Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Souza, Natália F.
• Leal, Juliana S.
• Tourinho, Luara
• Farjalla, Vinicius F.
• Rocha, Diogo S.B.
• Vale, Mariana M.

Titel

Bioindicator aquatic insects at risk from climate change in a biodiversity hotspot

Ist Teil von

• The Science of the total environment, 2024-10, Vol.948, p.174824, Article 174824

Ort / Verlag

Netherlands: Elsevier B.V

Erscheinungsjahr

2024

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Climate change can affect biological assemblages by shifting their species' geographic range and changing species richness. Aquatic insects represent more than half of the freshwater animal species but have been neglected mainly in climate change assessments, particularly in tropical ecosystems. Among the aquatic insect taxa, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) are well-known bioindicators of environmental changes and encompass an essential metric for rivers and streams' biomonitoring. Here, we use ecological niche models to project the impact of climate change on the distribution range and richness of EPT in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. We found EPT to be at high risk from future climate change, with Plecoptera as the order of greatest concern. We projected range contraction of ca. 90 % of the analyzed EPT genera, resulting in a reduction in the richness of EPT genera under future climatic conditions. We projected >50 % contraction in the distribution of 50 % of Plecoptera, ≈14 % of Trichoptera, and ≈7 % of Ephemeroptera genera. The remaining climatically suitable regions in the Atlantic Forest are concentrated in the high-altitude areas, which may act as climate refuges for EPT biodiversity in the future. The projected changes in EPT's distribution range and richness may impact biomonitoring programs conducted in tropical ecosystems. Restricting EPT's geographic distribution may undermine its potential as a bioindicator and influence the composition of EPT assemblages at reference sites, which may lead to shifting baseline conditions. We reinforce the importance of considering future climatic conditions when planning long-term biomonitoring and priority areas for conservation. [Display omitted] •We modeled climate change's impact on Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) insects.•We predict a range contraction of ≈90 % of EPT genera, reducing richness.•Plecoptera was the order most at-risk by future climate change.•Climate change may hamper EPT's bioindicator role in aquatic ecosystems in the future.