Limitations of trait-based approaches for stressor assessment: The case of freshwater invertebrates and climate drivers.

Autor: Hamilton AT; Tetra Tech Center for Ecological Sciences, Santa Fe, NM, USA., Schäfer RB; iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany., Pyne MI; Department of Biology, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, USA., Chessman B; Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia., Kakouei K; Department of Ecosystem Research, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany., Boersma KS; Department of Biology, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA., Verdonschot PFM; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands.; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands., Verdonschot RCM; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands., Mims M; Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA., Khamis K; School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK., Bierwagen B; Office of Research and Development, National Center for Environmental Assessment, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA., Stamp J; Tetra Tech Center for Ecological Sciences, Montpelier, VT, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Global change biology [Glob Chang Biol] 2020 Feb; Vol. 26 (2), pp. 364-379. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Oct 27.
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14846
Abstrakt: The appeal of trait-based approaches for assessing environmental vulnerabilities arises from the potential insight they provide into the mechanisms underlying the changes in populations and community structure. Traits can provide ecologically based explanations for observed responses to environmental changes, along with predictive power gained by developing relationships between traits and environmental variables. Despite these potential benefits, questions remain regarding the utility and limitations of these approaches, which we explore focusing on the following questions: (a) How reliable are predictions of biotic responses to changing conditions based on single trait-environment relationships? (b) What factors constrain detection of single trait-environment relationships, and how can they be addressed? (c) Can we use information on meta-community processes to reveal conditions when assumptions underlying trait-based studies are not met? We address these questions by reviewing published literature on aquatic invertebrate communities from stream ecosystems. Our findings help to define factors that influence the successful application of trait-based approaches in addressing the complex, multifaceted effects of changing climate conditions on hydrologic and thermal regimes in stream ecosystems. Key conclusions are that observed relationships between traits and environmental stressors are often inconsistent with predefined hypotheses derived from current trait-based thinking, particularly related to single trait-environment relationships. Factors that can influence findings of trait-based assessments include intercorrelations of among traits and among environmental variables, spatial scale, strength of biotic interactions, intensity of habitat disturbance, degree of abiotic stress, and methods of trait characterization. Several recommendations are made for practice and further study to address these concerns, including using phylogenetic relatedness to address intercorrelation. With proper consideration of these issues, trait-based assessment of organismal vulnerability to environmental changes can become a useful tool to conserve threatened populations into the future.
(© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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