Emergence patterns in tropical insects: the role of water discharge frequency in an Andean Stream

Castro-Rebolledo, María Isabel; Donato‐Rondón, Jhon Ch.

doi:10.1051/limn/2015011

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Unlike the large fluctuations in emergence patterns observed in other studies (Masteller, 1993;Pescador, Masteller & Buzby, 1993;Castro-Rebolledo & Donato-Rondon, 2015;Yuen & Dudgeon, 2016), which provide support for seasonality of many tropical aquatic insects, the lack of abrupt peaks in mayfly emergence found in our study suggests that mayfly emergence was aseasonal. Fish predation on newly emerged adults may be a possible explanation for the constant biomass of emerging mayflies in our study.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

“…Insect emergence can be used as a reliable indicator of population success as it reflects the influence of multiple environmental stressors that populations face during their larval development. Temporal patterns of insect emergence are often synchronized and occur during a limited period of time ( Castro-Rebolledo & Donato-Rondon, 2015 ). However, hydrology may strongly affect seasonality, magnitude and timing of emergence ( Whiles & Goldowitz, 2001 ; Lytle, 2002 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream

Gutiérrez‐Fonseca

Ramírez

2020

PeerJ

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Background Hydrological impacts on aquatic biota have been assessed in numerous empirical studies. Aquatic insects are severely affected by population declines and consequent diversity loss. However, many uncertainties remain regarding the effects of hydrology on insect production and the consequences of energy transfer to the terrestrial ecosystem. Likewise, sublethal effects on insect morphology remain poorly quantified in highly variable environments. Here, we characterized monthly fluctuation in benthic and emerged biomass of Ephemeroptera in a tropical lowland stream. We quantified the proportion of mayfly production that emerges into the riparian forest. We also examined the potential morphological changes in Farrodes caribbianus (the most abundant mayfly in our samples) due to environmental stress. Methods We collected mayflies (nymphs and adults) in a first-order stream in Costa Rica. We compared benthic and adult biomass from two years’ worth of samples, collected with a core sampler (0.006 m2) and a 2 m2-emergence trap. The relationship between emergence and annual secondary production (E/P) was used to estimate the Ephemeroptera production that emerged as adults. A model selection approach was used to determine the relationship between environmental variables that were collected monthly and the emergent biomass. To determine potential departures from perfect bilateral symmetry, we evaluated the symmetry of two morphological traits (forceps and forewing) of F. caribbianus adults. We used Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (ρ) to examine potential changes in adult body length as a possible response to environmental stress. Results Benthic biomass was variable, with peaks throughout the study period. However, peaks in benthic biomass did not lead to increases in mayfly emergence, which remained stable over time. Relatively constant mayfly emergence suggests that they were aseasonal in tropical lowland streams. Our E/P estimate indicated that approximately 39% and 20% (for 2002 and 2003, respectively) of the nymph production emerged as adults. Our estimated proportion of mayfly production transferred to terrestrial ecosystems was high relative to reports from temperate regions. We observed a strong negative response of F. caribbianus body length to increased hydrology (Spearman: ρ = −0.51, p < 0.001), while slight departures from perfect symmetry were observed in all traits. Conclusion Our two years study demonstrates that there was large temporal variability in mayfly biomass that was unrelated to hydrological fluctuations, but potentially related to trophic interactions (e.g., fish predation). Body length was a good indicator of environmental stress, which could have severe associated costs for mayfly fitness in ecosystems with high temporal variation. Our results highlight the complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics of tropical aquatic insects, and the intricate connection between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream

Gutiérrez‐Fonseca

Ramírez

2020

PeerJ

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“…Unlike the large fluctuations in emergence patterns observed in other studies (Masteller, 1993;Pescador, Masteller & Buzby, 1993;Castro-Rebolledo & Donato-Rondon, 2015;Yuen & Dudgeon, 2016), providing support for seasonality in many tropical aquatic insects, the lack of abrupt peaks in mayfly emergence found in our study suggests that mayfly emergence is aseasonal. Fish predation on newly emerged adults may be a possible explanation for the constant biomass of emerging mayflies in our study.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 66%

“…Manuscript to be reviewed limited period of time (e.g., Castro-Rebolledo & Donato-Rondon, 2015). However, hydrology may strongly affect seasonality, magnitude, and timing of emergence (Whiles & Goldowitz, 2001; Lytle, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #3 of "Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream (v0.1)"

