Climate-induced glacier and snow loss imperils alpine stream insects

© 2016 Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article has been contributed to by US Government employees and their work is in the public domain in the USA..

Climate warming is causing rapid loss of glaciers and snowpack in mountainous regions worldwide. These changes are predicted to negatively impact the habitats of many range-restricted species, particularly endemic, mountaintop species dependent on the unique thermal and hydrologic conditions found only in glacier-fed and snow melt-driven alpine streams. Although progress has been made, existing understanding of the status, distribution, and ecology of alpine aquatic species, particularly in North America, is lacking, thereby hindering conservation and management programs. Two aquatic insects - the meltwater stonefly (Lednia tumana) and the glacier stonefly (Zapada glacier) - were recently proposed for listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act due to climate-change-induced habitat loss. Using a large dataset (272 streams, 482 total sites) with high-resolution climate and habitat information, we describe the distribution, status, and key environmental features that limit L. tumana and Z. glacier across the northern Rocky Mountains. Lednia tumana was detected in 113 streams (175 sites) within Glacier National Park (GNP) and surrounding areas. The probability of L. tumana occurrence increased with cold stream temperatures and close proximity to glaciers and permanent snowfields. Similarly, densities of L. tumana declined with increasing distance from stream source. Zapada glacier was only detected in 10 streams (24 sites), six in GNP and four in mountain ranges up to ~600 km southwest. Our results show that both L. tumana and Z. glacier inhabit an extremely narrow distribution, restricted to short sections of cold, alpine streams often below glaciers predicted to disappear over the next two decades. Climate warming-induced glacier and snow loss clearly imperils the persistence of L. tumana and Z. glacier throughout their ranges, highlighting the role of mountaintop aquatic invertebrates as sentinels of climate change in mid-latitude regions.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2017

Erschienen:

2017

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:23

Enthalten in:

Global change biology - 23(2017), 7 vom: 01. Juli, Seite 2577-2589

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Giersch, J Joseph [VerfasserIn]
Hotaling, Scott [VerfasserIn]
Kovach, Ryan P [VerfasserIn]
Jones, Leslie A [VerfasserIn]
Muhlfeld, Clint C [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Alpine ecosystems
Conservation biology
Endangered Species Act
Global change
Journal Article
Lednia
Macroinvertebrates
Plecoptera
Stoneflies
Zapada

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 20.10.2017

Date Revised 08.04.2022

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1111/gcb.13565

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM266336922