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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 55(8)

Gondwanan mesotherms and cosmopolitan eurytherms: effects of temperature on the development and survival of Australian Chironomidae (Diptera) from tropical and temperate populations

Brendan G. McKie A B C D E , Peter S. Cranston B C and Richard G. Pearson A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

B Rainforest CRC.

C Entomology Department, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

D Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-90187 Umeå, Sweden.

E Corresponding author. Email: brendan.mckie@eg.umu.se

Marine and Freshwater Research 55(8) 759-768 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF04023
Submitted: 29 January 2004  Accepted: 10 September 2004   Published: 16 November 2004

Abstract

In temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, where stream thermal regimes fluctuate seasonally and predictably, temperature has a role in niche segregation and maintenance of patterns of lotic diversity and distribution, as described by the ‘Thermal Equilibrium Hypothesis’. In Australia, the role of temperature in regulating patterns of diversity and distribution has been obscure, as seasonal variation in stream temperatures can be exceeded by stochastic fluctuation in flow. The thermal responses of five lotic Chironomidae (Diptera) species, contrasting in biogeographic (evolutionary) history, from warm tropical and cool temperate Australian populations, were investigated. All species, including postulated cool-stenotherms, showed broadly eurythermic developmental and morphological responses, and maintained both survivorship and oocyte production at elevated temperatures despite reductions in overall body size. There were subtle differences among species according to biogeographic affinity, with tolerances of Gondwanan species, which were narrower than those of cosmopolitan species, best characterised as ‘mesothermic’, but there was little divergence between populations. These results have implications for the understanding of diversity and distribution of Australian chironomids, and indicate that applicability of the Thermal Equilibrium Hypothesis to Australian lotic faunas may be limited.

Extra keywords: biogeographic history, diversity, LT50, Thermal Equilibrium Hypothesis.


Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Joe Holtum and Jack Christopher of James Cook University’s (JCU) botany department for their freely-given assistance in ensuring the smooth operation of the controlled environment chambers. Field assistance was provided by Mayuri Ando and Marie, Ian and Katherine McKie. Mike Steele advised on statistical analysis. Jon Martin, Mac Butler and Eric Benbow provided guidance on the dissection of chironomid ovaries and the assessment of fecundity. The senior author was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award, with research funding from the Rainforest CRC. The temperate population experiments were funded by JCU’s Doctoral Merit Research Scheme. Leon Barmuta, Andrew Boulton and Athol McLachlan read the doctoral thesis on which this manuscript is based and made several suggestions that greatly improved its quality. Further improvements arose from the helpful comments of anonymous reviewers and discussion with the stream ecology group at Umeå University, and finally with Richard Marchant – many thanks to all.


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