engleski

Climate change and pollution reduce biomass and resource quality in freshwater food webs

Human activities are rapidly altering freshwater biodiversity and ecosystem services through the combined impacts of various stressors. In this study, we investigated the effects of increased water temperature (as a proxy for climate change), and pollution with pharmaceuticals (PhACs), and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) on primary producers and first level consumers in freshwater ecosystems. We conducted a microcosm experiment with a simplified freshwater food web consisting of moss and caddisfly larvae. The experiment was designed with four treatments: control, increased water temperature, PhACs and EDCs mix, and a multiple stressor treatment. The results showed that moss exhibited a mild response to the stressors and their combination. Increased water temperature negatively affected the development of caddisfly larvae, causing earlier emergence of adults and changes in their lipidome profiles. Pollution with PhACs and EDCs had a higher impact on the protein content and metabolism of all life stages of caddisfly larvae than warming. Multiple stressor effects were recorded in caddisfly adults, causing changes in metabolic response, lipidome profiles, and a decrease in total lipid content. Additionally, sex-specific responses were observed in adults, with females being more affected in terms of metabolome, and males in terms of lipidome. This study highlights the variability of both single and multiple stressor impacts on different traits, life stages, and sexes of a single insect species. The combined effects of warming and pollution negatively affect the population dynamics of aquatic insects and indicate a reduction in biomass and resource quality for both aquatic and terrestrial food webs.

Trichoptera ; Multiple stressors ; Emerging contaminants ; Climate change

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