Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations

1. Rising water temperatures under climate change are expected to affect the phenology of aquatic insects, including the mayfly Ephemera danica Müller which is widespread throughout Europe. 2. To assess temporal and spatial variability in mayfly emergence, E. danica were monitored at two thermall...

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Main Authors: Everall, Nicholas C., Johnson, Matthew F., Wilby, Robert L., Bennett, Cyril J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/
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author Everall, Nicholas C.
Johnson, Matthew F.
Wilby, Robert L.
Bennett, Cyril J.
author_facet Everall, Nicholas C.
Johnson, Matthew F.
Wilby, Robert L.
Bennett, Cyril J.
author_sort Everall, Nicholas C.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description 1. Rising water temperatures under climate change are expected to affect the phenology of aquatic insects, including the mayfly Ephemera danica Müller which is widespread throughout Europe. 2. To assess temporal and spatial variability in mayfly emergence, E. danica were monitored at two thermally contrasting reaches in the River Dove, English Peak District over the period 2007–2013. Inter-annual variations in growing degree days (GDDs) were modelled for an upstream site with intermittent spring flow supplementing main channel flow (Beresford Dale) and downstream site dominated by near constant discharges of cool groundwater (Dovedale). 3. A strong association exists between the emergence cycle of E. danica and GDDs at each site. Beresford Dale accumulated on average 374 more GDDs than Dovedale. After warm summers E. danica emerged after only 1 year in Beresford Dale but began to revert to a bi-annual cycle after the particularly wet/cool year of 2012. In Dovedale, E. danica maintained a 2-year cycle throughout the monitoring period in spite of the phenology changes observed 8 km upstream. 4. Data from the present study suggest that habitats near cool groundwater may provide important refugia for populations of insects, potentially delaying permanent shifts in phenology under climate change. However, an ability to detect changes in the thermal triggers and phenological response may be hindered by conventional spot sampling protocols.
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spelling nottingham-450172020-05-08T12:00:46Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/ Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations Everall, Nicholas C. Johnson, Matthew F. Wilby, Robert L. Bennett, Cyril J. 1. Rising water temperatures under climate change are expected to affect the phenology of aquatic insects, including the mayfly Ephemera danica Müller which is widespread throughout Europe. 2. To assess temporal and spatial variability in mayfly emergence, E. danica were monitored at two thermally contrasting reaches in the River Dove, English Peak District over the period 2007–2013. Inter-annual variations in growing degree days (GDDs) were modelled for an upstream site with intermittent spring flow supplementing main channel flow (Beresford Dale) and downstream site dominated by near constant discharges of cool groundwater (Dovedale). 3. A strong association exists between the emergence cycle of E. danica and GDDs at each site. Beresford Dale accumulated on average 374 more GDDs than Dovedale. After warm summers E. danica emerged after only 1 year in Beresford Dale but began to revert to a bi-annual cycle after the particularly wet/cool year of 2012. In Dovedale, E. danica maintained a 2-year cycle throughout the monitoring period in spite of the phenology changes observed 8 km upstream. 4. Data from the present study suggest that habitats near cool groundwater may provide important refugia for populations of insects, potentially delaying permanent shifts in phenology under climate change. However, an ability to detect changes in the thermal triggers and phenological response may be hindered by conventional spot sampling protocols. Wiley 2015-04 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/1/Everall%20et%20al.%202015.%20Eco%20Ent.pdf Everall, Nicholas C., Johnson, Matthew F., Wilby, Robert L. and Bennett, Cyril J. (2015) Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations. Ecological Entomology, 40 (2). pp. 95-105. ISSN 1365-2311 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/een.12164/abstract doi:10.1111/een.12164 doi:10.1111/een.12164
spellingShingle Everall, Nicholas C.
Johnson, Matthew F.
Wilby, Robert L.
Bennett, Cyril J.
Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title_full Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title_fullStr Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title_full_unstemmed Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title_short Detecting phenology change in the mayfly Ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
title_sort detecting phenology change in the mayfly ephemera danica: responses to spatial and temporal water temperature variations
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/45017/