How might sea level change affect arthropod biodiversity in anchialine caves: a comparison of Remipedia and Atyidae taxa (Arthropoda: Altocrustacea)

Abstract

Sea level change influences biodiversity of endemic cave fauna to varying degrees. In anchialine systems, a marine layer flows under less saline layers, each with differing associated fauna. We assess the role of present and historic (last glacial maximum – 18,000 years ago) distance from the ocean in determining species richness and phylogenetic diversity patterns for two groups of anchialine crustaceans: the marine-restricted Remipedia and a subset of groundwater-inhabiting atyid shrimp with greater tolerance for salinity variation. We calculated species richness and phylogenetic diversity per cave based on records of remipede and atyid diversity at 137 locations in the Yucatan Peninsula, Caribbean, Australia, and the Canary Islands. After calculating the distance of each cave’s surface opening from the past and present shoreline, we evaluated how species richness and phylogenetic diversity change with distance from the present and historic ocean. Remipede species richness and phylogenetic diversity declined rapidly with distance from the ocean. Ninety-five percent of the remipedes surveyed were located within 7 km of the present ocean and 18 km of the historic ocean. Atyid species richness and phylogenetic diversity declined more slowly with distance from the ocean than that of remipedes. Atyid shrimp were also distributed over a broader range: 95 % were located within 100 km of the present ocean and 240 km of the historic ocean. Our findings indicate that coastal geomorphology and salinity tolerance influence a clade’s distribution with respect to its distance from the ocean. We also report a possible latent response to sea level change.