Decadal biodiversity trends in rivers reveal recent community rearrangements

While it is recognized that biodiversity currently declines at a global scale, we still have an incomplete understanding of local biodiversity trends under global change. To address this deficiency, we examined the recent decadal trends in water quality and biodiversity (taxonomic and functional) of key river organisms (diatoms, macroinvertebrates and fish) in France. We implemented regression, RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. Our results showed that nutrient loads tended to decrease, diatom richness tended to decline and macoinvertebrate richness tended to increase. The recovery of sensitive taxa in all three groups suggested a successful outcome of water quality management in France over the past decades. Our study further revealed consistent rearrangements within river communities, with a decrease in the ratio of planktonic to benthic diatoms, and corresponding functional changes in macroinvertebrate and fish trait composition, indicative of a trophic cascade in response to changes in environmental conditions. [Display omitted] •Water management over the past decades decreased nutrient loads in French streams.•A recovery of sensitive taxa was observed for diatoms, macroinvertebrates and fish.•Diatom richness declined over time, while macroinvertebrate richness increased.•A shift from planktonic to benthic dominance of diatoms occurred.•This shift induced functional changes in macroinvertebrates and fish communities.