Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape
Abstract The melting cryosphere adds heterogeneity to the abiotic and biotic characteristics of many high latitude and montane rivers. However, climate change threatens the cryosphere's persistence in many regions. While existing research has explored the impacts of cryospheric loss on the dive...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.12451 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/lno.12451 |
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crwiley:10.1002/lno.12451 2024-09-15T18:07:33+00:00 Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape Dunkle, Matthew R. Bellmore, J. Ryan Fellman, Jason B. Caudill, Christopher C. Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks Division of Graduate Education Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Pacific Northwest Research Station 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.12451 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/lno.12451 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Limnology and Oceanography volume 69, issue 2, page 232-245 ISSN 0024-3590 1939-5590 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12451 2024-06-27T04:19:34Z Abstract The melting cryosphere adds heterogeneity to the abiotic and biotic characteristics of many high latitude and montane rivers. However, climate change threatens the cryosphere's persistence in many regions. While existing research has explored the impacts of cryospheric loss on the diversity and structure of freshwater communities, implications for functional traits of communities, such as production of aquatic invertebrates, remain unresolved. Here, we quantified aquatic invertebrate community structure and secondary production in southeast Alaska ( USA ) streams that represent a meltwater to non‐meltwater gradient, including streams fed primarily by: (1) glacier‐melt, (2) snowmelt, (3) rainfall, and (4) a combination of these sources. We found alpha diversity was highest in the snow‐fed stream and lowest in the glacier‐fed stream. Annual secondary production was also lowest in the glacier‐fed stream (0.56 g ash‐free dry mass m −2 ), but 2–5 times higher in the other stream types primarily due to greater production of shared taxa that were found in all streams. However, despite low invertebrate diversity and productivity, the glacier‐fed stream hosted distinct species assemblages associated with unique cycles of stream flow, water temperature, turbidity, and nutrient concentrations, which contributed to higher beta diversity between streams. Our findings suggest that the loss of glacier‐melt contributions to rivers may result in increased freshwater invertebrate production but reduced beta diversity, which could have implications for community stability and the capacity of landscapes to support higher‐level consumers, including fishes. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier glaciers Subarctic Alaska Wiley Online Library Limnology and Oceanography 69 2 232 245 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
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English |
description |
Abstract The melting cryosphere adds heterogeneity to the abiotic and biotic characteristics of many high latitude and montane rivers. However, climate change threatens the cryosphere's persistence in many regions. While existing research has explored the impacts of cryospheric loss on the diversity and structure of freshwater communities, implications for functional traits of communities, such as production of aquatic invertebrates, remain unresolved. Here, we quantified aquatic invertebrate community structure and secondary production in southeast Alaska ( USA ) streams that represent a meltwater to non‐meltwater gradient, including streams fed primarily by: (1) glacier‐melt, (2) snowmelt, (3) rainfall, and (4) a combination of these sources. We found alpha diversity was highest in the snow‐fed stream and lowest in the glacier‐fed stream. Annual secondary production was also lowest in the glacier‐fed stream (0.56 g ash‐free dry mass m −2 ), but 2–5 times higher in the other stream types primarily due to greater production of shared taxa that were found in all streams. However, despite low invertebrate diversity and productivity, the glacier‐fed stream hosted distinct species assemblages associated with unique cycles of stream flow, water temperature, turbidity, and nutrient concentrations, which contributed to higher beta diversity between streams. Our findings suggest that the loss of glacier‐melt contributions to rivers may result in increased freshwater invertebrate production but reduced beta diversity, which could have implications for community stability and the capacity of landscapes to support higher‐level consumers, including fishes. |
author2 |
Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks Division of Graduate Education Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Pacific Northwest Research Station |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Dunkle, Matthew R. Bellmore, J. Ryan Fellman, Jason B. Caudill, Christopher C. |
spellingShingle |
Dunkle, Matthew R. Bellmore, J. Ryan Fellman, Jason B. Caudill, Christopher C. Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
author_facet |
Dunkle, Matthew R. Bellmore, J. Ryan Fellman, Jason B. Caudill, Christopher C. |
author_sort |
Dunkle, Matthew R. |
title |
Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
title_short |
Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
title_full |
Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
title_fullStr |
Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glaciers, snow, and rain: Water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
title_sort |
glaciers, snow, and rain: water source influences invertebrate community structure and secondary production across a hydrologically diverse subarctic landscape |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lno.12451 https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/lno.12451 |
genre |
glacier glaciers Subarctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
glacier glaciers Subarctic Alaska |
op_source |
Limnology and Oceanography volume 69, issue 2, page 232-245 ISSN 0024-3590 1939-5590 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.12451 |
container_title |
Limnology and Oceanography |
container_volume |
69 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
232 |
op_container_end_page |
245 |
_version_ |
1810444935717978112 |