The relationships between biotic uniqueness and abiotic uniqueness are context dependent across drainage basins worldwide

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Snare, Henna ; Garcia-Giron, Jorge ; Alahuhta, Janne ; Bini, Luis Mauricio ; Boda, Pal ; Bonada, Nuria ; Brasil, Leandro S. ; Callisto, Marcos ; Castro, Diego M. P. ; Chen, Kai ; Csabai, Zoltan ; Datry, Thibault ; Domisch, Sami ; Garcia-Marquez, Jaime R. ; Floury, Mathieu ; Friberg, Nikolai ; Gill, Brian A. ; Gonzalez-Trujillo, Juan David ; Gothe, Emma ; Haase, Peter ; Hamada, Neusa ; Hill, Matthew J. ; Hjort, Jan ; Juen, Leandro ; Jupke, Jonathan F. ; de Faria, Ana Paula Justino ; Li, Zhengfei ; Ligeiro, Raphael ; Linares, Marden S. ; Luiza-Andrade, Ana ; Macedo, Diego R. ; Mathers, Kate L. ; Mellado-Diaz, Andres ; Milosevic, Djuradj ; Moya, Nabor ; Poff, N. LeRoy ; Rolls, Robert J. ; Roque, Fabio O. ; Saito, Victor S. ; Sandin, Leonard ; Schaefer, Ralf B. ; Scotti, Alberto ; Siqueira, Tadeu ; Martins, Renato Tavares ; Valente-Neto, Francisco ; Wang, Beixin ; Wang, Jun ; Xie, Zhicai ; Heino, Jani

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY; v. 39, n. 4, p. 18-pg., 2024-04-05.

Abstract

Context Global change, including land-use change and habitat degradation, has led to a decline in biodiversity, more so in freshwater than in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the research on freshwaters lags behind terrestrial and marine studies, highlighting the need for innovative approaches to comprehend freshwater biodiversity.Objectives We investigated patterns in the relationships between biotic uniqueness and abiotic environmental uniqueness in drainage basins worldwide.Methods We compiled high-quality data on aquatic insects (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies at genus-level) from 42 drainage basins spanning four continents. Within each basin we calculated biotic uniqueness (local contribution to beta diversity, LCBD) of aquatic insect assemblages, and four types of abiotic uniqueness (local contribution to environmental heterogeneity, LCEH), categorized into upstream land cover, chemical soil properties, stream site landscape position, and climate. A mixed-effects meta-regression was performed across basins to examine variations in the strength of the LCBD-LCEH relationship in terms of latitude, human footprint, and major continental regions (the Americas versus Eurasia).Results On average, relationships between LCBD and LCEH were weak. However, the strength and direction of the relationship varied among the drainage basins. Latitude, human footprint index, or continental location did not explain significant variation in the strength of the LCBD-LCEH relationship.Conclusions We detected strong context dependence in the LCBD-LCEH relationship across the drainage basins. Varying environmental conditions and gradient lengths across drainage basins, land-use change, historical contingencies, and stochastic factors may explain these findings. This context dependence underscores the need for basin-specific management practices to protect the biodiversity of riverine systems. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50424-1 - Scaling biodiversity in tropical and boreal streams: implications for diversity mapping and environmental assessment (ScaleBio)
• Grantee: Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/00619-7 - Metacommunity reorganization and resistence against unpredicable environmental variation
• Grantee: Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/13299-0 - Effects of warming and nutrient enrichment on the structure and size spectra of aquatic communities
• Grantee: Francisco Valente Neto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral