Global meta‐analysis reveals that invertebrate diversity is higher in permanent than in temporary lentic water bodies

Abstract

One of the main constraints affecting invertebrate diversity in many freshwater lentic habitats is the presence of a dry phase which forces aquatic organisms to avoid this period through the migration to other water bodies or the production of resting stages. Field studies show contradictory results when comparing invertebrate diversity in permanent (PW) and temporary lentic waters (TW). Our objective was to test how diversity is influenced by the permanence of water in lentic habitats, and which factors affect the magnitude and direction of this difference, including sampling design. Through a systematic review, 66 publications were selected and classified according to the sampling design (spatial, temporal, and spatio‐temporal datasets). Meta‐analysis of the spatial dataset, which included 70% of the studies, revealed that diversity in PW was higher than in TW, and this difference was not influenced by annual precipitation, dispersal mode, habitat type or level of anthropogenic impact (proximity to urban or agricultural areas). We found a significantly higher effect size (PW greater than TW) when considering species richness rather than cumulative richness or Shannon diversity index, disconnected water bodies (hindering the exchange of individuals through water connection), organisms with passive dispersal (which cannot actively avoid the dry period), and study sites with high anthropogenic impact (where temporary habitats could undergo impacts; e.g. concentration of pollutants and eutrophication). We also found that the differences in diversity between PW and TW may decrease with increasing sampling effort. This result may be attributable to high species turnover due to the higher temporal environmental variation in TW relative to PW. Also, it indicates that sampling effort should be comparatively higher in TW to properly characterize the biodiversity in these environments in order to compare with PW. As global climate continues to change, our results suggest that loss in aquatic invertebrate diversity of TW will be likely to occur in regions where the frequency of drying events increases.

Perils of life on the edge: Climatic threats to global diversity patterns of wetland macroinvertebrates

“…We aimed to tease apart which aspects of temperature and precipitation (average, range, variability) exert the most influence macroinvertebrate biodiversity on a global scale. We further assessed whether the effects of climatic controls differ between permanent and temporary wetlands, an environmental dichotomy important for the development of macroinvertebrate communities (Wellborn et al 1996, Anton-Pardo et al 2019. Permanent wetlands transitioning to temporary wetlands (and vice versa;e.g.…”

Zooplankton functional complementarity between temporary and permanent environments

“…Different studies have shown that permanent aquatic environments have greater or equal species richness when compared to equivalent temporary ones due to greater habitat stability (Araújo et al, 2013;Anton-Pardo et al, 2019). However, a growing number of studies have emphasized that temporary environments can be richer than permanent environments and emphasize the importance of these environments in regional scale (Boix et al, 2001;Meester et al, 2005;Hunter Junior et al, 2017).…”

The ecological role of permanent ponds in Europe: a review of dietary linkages to terrestrial ecosystems via emerging insects

“…Previous studies from Great Britain indicated that when comparing the biodiversity of water bodies within an area of 80 km 2 , ponds contributed the most to biodiversity at the regional level, supporting considerably more species, including more unique and rare species, than other aquatic systems (Williams et al 2004; see also Anton-Pardo et al 2019). Individually, ponds may contain relatively few species (α-diversity) in comparison to larger freshwater ecosystems.…”