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Title: The importance of retaining a phylogenetic perspective in traits-based community analyses

Journal Article · · Freshwater Biology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12571· OSTI ID:1195806
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
  3. Indiana Univ., Purdue Univ., Columbus, IN (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Summary Many environmental stressors manifest their effects via physiological processes (traits) that can differ significantly among species and species groups. We compiled available data for three traits related to the bioconcentration of the toxic metal cadmium ( Cd ) from 42 species representing the aquatic insect orders E phemeroptera (mayflies), P lecoptera (stoneflies) and T richoptera (caddisflies). These traits included the propensity to take up Cd from water (uptake rate constant, k u ), the ability to excrete Cd (efflux rate constant, k e ) and the net result of these two processes (bioconcentration factor). Ranges in these Cd bioaccumulation traits varied in magnitude across clades (some clades had a greater tendency to bioaccumulate Cd than others). Overlap in the ranges of trait values among different clades was common and highlights situations where species from different lineages can share a similar trait state, but represent the high end of possible physiological values for one clade and the low end for another. Variance around the mean trait states differed widely across clades, suggesting that some groups (e.g. E phemerellidae) are inherently more variable than others (e.g. P erlidae). Thus, trait variability/lability is at least partially a function of lineage. Akaike information criterion comparisons of statistical models were more often driven by lineage than by the other tested potential biological or ecological explanations. Lineage‐driven models generally improved with increasing taxonomic resolution. Together, these findings suggest that lineage provides context for the analysis of species traits and that failure to consider lineage in community‐based analysis of traits may obscure important patterns of species responses to environmental change.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1195806
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1401135
Journal Information:
Freshwater Biology, Vol. 60, Issue 7; ISSN 0046-5070
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (4)

Assessment of water quality in urban streams based on larvae of Hydropsyche angustipennis (Insecta, Trichoptera) journal May 2015
On the importance of trait interrelationships for understanding environmental responses of stream macroinvertebrates journal December 2015
The state of systematics of North American Baetis Leach, 1815 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae), with recommendations for identification of larvae journal March 2018
Modeling the Sensitivity of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates to Chemicals Using Traits journal April 2019

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