Étude des réponses écophysiologiques et fonctionnelles de populations de l'organisme clé Gammarus pulex (crustacea, Amphipoda) dans un contexte de changement climatique, au sein de la vallée du Rhône

The study of global warming consequences on aquatic ecosystems has become amajor issue in current scientific research. We measured the impact of water temperature and the climate-related change in riparian vegetation on six populations of Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda) living in the North and in the South of the Rhône River valley (France). This crustacean, widely distributed in European freshwaters, is considered as a key species for the freshwater ecosystems functioning as it degrades the leaf litter from the riparian area, thus favouring its subsequent use by other invertebrates. Our results of temperature effect onenergy stores, oxygen consumption, and survival suggest that the optimal thermal window shifts from 2-3°C between northern and southern gammarids. Females’ investment into reproduction changes through seasons, with different strategies according to their geographical origins. Concerning the functional point of view, the leaf litter origin(Mediterranean/continental) less influences the conditioning of leaves and the decomposition rate than their initial toughness. An increase in water temperature accelerates the conditioning and the enzymatic digestion of leaves (in gammarids guts) but slightly influences their degradation by this crustacean. Our results show that adaptations at the limit of the species geographical distribution area can change the response to climate change in aquatic organisms. Moreover, a change in the type of the leaf litter could modify the availability of trophic resource through seasons and hence the ecosystem functioning.L’étude des conséquences du réchauffement climatique sur les écosystèmes aquatiques est devenue un enjeu majeur pour la recherche. Nous avons mesuré l’impact de la température des eaux douces et du changement de végétation riparienne associé au climat sur six populations de Gammarus pulex (Amphipode) vivant au nord ou au sud de la vallée du Rhône (France). Ce crustacé, largement répandu dans les eaux douces européennes, est considéré comme une espèce clé pour le fonctionnement des écosystèmes aquatiques, car, en dégradant la litière de feuilles provenant de la ripisylve, il favorise son utilisation par d’autres invertébrés. Nos résultats sur l’effet de la température sur les réserves énergétiques, la consommation d’oxygène et la survie, suggèrent que la fenêtre thermique optimale est décalée de 2-3°C entre les gammares du nord et ceux du sud. L’investissement reproducteur varie saisonnièrement, avec des stratégies différentes selon l’origine des femelles. La provenance des feuilles (méditerranéenne/continentale) influence moins leur conditionnement et la vitesse de décomposition que leur dureté initiale. Une hausse de température accélère le conditionnement et la digestion des feuilles mais influence peu leur dégradation. Nos résultats montrent que des adaptations en bordure d’aire de distribution peuvent modifier la réponse des organismes aquatiques face aux changements climatiques. De plus, un changement de la nature des litières lié au réchauffement pourrait modifier la disponibilitédes ressources trophiques au cours des saisons et ainsi le fonctionnement des écosystèmes

Study of ecophysiological and functional responses of populations of the keyspecies Gammarus pulex (Crustacea, Amphipoda) along the Rhône River Valley, in the context of climate change