2020

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Background. Hydrological impacts on aquatic biota have been assessed in numerous empirical studies. Aquatic insects are severely affected by population declines and consequent diversity loss. However, many uncertainties remain regarding the effects of hydrology on insect production and the consequences of energy transfer to the terrestrial ecosystem. Likewise, sublethal effects on insect morphology remain poorly quantified in highly variable environments. Here, we characterized monthly fluctuation in benthic and emerged biomass of Ephemeroptera in a tropical lowland stream. We quantified the proportion of mayfly production that emerges into the riparian forest. We also examined the potential morphological changes in Farrodes caribbianus (the most abundant mayfly in our samples) due to environmental stress. Methods. We collected mayflies (nymphs and adults) in a first-order stream in Costa Rica. We compared benthic and adult biomass from two years' worth of samples, collected with a core sampler (0.006m 2) and a 2m 2-emergence trap. The relationship between emergence and annual secondary production (E/P) was used to estimate the Ephemeroptera production that emerged as adults. A model selection approach was used to determine the relationship between environmental variables that were collected monthly and the emergent biomass. To determine potential departures from perfect bilateral symmetry, we evaluated the symmetry of two morphological traits (forceps and forewing) of F. caribbianus adults. We used Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (ρ) to examine potential changes in adult body length as a possible response to environmental stress. Results. Benthic biomass was variable, with peaks throughout the study period. However, peaks in benthic biomass did not lead to increases in mayfly emergence, which remained stable over time. Relatively constant mayfly emergence suggests that they are aseasonal in tropical lowland streams. Our E/P estimate indicated that approximately 39% and 20% (for 2002 and 2003, respectively) of the nymph production emerged as adults. Our estimated proportion of mayfly production transferred to terrestrial ecosystems is high relative to reports from temperate regions. We observed a strong negative response of F. caribbianus body length to increased hydrology (Spearman: ρ=-0.51, p< 0.001), while slight departures from perfect symmetry were observed in all traits. Conclusion. Our 2yr study demonstrates that there was large temporal variability in mayfly biomass that was unrelated to hydrological fluctuations, but potentially related to trophic interactions (e.g., fish predation). Body length was a good indicator of environmental stress, which could have severe associated costs for mayfly fitness in ecosystems with high temporal variation. Our results highlight the complex ecological and evolutionary dynamics of tropical aquatic insects, and the intricate connection between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

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“…For macroinvertebrates, low flow events can cue emergence to terrestrial stages by indicating declining optimal habitat for aquatic larvae (Giberson and Garnett 1996, Harper and Peckarsky 2006, Castro‐Rebolledo and Donato‐Rondon 2015) or increasing availability of suitable sites for oviposition (Peckarsky et al 2000). Alterations to the natural flow regime from anthropogenic modifications can decrease habitat availability for fishes that require specific substrates for spawning or juvenile rearing (Peterson and VanderKooy 1995, Meneks et al 2003), and create ecological traps for aquatic larvae of rheophilic macroinvertebrate species when adults oviposit near modified habitats (Hardersen 2008).…”

Section: Summary Of Contemporary Phenology Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenology in freshwaters: a review and recommendations for future research

2021

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Phenology changes are increasingly recognized as a common response of species to ongoing global change. Phenology can be influenced by environmental cues that impact the initiation or duration of life history events as well as intrinsic organismal traits that may affect how different species respond to such environmental cues. Despite the importance of phenology for biodiversity conservation as demonstrated by terrestrial and marine research, freshwater phenology is understudied. Therefore, we conducted a literature review on freshwater phenology research to summarize the spatial, taxonomic and temporal biases of studies; as well as relationships between phenology metrics, environmental cues and intrinsic species traits studied in these systems. We find that phenology research in freshwaters may be limited by a lack of long‐term time‐series data, especially in lotic habitats. Phenology metrics studied differed between lotic and lentic habitats, with limnological research focused on planktonic population growth whereas macroinvertebrate emergence and fish spawning seasons are the most frequently studied aspects of phenology in streams and rivers. Across habitats, temperature is the most investigated environmental cue, with additional research attention to resources and hydrology in influencing phenology events in lentic and lotic environments, respectively. Knowledge gaps in contemporary freshwater phenology research include relationships between phenology and environmental cues in tropical systems, understanding of non‐salmonid fish phenology and testing hypotheses related to intrinsic traits. We recommend that future research broaden the biological, spatial and temporal scales of phenology studies in these systems, and make use of novel data sources, methods and technologies to address contemporary research gaps.

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Emergence patterns in tropical insects: the role of water discharge frequency in an Andean Stream

Cited by 8 publications

References 18 publications

Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream

Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream

Peer Review #3 of "Mayfly emergence production and body length response to hydrology in a tropical lowland stream (v0.1)"

Phenology in freshwaters: a review and recommendations for future research

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