taxa are a regional phenomenon. However, in the same context of human‐induced global warming, increased variability and regime shifts only occurred in lowland lakes, directly disturbed by humans, highlighting that direct human impacts have overcome natural forcing as the determinant driver shaping the chironomid composition in these sites. In addition, we found that increases in beta diversity occurred prior to a regime shift and its character depends on how the community responds to the key external pressure. Our findings reveal that direct human disturbances have largely reshaped the chironomid composition and induced an earlier regime shift at the cost of species loss, resilience loss, and a change in driver–response type.

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Late Quaternary chironomid community structure shaped by rate and magnitude of climate change

Cited by 9 publications

References 116 publications

Unravelling chironomid biodiversity response to climate change in subarctic lakes across temporal and spatial scales

Unravelling chironomid biodiversity response to climate change in subarctic lakes across temporal and spatial scales

Stability of chironomid community structure during historic climatic and environmental change in subarctic Alaska

Human impacts alter driver–response relationships in lakes of Southwest China

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