L’étude des conséquences du réchauffement climatique sur les écosystèmes aquatiques est devenue un enjeu majeur pour la recherche. Nous avons mesuré l’impact de la température des eaux douces et du changement de végétation riparienne associé au climat sur six populations de Gammarus pulex (Amphipode) vivant au nord ou au sud de la vallée du Rhône (France). Ce crustacé, largement répandu dans les eaux douces européennes, est considéré comme une espèce clé pour le fonctionnement des écosystèmes aquatiques, car, en dégradant la litière de feuilles provenant de la ripisylve, il favorise son utilisation par d’autres invertébrés. Nos résultats sur l’effet de la température sur les réserves énergétiques, la consommation d’oxygène et la survie, suggèrent que la fenêtre thermique optimale est décalée de 2-3°C entre les gammares du nord et ceux du sud. L’investissement reproducteur varie saisonnièrement, avec des stratégies différentes selon l’origine des femelles. La provenance des feuilles (méditerranéenne/continentale) influence moins leur conditionnement et la vitesse de décomposition que leur dureté initiale. Une hausse de température accélère le conditionnement et la digestion des feuilles mais influence peu leur dégradation. Nos résultats montrent que des adaptations en bordure d’aire de distribution peuvent modifier la réponse des organismes aquatiques face aux changements climatiques. De plus, un changement de la nature des litières lié au réchauffement pourrait modifier la disponibilitédes ressources trophiques au cours des saisons et ainsi le fonctionnement des écosystèmes.The study of global warming consequences on aquatic ecosystems has become amajor issue in current scientific research. We measured the impact of water temperature and the climate-related change in riparian vegetation on six populations of Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda) living in the North and in the South of the Rhône River valley (France). This crustacean, widely distributed in European freshwaters, is considered as a key species for the freshwater ecosystems functioning as it degrades the leaf litter from the riparian area, thus favouring its subsequent use by other invertebrates. Our results of temperature effect onenergy stores, oxygen consumption, and survival suggest that the optimal thermal window shifts from 2-3°C between northern and southern gammarids. Females’ investment into reproduction changes through seasons, with different strategies according to their geographical origins. Concerning the functional point of view, the leaf litter origin(Mediterranean/continental) less influences the conditioning of leaves and the decomposition rate than their initial toughness. An increase in water temperature accelerates the conditioning and the enzymatic digestion of leaves (in gammarids guts) but slightly influences their degradation by this crustacean. Our results show that adaptations at the limit of the species geographical distribution area can change the response to climate change in aquatic organisms. Moreover, a change in the type of the leaf litter could modify the availability of trophic resource through seasons and hence the ecosystem functioning

Effect of climate-related change in vegetation on leaf litter consumption and energy storage by Gammarus pulex from Continental or Mediterranean populations.

As a consequence of global warming, it is important to characterise the potential changes occurring for some functional processes through the intra-specific study of key species. Changes in species distribution, particularly when key or engineer species are affected, should contribute to global changes in ecosystem functioning. In this study, we examined the potential consequences induced by global warming on ecosystem functioning in term of organic matter recycling. We compared consumption of leaf litter by some shredder populations (Gammarus pulex) between five tree species inhabiting continental (i.e., the northern region of the Rhône River Valley) and/or Mediterranean (i.e., the southern region of the Rhône River Valley) conditions. To consider any potential adaptation of the gammarid population to vegetation in the same climate conditions, three populations of the key shredder Gammarus pulex from the northern region and three from the southern region of the Rhône River Valley were used. We experimentally compared the effects of the geographical origin of both the gammarid populations and the leaf litter species on the shredding activity and the physiological state of animals (through body triglyceride content). This study demonstrated that leaf toughness is more important than geographical origin for determining shredder leaf litter consumption. The overall consumption rate of the gammarid populations from the southern region of Rhône Valley was much higher than that of the populations from the northern region, but no clear differences between the origins of the leaf litter (i.e., continental vs. Mediterranean) were observed. The northwards shift of G. pulex populations adapted to warmer conditions might significantly modify organic matter recycling in continental streams. As gammarid populations can demonstrate local adaptations to certain leaf species as a trophic resource, changes in riparian vegetation associated with climate change might locally affect the leaf litter degradation process by this shredder

Physiological and metabolic responses to rising temperature in Gammarus pulex (Crustacea) populations living under continental or Mediterranean climates

International audienc

Differential regulation of hsp70 genes in the freshwater key species Gammarus pulex (Crustacea, Amphipoda) exposed to thermal stress: effects of latitude and ontogeny

International audienc

Effects of rising temperature on a functional process: consumption and digestion of leaf litter by a freshwater shredder

International audienc

Chronic exposure to soil salinity in terrestrial species: Does plasticity and underlying physiology differ among specialized ground-dwelling spiders?

