Responses of Low Arctic Stream Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities to Environmental Drivers at Nested Spatial Scales

Lento, Jennifer; Monk, Wendy; Culp, Joseph M.; Curry, R. Allen; Côté, David; Luiker, Eric

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.538

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Taxonomic community structure was summarized by 35 biological metrics that included measures of richness, diversity, and composition at multiple taxonomic levels (e.g., order, family, and chironomid subfamily; metrics were not calculated at the level of genus because many individuals were too small to identify past the level of family or subfamily) to test the prediction that permafrost thaw slump activity would cause declines in abundance and diversity of stream invertebrates. The full suite included metrics that have been shown to respond to perturbation in North American streams (Barbour et al ., ) and to distinguish among eastern Canadian low Arctic streams (Lento et al ., ). These biological metrics were thus expected to differentiate among and reflect perturbation in western Canadian Arctic streams.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permafrost thaw and intense thermokarst activity decreases abundance of stream benthic macroinvertebrates

Chin

Lento

Culp

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intensification of permafrost thaw has increased the frequency and magnitude of large permafrost slope disturbances (mega slumps) in glaciated terrain of northwestern Canada. Individual thermokarst disturbances up to 40 ha in area have made large volumes of previously frozen sediments available for leaching and transport to adjacent streams, significantly increasing sediment and solute loads in these systems. To test the effects of this climate-sensitive disturbance regime on the ecology of Arctic streams, we explored the relationship between physical and chemical variables and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in disturbed and undisturbed stream reaches in the Peel Plateau, Northwest Territories, Canada. Highly disturbed and undisturbed stream reaches differed with respect to taxonomic composition and invertebrate abundance. Minimally disturbed reaches were not differentiated by these variables but rather were distributed along a disturbance gradient between highly disturbed and undisturbed sites. In particular, there was evidence of a strong negative relationship between macroinvertebrate abundance and total suspended solids, and a positive relationship between abundance and the distance from the disturbance. Increases in both sediments and nutrients appear to be the proximate cause of community differences in highly disturbed streams. Declines in macroinvertebrate abundance in response to slump activity have implications for the food webs of these systems, potentially leading to negative impacts on higher trophic levels, such as fish. Furthermore, the disturbance impacts on stream health can be expected to intensify as climate change increases the frequency and magnitude of thermokarst.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Permafrost thaw and intense thermokarst activity decreases abundance of stream benthic macroinvertebrates

Chin

Lento

Culp

et al. 2016

Global Change Biology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Arctic rivers are generally nutrient poor (oligotrophic), with autochthonous primary production being limited both by low P and N concentrations [ Milner et al ., , ; Lento et al ., ] and by light availability [ Vallières et al ., ]. Future nutrient concentrations in Arctic freshwater ecosystems are predicted to increase as a result of climate warming and the resultant increased nutrient loading from thawing permafrost [ Rouse et al ., ; Bowden et al ., ; Kokelj et al ., ], particularly if this is not accompanied by sedimentation [ Bowden et al ., ].…”

Section: Alterations In Arctic Hydrology: Implications For Terrestriamentioning

confidence: 97%

Transitions in Arctic ecosystems: Ecological implications of a changing hydrological regime

et al. 2016

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Numerous international scientific assessments and related articles have, during the last decade, described the observed and potential impacts of climate change as well as other related environmental stressors on Arctic ecosystems. There is increasing recognition that observed and projected changes in freshwater sources, fluxes, and storage will have profound implications for the physical, biogeochemical, biological, and ecological processes and properties of Arctic terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. However, a significant level of uncertainty remains in relation to forecasting the impacts of an intensified hydrological regime and related cryospheric change on ecosystem structure and function. As the terrestrial and freshwater ecology component of the Arctic Freshwater Synthesis, we review these uncertainties and recommend enhanced coordinated circumpolar research and monitoring efforts to improve quantification and prediction of how an altered hydrological regime influences local, regional, and circumpolar-level responses in terrestrial and freshwater systems. Specifically, we evaluate (i) changes in ecosystem productivity; (ii) alterations in ecosystem-level biogeochemical cycling and chemical transport; (iii) altered landscapes, successional trajectories, and creation of new habitats; (iv) altered seasonality and phenological mismatches; and (v) gains or losses of species and associated trophic interactions. We emphasize the need for developing a process-based understanding of interecosystem interactions, along with improved predictive models. We recommend enhanced use of the catchment scale as an integrated unit of study, thereby more explicitly considering the physical, chemical, and ecological processes and fluxes across a full freshwater continuum in a geographic region and spatial range of hydroecological units (e.g., stream-pond-lake-river-near shore marine environments).

show abstract

“…In our study, secondary drivers of assemblage structure were related to intermediate-and smallscale variables, including bedrock composition and in-stream differences in substrate composition and water chemistry. Drivers related to substrate structure and stability are important determinants of assemblage structure in glacial streams (Castella et al 2001) and also play an important role in structuring assemblage composition in non-glacial streams in the low Arctic (Lento et al 2013).…”

Section: Drivers Of Biotic Change Along the Latitudinal Gradientmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic biodiversity of stream macroinvertebrates declines in response to latitudinal change in the abiotic template

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We aimed to determine which processes drive patterns of a and b diversity in Arctic river benthic macrofauna across a broad latitudinal gradient spanning the low to high Arctic of eastern Canada (58 to 81 o N). Further, we examined whether latitudinal differences in taxonomic composition resulted from species replacement with organisms better adapted to northerly conditions or from the loss of taxa unable to tolerate the harsh environments of higher latitudes. We used the bioclimatic envelope concept to provide a first approximation forecast of how climate warming may modify a and b diversity of Arctic rivers and to identify potential changes in environmental variables that will drive future assemblage structure. Benthic macroinvertebrates, environmental supporting variables, and geospatial catchment data were collected to assess drivers of ecological pattern. We compared a diversity (i.e., taxonomic richness) across latitudes and partitioned b diversity into components of nestedness and species turnover to assess their relative contributions to compositional differences. We found sharp declines in taxonomic richness along a latitudinal gradient. This a diversity pattern was not associated with a change in numerical abundance. b diversity was highest when the most distant latitudes were compared, and pairwise latitudinal comparisons indicated that nestedness (loss of species) was the dominant contributor to compositional differences. Biotic-abiotic associations reflected both large-scale climatic drivers, including air temperature and prevalence of vegetated tundra, and small-scale secondary abiotic drivers of assemblage composition (e.g., substrate composition, water chemistry). The importance of nestedness to b diversity across latitudes supports the physiological tolerance hypothesis that a change in environmental tolerance is a key driver of species richness declines with increasing latitude. Distinct taxonomic assemblages among low and high Arctic latitude sites were associated with large-scale, climate-related drivers (e.g., temperature trends, terrestrial vegetation), reflecting the primary structuring of assemblages by bioclimatic envelopes. The abiotic environment was the strongest driver of assemblage structure at high latitudes because of the extreme conditions. With continued warming, biodiversity differences along latitudinal gradients are expected to become less pronounced as temperatures and vegetation become more similar from south to north, with local-scale variables becoming dominant biotic drivers.

show abstract

Responses of Low Arctic Stream Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities to Environmental Drivers at Nested Spatial Scales

Cited by 10 publications

References 45 publications

Permafrost thaw and intense thermokarst activity decreases abundance of stream benthic macroinvertebrates

Permafrost thaw and intense thermokarst activity decreases abundance of stream benthic macroinvertebrates

Transitions in Arctic ecosystems: Ecological implications of a changing hydrological regime

Arctic biodiversity of stream macroinvertebrates declines in response to latitudinal change in the abiotic template

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About