title: Climatic and Catchment-Scale Predictors of Chinese Stream Insect Richness Differ between Taxonomic Groups.
abstract: Little work has been done on large-scale patterns of stream insect richness in China. We explored the influence of climatic and catchment-scale factors on stream insect (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera; EPT) richness across mid-latitude China. We assessed the predictive ability of climatic, catchment land cover and physical structure variables on genus richness of EPT, both individually and combined, in 80 mid-latitude Chinese streams, spanning a 3899-m altitudinal gradient. We performed analyses using boosted regression trees and explored the nature of their influence on richness patterns. The relative importance of climate, land cover, and physical factors on stream insect richness varied considerably between the three orders, and while important for Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera, latitude did not improve model fit for any of the groups. EPT richness was linked with areas comprising high forest cover, elevation and slope, large catchments and low temperatures. Ephemeroptera favoured areas with high forest cover, medium-to-large catchment sizes, high temperature seasonality, and low potential evapotranspiration. Plecoptera richness was linked with low temperature seasonality and annual mean, and high slope, elevation and warm-season rainfall. Finally, Trichoptera favoured high elevation areas, with high forest cover, and low mean annual temperature, seasonality and aridity. Our findings highlight the variable role that catchment land cover, physical properties and climatic influences have on stream insect richness. This is one of the first studies of its kind in Chinese streams, thus we set the scene for more in-depth assessments of stream insect richness across broader spatial scales in China, but stress the importance of improving data availability and consistency through time.
authors.affiliation: Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Tonkin
authors.affiliation: Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Deep Narayan
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuemmerlen
authors.affiliation: Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Fengqing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Gelnhausen, Germany; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Haase
authors.affiliation: Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Department of Ecosystem Research, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Sonja C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Jähnig
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D005843:Geography; D007313:Insecta / Q000145:classification*; D045483:Rivers / Q000469:parasitology*