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Phylogenetic, Spatial, and Species‐Trait Patterns across Environmental Gradients: the Case of Hydropsyche (Trichoptera) along the Loire River
Author(s) -
Statzner Bernhard,
Dolédec Sylvain
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international review of hydrobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 1434-2944
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.201111325
Subject(s) - caddisfly , river ecosystem , phylogenetic tree , ecology , hydropsychidae , biology , phylogenetics , trait , adaptation (eye) , genetic algorithm , spatial distribution , niche , ecological niche , geography , ecosystem , larva , habitat , biochemistry , remote sensing , neuroscience , computer science , gene , programming language
When Illies published his concept on the longitudinal zonation of lotic invertebrates five decades ago (Illies, J., 1961: Internat. Rev. ges. Hydrobiol. 46 : 205–213), he defined a research topic that currently interests many ecologists because he linked speciation and phylogeny with spatial distribution and trait adaptation to environmental conditions prevailing along rivers. We tested these ideas analyzing nine species of the caddisfly genus Hydropsyche from the Loire River (France). A morphology‐based phylogeny illustrated that the oldest of our species occurred in the headwater and that specific phylogenetic distances from the root location in the tree were significantly related to the specific longitudinal occurrences in the Loire. Furthermore, traits such as oxygen consumption, optimal velocity for filter‐net‐building, and larval size were significantly related to the specific phylogenetic distances, indicating meaningful, gradual adaptations to environmental gradients prevailing along European rivers (particularly in water temperature, near‐bottom flow, sediment porosity). Thus, joining phylogeny, spatial distribution, and species traits provided insights into a central topic of contemporary ecology, the spatial patterns of speciation, taxonomic community structure (species distributions), and niche adaptation (traits). (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)