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Rapid functional traits turnover in boreal dragonfly communities (Odonata)
Marina Schmidt Dalzochio1, Eduardo Périco1, Norton Dametto1
1Ecology and Evolution Lab, Universidade Do Vale Do Taquari, Univates, Avelino Talini Street, number 171, Universitário, Lajeado, RS, 95900-000, Brazil.
Scientific Reports
|September 22, 2020
Summary
Ecological communities, like dragonflies in Sweden, can shift rapidly over time due to environmental changes. Climate change and lake pH significantly impact species composition and biodiversity maintenance.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Biodiversity Studies
Background:
- Natural populations exhibit temporal and spatial fluctuations, crucial for biodiversity and species coexistence.
- Long-term ecological studies are logistically challenging but essential for understanding community dynamics.
- Temporal changes in community composition are driven by ecological processes and environmental shifts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate temporal variations in ecological and biological species traits using Community-level Weighted Means (CWM).
- To analyze dragonfly community composition changes over 20 years in central Sweden across three sampling occasions.
- To identify potential environmental drivers influencing observed shifts in species traits and abundance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a 20-year dataset of dragonfly monitoring in central Sweden.
- Employed three distinct sampling occasions to capture temporal variation.
- Calculated Community-level Weighted Means (CWM) for ecological and biological traits to assess temporal changes.
Main Results:
- Significant variations in most CWM values were observed between sampling years.
- Most trait changes occurred between the second and final sampling occasions, not the first two.
- Observed community shifts were strongly correlated with changes in species abundance.
Conclusions:
- Fundamental shifts in community structure can occur rapidly when environmental drivers influence species turnover.
- Climate change and lake pH levels are identified as the most probable key factors driving these ecological shifts.
- The study highlights the dynamic nature of ecological communities and their sensitivity to environmental pressures.
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