Diverging life cycle patterns of two Diamesa species (Diptera, Chironomidae) in High Arctic streams, Svalbard

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Schütz, Stefan Andreas, Brittain, John E., Füreder, Leopold
• Other Authors: university of innsbruck, research council of norway and svalbard science forum, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Direcorate, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, University of Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck and Medical University of Innsbruck
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Science and Business Media LLC 2021
• Subjects: General Agricultural and Biological Sciences; Arctic; Svalbard; Polar Biology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00300-021-02987-1; https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00300-021-02987-1.pdf; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-021-02987-1/fulltext.html

Abstract The fauna of streams in the High Arctic, dominated by chironomids, is shaped by extreme environmental conditions that represent the physiological limits for benthic invertebrates. Despite their ecological importance, little is known of chironomid life histories, development strategies and the key abiotic drivers limiting larval growth in High Arctic streams. We investigated the larval development and growth in three High Arctic rivers with contrasting water sources, thermal regimes and nutrient characteristics. Populations of the larvae of Diamesa bohemani (Goetghebuer 1932) and Diamesa aberrata (Lundbeck 1898) from two sampling occasions in July and August 2016 were morphometrically analysed to determine life history patterns and instream productivity. Water temperature differences lead to diverging development patterns on local spatial scales. The lowest larval growth was in a groundwater/snowmelt fed stream with low food concentration and quality, suggesting that stream productivity is not primarily water source dependant, but is dependent on the nutrient supply. Glacially influenced streams are clearly more productive than previously assumed, resulting in comparable secondary production to groundwater/snowmelt-fed streams.