Abstract
We present data on the distributional changes within an order of macroinvertebrates used in biological water quality monitoring. The British Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) have been shown to be expanding their range northwards and this could potentially affect the use of water quality metrics. The results show that the families of Odonata that are used in monitoring are shifting their ranges poleward and that species richness is increasing through time at most UK latitudes. These past distributional shifts have had negligible effects on water quality indicators. However, variation in Odonata species richness (particularly in species-poor regions) has a significant effect on water quality metrics. We conclude with a brief review of current and predicted responses of aquatic macroinvertebrates to environmental warming and maintain that caution is warranted in the use of such dynamic biological indicators.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Buchwald, R. (1989). Die Bedeutung der Vegetation fur die Habitatbindung einiger Libellenarten der Quellmoore und Fliessgewasser. Phytocoenologia, 17, 307–448.
Buchwald, R. (1995). Structure and floristic composition of vegetation: What is the significance for the occurrence of dragonfly species? Paper presented at the 13th International Symposium on Odonatology, Essen.
Burgmer, T., Hillebrand, H., & Pfenninger, M. (2007). Effects of climate-driven temperature change on the diversity of freshwater macroinvertebrates. Oecologia, 151, 93–103. doi:10.1007/s00442-006-0542-9.
Chapman, D. (Ed.). (1996) Water Quality Assessments: A guide to the use of biota, sediments and water in environmental monitoring (2nd ed.). London: Chapman and Hall.
Clark, T. E., & Samways, M. J. (1996). Dragonflies (Odonata) as indicators of biotope quality in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Journal of Applied Ecology, 33, 1001–1012. doi:10.2307/2404681.
Corbet, P. S. (2004). Dragonflies: Behaviour and ecology of Odonata. Colchester: Harley.
Dudgeon, D., Arthington, A. H., Gessner, M. O., Kawabata, Z. I., Knowler, D. J., Lévêque, C., et al. (2006). Freshwater biodiversity: Importance, threats, status and conservation challenges. Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, 81, 163–182. doi:10.1017/S1464793105006950.
European Commission (2000). Establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. In Directive 2000/60/EC. Luxembourg.
Foote, A. L., & Hornung, C. L. R. (2005). Odonates as biological indicators of grazing effects on Canadian prairie wetlands. Ecological Entomology, 30, 273–283. doi:10.1111/j.0307-6946.2005.00701.x.
Hassall, C., Thompson, D. J., French, G. C., & Harvey, I. F. (2007). Historical changes in the phenology of British Odonata are related to climate. Global Change Biology, 13, 933–941. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01318.x.
Hawkes, H. A. (1997). Origin and development of the Biological Monitoring Working Party score system. Water Research, 32, 964–968. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(97)00275-3.
Heino, J. (2002). Concordance of species richness patterns among multiple freshwater taxa: A regional perspective. Biodiversity and Conservation, 11, 137–147. doi:10.1023/A:1014075901605.
Hickling, R., Roy, D. B., Hill, J. K., & Thomas, C. D. (2005). A northward shift of range margins in British Odonata. Global Change Biology, 11, 502–506. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2005.00904.x.
Hickling, R., Roy, D. B., Hill, J. K., Fox, R., & Thomas, C. D. (2006). The distributions of a wide range of taxonomic groups are expanding polewards. Global Change Biology, 12, 1–6. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01116.x.
Menetrey, N., Sager, L., Lachavanne, J. B., & Oertli, B. (2005). Looking for metrics to assess the trophic state of ponds. Macroinvertebrates and amphibians. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems, 15, 653–664. doi:10.1002/aqc.746.
Moss, B. (1998). Ecology of freshwaters: Man and medium, past to future (3rd ed.). Blackwell: Oxford.
Moss, D., Furse, M. T., Wright, J. F., & Armitage, P. D. (1987). The prediction of the macroinvertebrate fauna of unpolluted running-water sites in Great Britain using environmental data. Freshwater Biology, 17, 41–52. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2427.1987.tb01027.x.
Pearson, R. G., & Dawson, T. P. (2003). Predicting the impacts of climate change on the distribution of species: Are bioclimate envelope models useful? Global Ecology and Biogeography, 12, 361–371. doi:10.1046/j.1466-822X.2003.00042.x.
Pritchard, G., & Leggott, M. (1987). Temperature, incubation rates and the origins of dragonflies. Advances in Odonatology, 3, 121–126.
Roy, D. B., & Thomas, J. A. (2003). Seasonal variation in the niche, habitat availability and population fluctuations of a bivoltine thermophilous insect near its range margin. Oecologia, 134, 439–444.
Shoo, L. P., Stephen, E. W., & Hero, J. -M. (2006). Detecting climate change induced range shifts: Where and how should we be looking? Austral Ecology, 31, 22–29. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01539.x.
Walley, W. J., & Hawkes, H. A. (1996). A computer-based reappraisal of the Biological Monitoring Working Party score system using data from the 1990 river quality survey of England and Wales. Water Research, 30, 2086–2094. doi:10.1016/0043-1354(96)00013-9.
Walley, W. J., & Hawkes, H. A. (1997). A computer-based development for the Biological Monitoring Working Party score system incorporating abundance rating, biotope type and indicator value. Water Research, 31, 201–210. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(96)00249-7.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hassall, C., Thompson, D.J. & Harvey, I.F. The impact of climate-induced distributional changes on the validity of biological water quality metrics. Environ Monit Assess 160, 451–456 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0709-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0709-4