Resilience and Adaptive Capacity of the Swan Coastal Plain Wetlands

Nanda, Amar V. V.; Beesley, Leah; Locatelli, Luca; Gersonius, Berry; Hipsey, Matthew R.; Ghadouani, Anas

doi:10.3389/frwa.2021.754564

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 90 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…However, owing to the large storage aquifers, groundwater discharge maintained groundwater‐dependent wetlands until the mid‐to‐late 1990s when many began to dry out (as a consequence of decreases in depth and hydroperiod) (Sim et al., 2013). Rainfall and groundwater decline were exacerbated by groundwater abstraction for urban water supply and increased urbanisation of the SCP (e.g., Groom et al., 2000; Nanda et al., 2021). The mean number of SCP wetlands decreased between 1999 and 2011, along with a reduction in mean number of seasonal wetlands from 2005 (Tulbure & Broich, 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Impacts in drying climates include increased evaporation (e.g., McFarlane et al., 2020), shorter hydroperiods (e.g., Sim et al., 2013) and increased air and water temperatures (Andrys et al., 2017; Barron et al., 2012). Urbanisation may alter vegetation around wetlands, increase number of invasive species and pollution (Lake et al., 2000), groundwater abstraction (Nanda et al., 2021) and land‐use change (Sala et al., 2000). Despite the tendency to examine these impacts in isolation, there is growing evidence that these drivers act upon ecosystems synergistically, contributing to declines in biodiversity (see Mantyka‐Pringle et al., 2014, and references within).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the tendency to examine these impacts in isolation, there is growing evidence that these drivers act upon ecosystems synergistically, contributing to declines in biodiversity (see Mantyka‐Pringle et al., 2014, and references within). For example, urbanisation tends to increase groundwater abstraction whereas climate change decreases rainfall, acting synergistically to decrease groundwater levels (Nanda et al., 2021), which in turn impact ecosystem structure and function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study we used baseline species distribution data from a study conducted in 1989–1990 (Davis et al., 1993) before climate drying had caused wetland hydrological regimes to become drier (Mcfarlane et al., 2020). Those data were collected as part of a larger study to provide a baseline for wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain in Southwestern Australia (SWA), an area now undergoing severe climatic drying (Barron et al., 2012; Mcfarlane et al., 2020), exacerbated by groundwater abstraction (Nanda et al., 2021). We re‐sampled the same set of wetlands, which included wetlands where the hydrological regime has not changed as well as wetlands where the hydrological regime was drier in 2018–2019 than in 1989–1990, enabling us to separate the effects of drying hydrological regimes from other sources of temporal change that affected all wetlands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long‐term differences in population structure, body size and distribution patterns of amphipods and isopods in wetlands with declining hydroperiods

Emery‐Butcher,

Beatty,

Robson

2024

Freshwater Biology

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In many regions, climatic drying is shortening hydroperiods and freshwater biodiversity is declining. Aquatic species that lack a desiccation‐resistant life stage are predicted to have the least ability to persist in drying climates, yet such species may occur in intermittent waterbodies. We examined the distribution of two crustacean species that lack desiccation‐resistant life stages: the isopod Paramphisopus palustris and amphipod Chiltoniidae sp.nov., before and after the commencement of severe climatic drying in Swan Coastal Plain wetlands, south‐western Australia. Historical distribution data for these species were obtained from studies of the same set of wetlands in 1989–1990. We determined whether population or body size differed between hydrological regimes (perennial, semi‐perennial, seasonal) between 1989–1990 and 2018–2019 for both species. Amphipods, isopods and environmental variables were sampled from 42 wetlands in 2018–2019. Thirty‐three wetlands (22 perennial, 11 seasonal) persisted with the same hydrological regime in both time periods and eight wetlands that were perennial in 1989–1990 had shifted to a drier hydrological regime (four became semi‐perennial, four became seasonal) by 2018–2019. Drying wetland hydrological regimes did not correspond to more limited spatial distributions for either species. Hydrological regime had no effect on amphipod counts, although abundances were lower in 2018–2019 than 1989–1990. In 2018–2019, male amphipods were larger than females in seasonal wetlands, but sexes were the same size in perennial wetlands and females were larger than males in semi‐perennial wetlands. Furthermore, amphipods of both sexes were considerably smaller in semi‐perennial than seasonal or perennial wetlands. Isopod distributions differed between the two sampling periods, with populations primarily lost from wetlands that remained perennial. This unexpected result was likely caused by prolonged periods of high summer–autumn water temperatures and stratification in shallow perennial wetlands that caused anoxia in bottom waters and made surface waters excessively hot for isopods. By contrast, drying seasonal wetlands seemingly offered suitable habitat in summer–autumn. Mean isopod head and body length did not differ between hydrological regimes or sexes, but became smaller between 1989–1990 and 2018–2019 (15 mm average body length in 1989 vs. 8.3 mm in 2018–2019; 17 mm maximum size in 1989–1990 vs. 13.2 mm in 2018–2019). The absence of population losses associated with drying hydrological regimes indicates that the current level of drying is within the tolerance range of both species. However, increased temperatures may be causing body size (and possibly fecundity) to decline for isopods. As global warming continues to shorten wetland hydroperiods in many regions, numerous species will struggle to complete their life cycles, leading to extirpation. Our findings suggest that climate change may also cause conditions in perennial wetlands to exceed the tolerances of species that lack desiccation resistance traits. This emphasises the need to better understand both environmental and habitat changes along the drying trajectory in wetlands and the fundamental life‐history and physiological traits that enable the survival of aquatic invertebrates that lack desiccation resistance. This includes not only species responses to drying, but also responses to other stressors (e.g., prolonged stratification) caused by global warming.

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