Towards a Holarctic synthesis of peatland testate amoeba ecology: Development of a new continental-scale palaeohydrological transfer function for North America and comparison to European data

作者：Matthew J. Amesbury, Robert K. Booth, Thomas P. Roland, Joan Bunbury, Michael J. Clifford, Dan J. Charman, Suzanne Elliot, Sarah A. Finkelstein, Michelle Garneau, Paul D.M. Hughes, Alexandre Lamarre, Julie Loisel, Helen Mackay, Gabriel Magnan, Erin R. Markel, Edward A. D. Mitchell, Richard J. Payne, Nicolas Pelletier, Helen M. Roe, Maura E. Sullivan, Graeme T. Swindles, Julie Talbot, Simon van Bellen, Barry G. Warner · 发表于：Quaternary Science Reviews · 年份：2018 · DOI：10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.034 · 被引用次数：60 · 研究领域：Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology、Geological formations and processes

Fossil testate amoeba assemblages have been used to reconstruct peatland palaeohydrology for more than two decades. While transfer function training sets are typically of local-to regional-scale in extent, combining those data to cover broad ecohydrological gradients, from the regional-to continental- and hemispheric-scales, is useful to assess if ecological optima of species vary geographically and therefore may have also varied over time. Continental-scale transfer functions can also maximise modern analogue quality without losing reconstructive skill, providing the opportunity to contextualise understanding of purely statistical outputs with greater insight into the biogeography of organisms. Here, we compiled, at moderate taxonomic resolution, a dataset of nearly 2000 modern surface peatland testate amoeba samples from 137 peatlands throughout North America. We developed transfer functions using four model types, tested them statistically and applied them to independent palaeoenvironmental data. By subdividing the dataset into eco-regions, we examined biogeographical patterns of hydrological optima and species distribution across North America. We combined our new dataset with data from Europe to create a combined transfer function. The performance of our North-American transfer function was equivalent to published models and reconstructions were comparable to those developed using regional training sets. The new model can therefore be used as an effective tool to reconst...