Assessing the Vulnerability of Aquifer Stoneflies to Climate Change: Experimental Manipulations of Temperature and Oxygen Levels

Author

Anna Brown, Bucknell UniversityFollow

Date of Thesis

Spring 2025

Description

As global temperatures continue to rise in the face of climate change, ecosystems around the world are being altered, especially freshwater habitats. Stoneflies (Plecoptera) are aquatic macroinvertebrates crucial for maintaining freshwater biodiversity and trophic stability by cycling key nutrients. Warmer water temperatures and reduced dissolved oxygen levels are major factors associated with climate change that are impacting aquatic ecosystems. These environmental changes can seriously threaten the survival of stonefly species due to the physiological requirements of living underwater. Stress and even death can occur with exposure to temperatures outside an organism’s optimal range or insufficient oxygen intake. While most stoneflies live in the benthic regions of cold, highly oxygenated streams and rivers, aquifer stoneflies live in groundwater, up to ten meters below river floodplains for their entire pre-adult life (2-3 years). They have shown specialized adaptations to this distinctive environment, including hypoxia and anoxia tolerance, and stenothermism, making them a key study organism for expanding our understanding of how climate change may impact aquatic insect species. This study aims to assess the vulnerability of aquifer stoneflies to climate change, with the goal of better understanding if they exhibit plasticity in response to changing environmental conditions. Using experimental manipulations of temperatures and oxygen levels, we found that while warmer temperatures pose a serious threat to the survival of aquifer stoneflies, they show strong resistance to reduced dissolved oxygen levels.

Keywords

Plasticity, Climate Change, Acclimation, Aquifer Stoneflies, Aquatic Ecology, Respirometry

Access Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Type

Bachelor of Arts

Major

Biology

Second Major

Environmental Science

First Advisor

Dr. Steve Jordan

Second Advisor

Dr. Matthew McTammany

Third Advisor

Dr. Abigail Kopec

Comments

Additional mentorship for this work was provided by Dr. Rachel Malison from the University of Montana

Recommended Citation

Brown, Anna, "Assessing the Vulnerability of Aquifer Stoneflies to Climate Change: Experimental Manipulations of Temperature and Oxygen Levels" (2025). Honors Theses. 726.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/honors_theses/726