Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Response to Shifts in Hydroclimatic
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AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE RESPONSE TO SHIFTS IN HYDROCLIMATIC VARIABILITY AND ECOHYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN PRAIRIE-POTHOLE WETLANDS: IMPLICATIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science By Kyle Ian McLean In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major Program: Environmental and Conservation Sciences August 2020 Fargo, North Dakota North Dakota State University Graduate School Title AQUATIC MACROINVERTEBRATE RESPONSE TO SHIFTS IN HYDROCLIMATIC VARIABILITY AND ECOHYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN PRAIRIE POTHOLE WETLANDS: IMPLICATIONS FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION By Kyle I. McLean The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State University’s regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: Jon N. Sweetman, PhD Chair David M. Mushet, PhD Craig A. Stockwell, PhD E. Shawn DeKeyser, PhD Approved: 8/14/2020 Craig A. Stockwell, PhD Date Program Chair ABSTRACT Ecosystem degradation and subsequent biodiversity loss has plagued freshwater environments globally. Wetland ecosystems, such as the depressional wetlands found in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, have been heavily impacted by historical land-use change and continue to be vulnerable to continued landscape modifications and climate change. Using existing literature, I summarized how recent shifts in climate coupled with historic and contemporary landscape modifications have driven a shift in wetland ecohydrological variability. However, clear trends in biodiversity were often limited by the spatial and temporal resolution of published research. I used 24 years (1992–2015) of hydrologic and aquatic-macroinvertebrate data from a complex of 16 prairie-pothole wetlands located in North Dakota to relate wetland ecohydrological variability to biodiversity. I used structural equation modeling techniques to test a set of causal hypotheses linking a wetland’s hydrogeologic setting and local climate conditions (i.e., the Wetland Continuum) to changes in hydrology, water chemistry, and biology, with an emphasis on aquatic-macroinvertebrate community response. I then examined the temporal synchrony of aquatic-macroinvertebrate populations to examine the relative importance of landscape-scale controls (e.g., climate, metacommunity dynamics) and wetland-specific controls on community assembly. Using this information, I then quantified among-wetland and among- year changes in aquatic-macroinvertebrate beta diversity to investigate patterns of biotic homogenization. I found that spatial and temporal variability in aquatic-macroinvertebrate composition was strongly influenced by ponded-water dynamics. In addition to hydrologic controls, the high levels of temporal coherence of aquatic-macroinvertebrate compositional turnover supported the iii hypothesis that wetland biodiversity is also dependent on metacommunity dynamics. Analyses of spatio-temporal patterns in beta diversity did not reveal climate driven homogenization of aquatic-macroinvertebrate taxa among wetlands. However, shifts towards more permanently ponded water regimes corresponded with lasting shifts in aquatic-macroinvertebrate community composition. The communities of temporarily ponded wetlands maintained high levels of both temporal and spatial beta diversity. My collective findings indicate that the conservation of aquatic-macroinvertebrate diversity is dependent on the conservation of heterogenous, well- connected, wetland complexes. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work has greatly benefited from the support and previous efforts of numerous individuals and agencies. Without their support none of the work presented here would be possible. I thank North Dakota State University (NDSU) Graduate School, the Department of Biological Sciences, and the Environmental and Conservation Sciences (ECS) graduate program for the opportunity to pursue a PhD and for their continued support and assistance during my time as a graduate student. I especially thank my advisor Dr. Jon N. Sweetman for his guidance, patience, and willingness to accommodate my occasionally hectic schedule. I thank the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) for their financial and logistical support, especially my acceptance into the USGS Pathways Internship Program. I am especially grateful for the years of guidance and mentorship given to me by my NPWRC supervisor, Dr. David M. Mushet. His direction has been critical in helping me navigate life as both a graduate student and USGS Ecologist. In addition to Dr. Mushet and Dr. Sweetman, I also thank Dr. Craig A. Stockwell and Dr. E. Shawn DeKeyser for serving on my graduate committee, challenging me to think about my research in different ways, and their willingness to help whenever needed. I additionally thank Dr. Stockwell for his support as ECS program director and his previous years of guidance as my master’s advisor. I am indebted to the efforts of George Swanson (deceased) and Dr. Ned Euliss, Jr. (USGS retired) for starting and maintaining the long-term data collection efforts at the Cottonwood Lake Study Area, which provided the source data for my analysis. The pioneering research of these scientists also provide a solid foundation for my dissertation work to expand upon. I also thank the numerous field technicians and ecologists who have worked hard over the years to collect v and catalogue the Study Area’s data assets. I especially thank Matt Solensky who manages, coordinates, and actively participates in the collecting, formatting, and cataloging of Cottonwood Lake Study Area data. Matt’s efforts have provided a great resource for me and numerous other scientists. I thank my colleagues at NPWRC for their support over the years and their part in making NPWRC a great place to work. I additionally thank Dr. Owen McKenna for the many brainstorming sessions over the last few years. I thank my current and former NDSU labmates Nate Williams, Kui Hu, and Christine Cornish for their support, scientific discussion, and familiarizing me with diatoms, pesticides, and many other once unfamiliar aspects of wetland ecology. I thank my friends and family for their love and support. I thank my mother Lilli McLean and father Scott McLean for always being there for me. I especially thank my wife Emily for her love, support, patience, and additional patience. Finally, I thank my daughter Cheltzie and son Ira for all the love and smiles they bring to my life every day. They have been and will continue to be that constant reminder to challenge myself to always do better. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. v LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF APPENDIX TABLES ................................................................................................ xviii LIST OF APPENDIX FIGURES.................................................................................................. xx CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Thesis Objectives ................................................................................................................. 2 1.2. Thesis Approach ................................................................................................................... 3 1.3. Thesis Structure .................................................................................................................... 5 1.4. References ............................................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 2. CLIMATE AND LAND USE DRIVEN ECOSYSTEM HOMOGENIZATION IN THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION ................................................ 13 2.1. Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.2. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.2.1. Prairie-pothole Wetland Ecosystem Variability and Function .................................... 16 2.3. Ecosystem Homogenization ............................................................................................... 19 2.3.1. Conceptual Model for Ecosystem Homogenization .................................................... 20 2.3.2. Mechanisms for Ecosystem Homogenization in the PPR ........................................... 21 2.4. Evidence for Ecosystem Homogenization ......................................................................... 23 2.5. Consequences of Ecosystem Homogenization ................................................................... 32 2.6. Potential Impacts of Continued Climate Change ............................................................... 33 2.7. Conclusions .......................................................................................................................