2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/22/2019 | 9:15 AM - 9:30 AM | ICY SEEPS MAY ACT AS A REFUGE FOR ALPINE STREAM INVERTEBRATES: EVIDENCE FROM THE CENTRAL ROCKY MOUNTAINS | 250 AB
ICY SEEPS MAY ACT AS A REFUGE FOR ALPINE STREAM INVERTEBRATES: EVIDENCE FROM THE CENTRAL ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Air temperatures are warming fastest in high elevation ecosystems such as alpine zone. As a result, the hydrology of mountain tops is changing causing glaciers to melt and the loss of ice-fed streams. We investigated the invertebrate assemblages of alpine streams that differed in hydrologic source. We were particularly interested in icy seep streams that originated from subterranean ice (e.g., rock glaciers). Icy seeps may remain longer than other hydrologic sources because the debris over the subterranean ice insulates from warming air temperatures. We investigated the degree to which icy seeps may be a refuge for cold-adapted alpine invertebrates. We measured habitat characteristics and collected invertebrates from seven icy seeps, four surface glacier-fed and six snowmelt-fed streams in 2016 and 2017. Glacier-fed and icy seep streams had the coldest water temperatures. Icy seeps had the highest chlorophyll a (21.6 µg/m2), an indicator of algal biomass. The biomass of invertebrates was highest in snowmelt-fed streams (923 mg/m2), lowest in surface glacier-fed streams (317 mg/m2) and icy seeps spanned the gap between them. Icy seeps are diverse streams that may provide a cold-water refuge for alpine assemblages.
- Biodiversity
- Conservation
- Invertebrate
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Presenters/Authors
Lusha Tronstad
(), University of Wyoming, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, tronstad@uwyo.edu;
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