Laboratory for Evolutionary Ecology and Phylogenetics, Northern Arctic Federal University, Arkhangelsk, Russia.
Institute of Biogeography and Genetic Resources, Federal Center for Integrated Arctic Research, Russian Academy of Sciences, Arkhangelsk, Russia.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 8;8(1):35. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18873-y.
The effects of climate change on oligotrophic rivers and their communities are almost unknown, albeit these ecosystems are the primary habitat of the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel and its host fishes, salmonids. The distribution and abundance of pearl mussels have drastically decreased throughout Europe over the last century, particularly within the southern part of the range, but causes of this wide-scale extinction process are unclear. Here we estimate the effects of climate change on pearl mussels based on historical and recent samples from 50 rivers and 6 countries across Europe. We found that the shell convexity may be considered an indicator of the thermal effects on pearl mussel populations under warming climate because it reflects shifts in summer temperatures and is significantly different in viable and declining populations. Spatial and temporal modeling of the relationship between shell convexity and population status show that global climate change could have accelerated the population decline of pearl mussels over the last 100 years through rapidly decreasing suitable distribution areas. Simulation predicts future warming-induced range reduction, particularly in southern regions. These results highlight the importance of large-scale studies of keystone species, which can underscore the hidden effects of climate warming on freshwater ecosystems.
气候变化对贫营养河流及其生物群落的影响几乎鲜为人知，尽管这些生态系统是极度濒危的淡水珍珠贻贝及其宿主鱼类——鲑鱼的主要栖息地。在过去的一个世纪里，珍珠贻贝在整个欧洲的分布和数量急剧减少，特别是在其分布范围的南部，但导致这种大规模灭绝的原因尚不清楚。在这里，我们根据来自欧洲 6 个国家 50 条河流的历史和近期样本，估算了气候变化对珍珠贻贝的影响。我们发现，壳的凸度可以被认为是反映暖化气候对珍珠贻贝种群热效应的一个指标，因为它反映了夏季温度的变化，并且在可行种群和衰退种群之间存在显著差异。壳凸度与种群状况之间的时空模型表明，全球气候变化可能通过迅速减少适宜的分布区域，加速了过去 100 年来珍珠贻贝的种群衰退。模拟预测未来因气候变暖引起的范围缩小，特别是在南部地区。这些结果突出了对关键物种进行大规模研究的重要性，这可以强调气候变暖对淡水生态系统的潜在影响。
