Trait–environment relationships could alter the spatial and temporal characteristics of aquatic insect subsidies at the macrospatial scale

Kopp, Darin; Allen, Daniel

Trait–environment relationships could alter the spatial and temporal characteristics of aquatic insect subsidies at the macrospatial scale

dc.contributor.author	Kopp, Darin
dc.contributor.author	Allen, Daniel
dc.date.accessioned	2021-06-02T16:36:52Z
dc.date.available	2021-06-02T16:36:52Z
dc.date.issued	2020-12-02
dc.description.abstract	Ecological flows across ecosystem boundaries are typically studied at spatial scales that limit our understanding of broad geographical patterns in ecosystem linkages. Aquatic insects that metamorphose into terrestrial adults are important resource subsidies for terrestrial ecosystems. Traits related to their development and dispersal should determine their availability to terrestrial consumers. Here, we synthesize geospatial, aquatic biomonitoring and biological traits data to quantify the relative importance of several environmental gradients on the potential spatial and temporal characteristics of aquatic insect subsidies across the contiguous United States. We found the trait composition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities varies among hydrologic regions and could affect how aquatic insects transport subsidies as adults. Further, several trait–environment relationships were underpinned by hydrology. Large bodied taxa that could disperse further from the stream were associated with hydrologically stable conditions. Alternatively, hydrologically variable conditions were associated with multivoltine taxa that could extend the duration of subsidies with periodic emergence events throughout the year. We also found that anthropogenic impacts decrease the frequency of individuals with adult flight but potentially extend the distance subsidies travel into the terrestrial ecosystem. Collectively, these results suggest that natural and anthropogenic gradients could affect aquatic insect subsidies by changing the trait composition of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. The conceptual framework and trait–environment relationships we present shows promise for understanding broad geographical patterns in linkages between ecosystems.	en_US
dc.description.peerreview	Yes	en_US
dc.description.sponsorship	DA and DK were supported by the US National Science Foundation (award 1802872, and additional support to DA was provided by award 1754389). Open Access fees paid for in whole or in part by the University of Oklahoma Libraries.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Kopp, D. and Allen, D. (2021), Trait–environment relationships could alter the spatial and temporal characteristics of aquatic insect subsidies at the macrospatial scale. Ecography, 44: 391-402. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.05298	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	10.1111/ecog.05298	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/330060
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	Attribution 4.0 International	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/	*
dc.subject	Aquatic–terrestrial linkages	en_US
dc.subject	Biovectors	en_US
dc.subject	Insect traits	en_US
dc.subject	Macroecology	en_US
dc.subject	Resource subsidies	en_US
dc.subject	Stream ecology	en_US
dc.title	Trait–environment relationships could alter the spatial and temporal characteristics of aquatic insect subsidies at the macrospatial scale	en_US
dc.type	Article	en_US
ou.group	College of Arts and Sciences::Department of Biology	en_US