International audienceIn salt marshes, the alternation of low and high tides entails rapid shifts of submersion and aerial exposure for terrestrial communities. In these intertidal environments, terrestrial species have to deal with an osmotic loss in body water content and an increase in sodium chloride concentration when salt load increases. In salt marshes, spiders represent an abundant arthropod group, whose physiological ecology in response to variations of soil salinity must be further investigated. In this study, we compared the effect of salinity on the survival and physiology of three species of Lycosidae; two salt marsh species (Arctosa fulvolineata and Pardosa purbeckensis) and one forest species (P. saltans). Spiders were individually exposed at three salinity conditions (0‰, 35‰ and 70‰) and survival, changes in body water content, hemolymph ions (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+; ICP-MS technique) and metabolites (mainly amino acids, polyols, sugars; LC and GC techniques) were assessed. The survival of the forest species P. saltans was very quickly hampered at moderate and high salinities. In this spider, variations of hemolymph ions and metabolites revealed a quick loss of physiological homeostasis and a rapid salt-induced dehydration of the specimens. Conversely, high survival durations were measured in the two salt-marsh spiders, and more particularly in A. fulvolineata. In both P. purbeckensis and A. fulvolineata, the proportion of Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ remained constant at the three experimental conditions. Accumulation of hemolymph Na+ and amino acids (mainly glutamine and proline) demonstrated stronger osmoregulatory capacities in these salt-marsh resident spiders. To conclude, even if phylogenetically close (belonging to the same, monophyletic, family), we found different physiological capacities to cope with salt load among the three tested spider species. Nevertheless, physiological responses to salinity were highly consistent with the realized ecological niches of the spiders. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd

Disentangling the effects of local and regional factors on the thermal tolerance of freshwater crustaceans

International audienceIn the global warming context, we compared the thermal tolerance of several populations of the crustacean Gammarus pulex (Amphipoda: Gammaridae) along a latitudinal thermal gradient in the Rhone Valley. To disentangle the effect of regional (North vs. South) and local (site-specific) factors, the ecophysiological responses of populations were investigated at two levels of biological organisation: whole organism level considering body size [critical thermal maximum (CTmax), mean speed of locomotion (MS), time mobile (TM)] and organelle function level [mitochondrial respiratory control ratios (RCRs)]. CTmax and RCRs, but not MS and TM, revealed a significantly higher thermal tolerance in southern populations compared to northern ones. Nevertheless, temperatures >/= 30 degrees C were deleterious for all populations, suggesting that populations located in the warmer limit of the species distribution will be more threatened by climate change as they live closer to their upper thermal limits. The strong differences observed between populations indicate that the species-level thermal tolerance used in predictive models may not be informative enough to study the impact of global warming on species distributions. This work also reveals that an appropriate choice of indicators is essential to study the consequences of global warming since the response of organisms at the whole body level can be influenced by local conditions

Effects of diet and salinity on the survival, egg laying and metabolic fingerprints of the ground-dwelling spider Arctosa fulvolineata (Araneae, Lycosidae)

International audienceSoil salinity and the salinity of trophic resources may alter the osmoregulatory processes of arthropod, challenging the smooth regulation of body water, and, ultimately, survival. The intra and extracellular build-up of osmolytes represent a common strategy to attenuate acute hyperosmotic stress in several arthropod species. In the present study, we aimed to determine the impact of substrate and trophic resource salinities on salt tolerance in the female wolf spider, Arctosa fulvolineata, which is considered a specialist salt marsh species. We evaluated adult female survival and egg laying, and quantified the osmo-induced accumulation of compatible solutes (GC-MS). Three concentrations of substrate salinity were tested (0‰, 35‰ and 70‰) under three trophic conditions (starved spiders, spiders fed with salt prey [intertidal amphipods] and spiders fed with unsalted prey [freshwater amphipods]). We found no support for diet preferences in female A. fulvolineata, which exhibited similar predation rates on freshwater and marine amphipods. Survival and egg-laying were significantly impaired when female A. fulvolineata were exposed to hypersaline conditions for 12 days. Our results showed an increase in the level of several compatible solutes when spiders were exposed for 12 days to saline conditions. For instance, α-alanine, β-alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartate, homoserine, glutamine, glycine, proline and serine levels were 4-10 times higher under hypersaline conditions. The osmo-induced accumulation of amino acids may increase the osmolality of body fluids, thus enhancing the smooth regulation of body fluids and survival ability of wolf spider under extreme saline conditions

Spearman correlations between the mean leaf litter consumption rates (mg.d⁻¹.mg⁻¹) for the five leaf litter species and the percentages of variation of the mean body triglyceride content compared with controls (in mg.g⁻¹ dry weight) for southern and northern populations, with males and females pooled.

<p>Spearman correlations between the mean leaf litter consumption rates (mg.d⁻¹.mg⁻¹) for the five leaf litter species and the percentages of variation of the mean body triglyceride content compared with controls (in mg.g⁻¹ dry weight) for southern and northern populations, with males and females pooled.</p