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Geographical fine-scaled distributional differentiation caused by niche differentiation in three closely related mayflies

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Abstract

The distribution area of a species is determined by a combination of factors and since each species of aquatic insect has adapted to drastically changing environments along river channels, they are excellent targets for study. Considering these factors, we focused on three Ephemera mayflies inhabiting the Japanese Archipelago and investigate their niche differentiation patterns. A total of 29 study sites were established within the Asahi-gawa River System to study the relationship between various environmental factors and these mayflies' population structures. From the results of RDA and/or GLMMs, Ephemera japonica tended to distribute in locations with a small degree of canopy openness and a lot of cobbles and boulders. In contrast, Ephemera orientalis tended to distribute in locations with small riverbed slope degree, and small grain size. The distribution area of Ephemera strigata was intermediate between that of E. japonica and E. orientalis. At several study sites, although the distribution patterns appeared irregular due to surrounding environments affected by artificial structures, these patterns can be explained by examining the environmental factors around dams. These results on geographical fine-scaled niche differentiation within a closely related species provide significance knowledge to support understanding of the mechanisms of species coexistence and biodiversity creation.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to express our thanks to Mr. K. Yoshitaka (Okayama City), Dr. T. Suzuki (Shinshu Univ.), Dr. M. Takenaka (National Institute for Basic Biology), Mr. K. Yano (Shinshu Univ.) for valuable advice and encouragement. We are also indebted to Mr. H. Kogawara (Shinshu Univ.), members of the Tojo Laboratory (Shinshu Univ.) and Saito Laboratory (Okayama Univ. of Science), for their cooperation with the field research and collection of specimens. We also thank the Chugoku Electric Power Co. Inc. and the Okayama Prefecture Enterprise Bureau that provided data of small dams and intake weirs. This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research from the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS 23657064, 26650160, 16K14807 to KT), by grants from the River Environment Fund (25-1215-016 to KT, 2021-5311-009 to SO) of River and Watershed Environment Management, and by a research grant from the Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University (KT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Mountain and Environmental Science, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Asahi 3-1-1, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan

    Seiya Okamoto & Koji Tojo

  2. Department of Applied Science, Graduate School of Science, Okayama University of Science, Ridai-cho 1-1, Kita-ku, Okayama, Okayama, 700-0005, Japan

    Tatsuaki Saito

  3. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shinshu University, Asahi 3-1-1, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan

    Koji Tojo

  4. Institute of Mountain Science, Shinshu University, Asahi 3-1-1, Matsumoto, Nagano, 390-8621, Japan

    Koji Tojo

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  1. Seiya Okamoto
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Correspondence to Koji Tojo.

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Okamoto, S., Saito, T. & Tojo, K. Geographical fine-scaled distributional differentiation caused by niche differentiation in three closely related mayflies. Limnology 23, 89–101 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-021-00673-z

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