Recovering European River Invertebrate Communities Homogenize or Differentiate Depending on Anthropogenic Stress

TL;DR

European river invertebrate communities either become more similar or more different depending on the level of human-caused stress, affecting biodiversity recovery.

Contribution

The study shows that β-diversity in river invertebrates responds asymmetrically to anthropogenic stress, with homogenization at high stress and differentiation at low stress.

Findings

Communities in low-stress river basins showed biotic differentiation, while high-stress basins experienced homogenization.

Trait composition, rather than specific taxa or traits gained or lost, mediates community responses to anthropogenic stress.

Recovery from stress initially leads to homogenization, but differentiation occurs only when stress levels are sufficiently reduced.

Abstract

Biodiversity loss can lead to biotic homogenization, whereby local communities within a region become increasingly similar over time, resulting in simplified communities with reduced functionality. However, our understanding of whether alleviating anthropogenic stress can reverse homogenization and promote biotic differentiation (i.e., increasing dissimilarity) remains limited, partly because the effectiveness of conservation actions is often assessed only at the local scale (e.g., increases in local diversity). Here, we examined evidence for biotic differentiation in European river invertebrate communities, a system that has generally shown signs of local recovery. We analyzed 447 time series of river invertebrate communities from 1994 to 2023, spanning 48 river basins across 15 European countries. We then related trends in community similarity within each basin, measured as taxonomic and trait β‐diversity, to spatial gradients of anthropogenic stress, including ecological quality (a proxy of general anthropogenic stress), air temperature increase, and land cover pressure. β‐diversity trends were strongly mediated by anthropogenic stress levels, with communities in lower‐stress basins showing differentiation, while those in higher‐stress basins homogenized. In addition, we found that the direction of β‐diversity change depended less on taxa or traits being gained or lost, and more on the identity of the traits involved, highlighting how trait composition mediates community responses to anthropogenic change. Specifically, additions promoted differentiation at lower stress levels but contributed to homogenization under conditions of higher stress, whereas subtractions exhibited the inverse pattern. Our results demonstrate that β‐diversity responds asymmetrically to spatial variation in anthropogenic stress, with both homogenization and differentiation occurring within a system that is, overall, undergoing recovery. Recognizing the stress‐dependent responses of β‐diversity allows researchers and managers to more accurately assess conservation success and provide recommendations that promote long‐term ecosystem structural and functional recovery.

(a) European river invertebrate communities showed an average increase in local richness over time (1994–2023), indicating partial local recovery following the alleviation of anthropogenic stress (e.g., point‐source pollution). However, this local recovery was not accompanied by increases in β‐diversity, likely due to persistent, unaddressed stressors, such as diffuse pollution or climate change. (b) The levels of remaining anthropogenic stress explained the lack of directionality in average β‐diversity. Communities homogenized (i.e., β‐diversity declined) when stress was still high but differentiated (i.e., β‐diversity increased) when stress levels were lower. (c) The asymmetric response of β‐diversity to anthropogenic stress suggests that, during recovery, communities may initially homogenize and only differentiate once stress levels are sufficiently reduced.

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