Scientists' Warning on the Conservation of Subterranean Ecosystems

Mammola, Stefano; Cardoso, Pedro; Culver, David C.; Deharveng, Louis; Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes; Fišer, Cene; Galassi, Diana M. P.; Griebler, Christian; Halse, Stuart; Humphreys, W. F.; Isaia, Marco; Malard, Florian; Martínez, Alejandro; Moldovan, Oana Teodora; Niemiller, Matthew L.; Pavlek, Martina; Reboleira, Ana Sofía P.S.; Souza‐Silva, Marconi; Teeling, Emma C.; Wynne, J. Judson; Zagmajster, Maja

doi:10.1093/biosci/biz064

Cited by 193 publications

(181 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…GW harbors a unique fauna of unexpectedly high diversity that is not limited simply to the saturated zones of karst (e.g., caves) ( Figure 1B) and the subsurface habitats of springs ( Figure 1C). Stygobionts include bacteria, protists, invertebrates (e.g., platyhelminthes, annelids, molluscs, copepods- Figure 2A; syncarids, amphipods- Figure 2B; isopods, thermosbaenaceans, mysids, decapods), and vertebrates (amphibians and cavefish) [88,89]. Stygofaunal assemblages are commonly found in alluvial aquifers ( Figure 1A) and the hyporheic zone of streams and rivers [90,91].…”

Section: Freshwater Habitat Type Biodiversity and Ecological Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation

Cantonati

Poikāne

Pringle

et al. 2020

Water

146

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In this overview (introductory article to a special issue including 14 papers), we consider all main types of natural and artificial inland freshwater habitas (fwh). For each type, we identify the main biodiversity patterns and ecological features, human impacts on the system and environmental issues, and discuss ways to use this information to improve stewardship. Examples of selected key biodiversity/ecological features (habitat type): narrow endemics, sensitive (groundwater and GDEs); crenobionts, LIHRes (springs); unidirectional flow, nutrient spiraling (streams); naturally turbid, floodplains, large-bodied species (large rivers); depth-variation in benthic communities (lakes); endemism and diversity (ancient lakes); threatened, sensitive species (oxbow lakes, SWE); diverse, reduced littoral (reservoirs); cold-adapted species (Boreal and Arctic fwh); endemism, depauperate (Antarctic fwh); flood pulse, intermittent wetlands, biggest river basins (tropical fwh); variable hydrologic regime—periods of drying, flash floods (arid-climate fwh). Selected impacts: eutrophication and other pollution, hydrologic modifications, overexploitation, habitat destruction, invasive species, salinization. Climate change is a threat multiplier, and it is important to quantify resistance, resilience, and recovery to assess the strategic role of the different types of freshwater ecosystems and their value for biodiversity conservation. Effective conservation solutions are dependent on an understanding of connectivity between different freshwater ecosystems (including related terrestrial, coastal and marine systems).

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Section: Freshwater Habitat Type Biodiversity and Ecological Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation

Cantonati

Poikāne

Pringle

et al. 2020

Water

146

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“…Bull and Mitchell () demonstrated that the cave millipedes Cambala speobia (Chamberlin, 1952) and Speodesmus bicornourus Causey, 1959 could survive 30°C (although only for some hours), despite living at constant temperatures close to 20°C. Experimental data on thermal tolerance in subterranean ectotherms are still very scarce compared with those on surface‐dwelling (i.e., epigean) species, which in part could be due to the difficulties in collecting large number of specimens required for experiments or rearing them in the laboratory (Mammola, Cardoso, et al, ; Raschmanová et al, ). The relatively scarce, more recent studies that have specifically measured thermal breadth and plasticity in subterranean species show contrasting results for different taxa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat tolerance and acclimation capacity in subterranean arthropods living under common and stable thermal conditions

Pallarés

Colado

Pérez‐Fernández³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Cave‐dwelling ectotherms, which have evolved for millions of years under stable thermal conditions, could be expected to have adjusted their physiological limits to the narrow range of temperatures they experience and to be highly vulnerable to global warming. However, most of the few existing studies on thermal tolerance in subterranean invertebrates highlight that despite the fact that they show lower heat tolerance than most surface‐dwelling species, their upper thermal limits are generally not adjusted to ambient temperature. The question remains to what extent this pattern is common across subterranean invertebrates. We studied basal heat tolerance and its plasticity in four species of distant arthropod groups (Coleoptera, Diplopoda, and Collembola) with different evolutionary histories but under similar selection pressures, as they have been exposed to the same constant environmental conditions for a long time. Adults were exposed at different temperatures for 1 week to determine upper lethal temperatures. Then, individuals from previous sublethal treatments were transferred to a higher temperature to determine acclimation capacity. Upper lethal temperatures of three of the studied species were similar to those reported for other subterranean species (between 20 and 25°C) and widely exceeded the cave temperature (13–14°C). The diplopod species showed the highest long‐term heat tolerance detected so far for a troglobiont (i.e., obligate subterranean) species (median lethal temperature after 7 days exposure: 28°C) and a positive acclimation response. Our results agree with previous studies showing that heat tolerance in subterranean species is not determined by environmental conditions. Thus, subterranean species, even those living under similar climatic conditions, might be differently affected by global warming.

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“…It is worth noting that climate change will also determine substantial environmental changes in the subterranean habitats that this species uses as breeding sites (Figure S1). While the effects of climate change are largely studied in surface habitats, the impacts on subterranean habitats are still poorly explored (Mammola, Cardoso, et al, ; Mammola, Piano, et al, ). Andrias davidianus primarily exploits habitats at the surface/subterranean interface for breeding (Liang et al, ; Luo et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Future climate change will severely reduce habitat suitability of the Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander

Zhang

Mammola

Liang³

et al. 2020

Freshwater Biology

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Being the largest extant amphibian in the world, the IUCN Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus is a charismatic species with great international public interest. While threats such as commercial overexploitation and habitat degradation have been extensively documented to affect natural populations of A. davidianus, still no information is available about the species sensitivity to climate change. Here, we develop an ensemble of species distribution models (SDMs) for A. davidianus and projected its habitat suitability under present‐day and future climate change scenarios. We based our SDMs on bioclimatic and topographic predictors, and recent (2012–2018) field‐collected occurrence data across the whole distribution range of the species. The ensemble SDMs exhibited good predictive capacity and suggested that slope, maximum temperature of warmest month, precipitation of driest month, and isothermality are the most influential predictors in determining distribution patterns in this species. The projections of our models point to a pronounced impact of climate changes over A. davidianus, with more than two‐thirds of its suitable range expected to be lost in all scenarios of future climates tested. In concert with the numerous other threats that are affecting this species, climate change poses a serious hindrance to the long‐term survival of A. davidianus. We emphasise the urgent need of undertaking strict measures to manage this species and safeguard the few remaining available suitable habitats. We suggest that adaptive management strategies including designation of new reserves should be considered to mitigate the impacts of climate change on A. davidianus.

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Scientists' Warning on the Conservation of Subterranean Ecosystems

Cited by 193 publications

References 76 publications

Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation

Characteristics, Main Impacts, and Stewardship of Natural and Artificial Freshwater Environments: Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation

Heat tolerance and acclimation capacity in subterranean arthropods living under common and stable thermal conditions

Future climate change will severely reduce habitat suitability of the Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander

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