Global Scale Variation in the Salinity Sensitivity of Riverine Macroinvertebrates: Eastern Australia, France, Israel and South Africa

Kefford, Ben J.; Hickey, Graeme L.; Gasith, Avital; Ben-David, Elad; Dunlop, Jason E.; Palmer, Carolyn G.; Allan, K.; Choy, Satish; Piscart, Christophe

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0035224

Cited by 85 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Similar to invertebrates, the embryonic and juvenile life stages of vertebrates are far more sensitive to elevated salinity than are their adult counterparts (Hart et al 1990, 1991, James et al 2003, Kefford et al 2012. Anurans are extremely sensitive due to their permeable skin, with similar salinity tolerance to many invertebrates.…”

Section: àmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Salinization, a widespread threat to the structure and ecological functioning of inland and coastal wetlands, is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate and geographic scale. The causes of salinization are diverse and include alterations to freshwater flows, land-clearance, irrigation, disposal of wastewater effluent, sea level rise, storm surges, and applications of de-icing salts. Climate change and anthropogenic modifications to the hydrologic cycle are expected to further increase the extent and severity of wetland salinization. Salinization alters the fundamental physicochemical nature of the soil-water environment, increasing ionic concentrations and altering chemical equilibria and mineral solubility. Increased concentrations of solutes, especially sulfate, alter the biogeochemical cycling of major elements including carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, iron, and silica. The effects of salinization on wetland biogeochemistry typically include decreased inorganic nitrogen removal (with implications for water quality and climate regulation), decreased carbon storage (with implications for climate regulation and wetland accretion), and increased generation of toxic sulfides (with implications for nutrient cycling and the health/functioning of wetland biota). Indeed, increased salt and sulfide concentrations induce physiological stress in wetland biota and ultimately can result in large shifts in wetland communities and their associated ecosystem functions. The productivity and composition of freshwater species assemblages will be highly altered, and there is a high potential for the disruption of existing interspecific interactions. Although there is a wealth of information on how salinization impacts individual ecosystem components, relatively few studies have addressed the complex and often non-linear feedbacks that determine ecosystem-scale responses or considered how wetland salinization will affect landscape-level processes. Although the salinization of wetlands may be unavoidable in many cases, these systems may also prove to be a fertile testing ground for broader ecological theories including (but not limited to): investigations into alternative stable states and tipping points, trophic cascades, disturbance-recovery processes, and the role of historical events and landscape context in driving community response to disturbance.

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Section: àmentioning

confidence: 99%

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

et al. 2015

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“…Differences in mean survival between optimum and stressful salinity pre-treatments were tested using the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test (e.g. Folguera et al, 2011;Kefford et al, 2012). Generalized linear models (GLMs) were used to test for differences between the two salinity pre-treatments in WC s and WLR under the subsequent desiccation.…”

Section: Effect Of Salinity On Desiccation Resistancementioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic insects in a multistress environment: cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation

Pallarés

Botella‐Cruz

Arribas

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Exposing organisms to a particular stressor may enhance tolerance to a subsequent stress, when protective mechanisms against the two stressors are shared. Such cross-tolerance is a common adaptive response in dynamic multivariate environments and often indicates potential co-evolution of stress traits. Many aquatic insects in inland saline waters from Mediterranean-climate regions are sequentially challenged with salinity and desiccation stress. Thus, cross-tolerance to these physiologically similar stressors could have been positively selected in insects of these regions. We used adults of the saline water beetles Enochrus jesusarribasi (Hydrophilidae) and Nebrioporus baeticus (Dytiscidae) to test cross-tolerance responses to desiccation and salinity. In independent laboratory experiments, we evaluated the effects of (i) salinity stress on the subsequent resistance to desiccation and (ii) desiccation stress (rapid and slow dehydration) on the subsequent tolerance to salinity. Survival, water loss and haemolymph osmolality were measured. Exposure to stressful salinity improved water control under subsequent desiccation stress in both species, with a clear cross-tolerance (enhanced performance) in N. baeticus. In contrast, general negative effects on performance were found under the inverse stress sequence. The rapid and slow dehydration produced different water loss and haemolymph osmolality dynamics that were reflected in different survival patterns. Our finding of cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation in ecologically similar species from distant lineages, together with parallel responses between salinity and thermal stress previously found in several aquatic taxa, highlights the central role of adaption to salinity and co-occurring stressors in arid inland waters, having important implications for the species' persistence under climate change.

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“…Many freshwater crustaceans, molluscs and fishes are closely related to marine or estuarine species and can be salinity-tolerant [16]. At least 33 extant lineages of gastropods have colonized freshwater from marine environments [21], and freshwater fish most likely evolved from marine ancestors, although some lineages have been long confined to freshwater [22].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the salinity sensitivity of macroinvertebrates is better explained by taxonomic identity than the aridity of the region they were collected from [16,29], with the possible exception of southwest Australia [3].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Salinized rivers: degraded systems or new habitats for salt-tolerant faunas?

et al. 2016

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Anthropogenic salinization of rivers is an emerging issue of global concern, with significant adverse effects on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Impacts of freshwater salinization on biota are strongly mediated by evolutionary history, as this is a major factor determining species physiological salinity tolerance. Freshwater insects dominate most flowing waters, and the common lotic insect orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (caddisflies) are particularly salt-sensitive. Tolerances of existing taxa, rapid adaption, colonization by novel taxa (from naturally saline environments) and interactions between species will be key drivers of assemblages in saline lotic systems. Here we outline a conceptual framework predicting how communities may change in salinizing rivers. We envision that a relatively small number of taxa will be saline-tolerant and able to colonize salinized rivers (e.g. most naturally saline habitats are lentic; thus potential colonizers would need to adapt to lotic environments), leading to depauperate communities in these environments.

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Global Scale Variation in the Salinity Sensitivity of Riverine Macroinvertebrates: Eastern Australia, France, Israel and South Africa

Cited by 85 publications

References 32 publications

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

A global perspective on wetland salinization: ecological consequences of a growing threat to freshwater wetlands

Aquatic insects in a multistress environment: cross-tolerance to salinity and desiccation

Salinized rivers: degraded systems or new habitats for salt-tolerant faunas?

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