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Warming in the Arctic is predicted to change freshwater biodiversity through loss of unique taxa and northward range expansion of lower latitude taxa. Detecting such changes requires establishing circumpolar baselines for diversity, and understanding the primary drivers of diversity.We examined benthic macroinvertebrate diversity using a circumpolar dataset of >1,500 Arctic lake and river sites. Rarefied α diversity within catchments was assessed along latitude and temperature gradients. Community composition was assessed through region‐scale analysis of β diversity and its components (nestedness and turnover), and analysis of biotic–abiotic relationships.Rarefied α diversity of lakes and rivers declined with increasing latitude, although more strongly across mainland regions than islands. Diversity was strongly related to air temperature, with the lowest diversity in the coldest catchments. Regional dissimilarity was highest when mainland regions were compared with islands, suggesting that connectivity limitations led to the strongest dissimilarity. High contributions of nestedness indicated that island regions contained a subset of the taxa found in mainland regions.High Arctic rivers and lakes were predominately occupied by Chironomidae and Oligochaeta, whereas Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera taxa were more abundant at lower latitudes. Community composition was strongly associated with temperature, although geology and precipitation were also important correlates.The strong association with temperature supports the prediction that warming will increase Arctic macroinvertebrate diversity, although low diversity on islands suggests that this increase will be limited by biogeographical constraints. Long‐term harmonised monitoring across the circumpolar region is necessary to detect such changes to diversity and inform science‐based management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic freshwaters support biota adapted to the harsh conditions at these latitudes, but the climate is changing rapidly and so are the underlying environmental filters. Currently, we have limited understanding of broad‐scale patterns of Arctic riverine biodiversity and the correlates of α‐ and β‐diversity.Using information from a database set up within the scope of the Arctic Council's Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Plan, we analysed patterns and correlates of α‐ and β‐diversity in benthic diatom and macroinvertebrate communities across northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland. We analysed variation in total β‐diversity and its replacement and richness difference components in relation to location of the river reach and its drainage basin (Baltic Sea in the south, the Barents Sea in the east and the north, and the Norwegian Sea in the west), in addition to climate and environmental variables.In both macroinvertebrates and diatoms, the replacement and richness difference components showed wide variation. For macroinvertebrates, the richness difference component was the more important, whereas for diatoms, the replacement component was the more important in contributing to variation in β‐diversity. There was no significant difference in β‐diversity between the three main drainage basins, but species composition differed among the drainage basins.Based on the richness difference component of β‐diversity, climate variables were most strongly associated with community variation in macroinvertebrates. In diatoms, both environmental and climate variables were strongly correlated with community compositional variation. In both groups, there were also significant differences in α‐diversity among the three main drainage basins, and several taxa were significant indicators of one of these drainage basins. Alpha diversity was greater in areas with a continental climate, while the oceanic areas in the west harboured greatly reduced flora and fauna.The correlates of biodiversity were relatively similar in macroinvertebrates and diatoms. Climate variables, in particular temperature, were the most strongly associated with biodiversity patterns in the Arctic rivers of Fennoscandia. Sedimentary geology may be associated with increased productivity and, to a lesser extent, with sensitivity to acidification. There was considerable variation in community composition across Arctic Fennoscandia, indicating the necessity of protecting several stream reaches or even whole catchments within each region to conserve total riverine biodiversity. Furthermore, it is likely that the predicted changes in temperature in Arctic areas will influence riverine diversity patterns across Fennoscandia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatial organisation of biotic communities derives from factors operating at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Despite strong scientific evidence of prevalent spatial control of community composition in freshwater ecosystems, local environmental factors are often considered as the main drivers of community change. Furthermore, taxonomic approaches are most frequently used, and few studies have compared the relative importance of local and regional control of trait versus the taxonomic composition in stream ecosystems., Using a spatially dense data set covering all stream sizes in a lowland European region of c. 42 000 km2 and three organism groups (macrophytes, macroinvertebrates and fishes), we compared the relative importance of spatial and environmental determinants of species and trait composition in the study streams, classified into headwaters (stream order 1-2) and downstream sites (stream order >2)., We hypothesised that (i) there is a higher correspondence between environmental conditions and trait composition than with species composition, (ii) dispersal limitation (pure spatial structuring) is greater in headwaters than in downstream sites and (iii) dispersal limitation (pure spatial structuring) is weakest for macroinvertebrates, intermediate for macrophytes and strongest for fishes., The most consistent pattern across organisms and stream order groups was a higher correspondence between environmental variation and trait composition as well as a higher number of environmental variables significantly related to trait composition than with species composition (hypothesis 1). Spatial structuring peaked in headwater macrophyte communities and downstream fish communities (hypotheses 2 & 3) - a pattern that was amplified when separate analyses of traits describing species dispersal potential were undertaken., Our study highlights the potential of traits to capture multiple environmental changes in stream ecosystems and illustrates how organism-specific and highly context-dependent patterns in community organisation can emerge as a consequence of interactions between habitat connectivity (i.e. top versus lower parts of the stream network) and organism dispersal potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Growth and emergence of the acidification tolerant stonefly Leuctra nigra were studied in four coniferous forest streams with contrasting pH. Invertebrate samples were taken bimonthly during May 1997 to April 1998. Emerging L. nigra were captured in two of the streams during April to July 1998 using pyramidal emergence traps. In addition, a laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate growth of L. nigra in response to variations in food quality (neutral or acid conditioned leaves) and water pH. 2. The invertebrate community in low pH streams had lower diversity and density compared with neutral streams. Abundance of L. nigra was also lower, despite the dominance of this stonefly in the invertebrate community in the acidic streams. 3. Secondary production of L. nigra was 2.04 and 3.07 g DW m–2 year–1 in the neutral streams compared with 1.02 and 1.27 g DW m–2 year–1 in the acidic streams. The P/B ratio differed only slightly among streams. 4. More adult L. nigra emerged in the neutral stream compared with the acidic stream, despite the density of the pre-emerging fifth instar nymphs of L. nigra being similar in the two streams. Adult size (expressed as wing length) and female fitness were also significantly greater in the neutral stream. 5. Laboratory growth of L. nigra nymphs was significantly lower when fed acid conditioned alder leaves rather than neutral conditioned leaves. There was no difference in growth when nymphs were fed neutral conditioned leaves in acid and neutral water. 6. Our study shows multiple, sub-lethal effects on life history of the acidification tolerant stonefly L. nigra in coniferous streams with low pH. The results suggest that these effects could be mediated primarily by low food quality. These findings add to the existing evidence that coniferous plantation forestry has a negative impact on stream ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]