Title: | Ecological responses to experimental glacier-runoff reduction in alpine rivers |
Author(s): | Cauvy-Fraunie S; Andino P; Espinosa R; Calvez R; Jacobsen D; Dangles O; |
Address: | "Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), UMR EGCE, IRD-247 CNRS-UP Sud-9191, Avenue de la Terrasse, Batiment 13, 91198 Gif-sur Yvette, France. Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biologicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador. IRSTEA, UR MALY, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne 69100, France. Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD), UMR G-EAU, 361 Rue Jean-Francois Breton, BP 5095, 34196 Montpellier, France. Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 2041-1723 (Electronic) 2041-1723 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Glacier retreat is a worldwide phenomenon with important consequences for the hydrological cycle and downstream ecosystem structure and functioning. To determine the effects of glacier retreat on aquatic communities, we conducted a 4-year flow manipulation in a tropical glacier-fed stream. Compared with an adjacent reference stream, meltwater flow reduction induces significant changes in benthic fauna community composition in less than 2 weeks. Also, both algal and herbivore biomass significantly increase in the manipulated stream as a response to flow reduction. After the flow reduction ceased, the system requires 14-16 months to return to its pre-perturbation state. These results are supported by a multi-stream survey of sites varying in glacial influence, showing an abrupt increase in algal and herbivore biomass below 11% glacier cover in the catchment. This study shows that flow reduction strongly affects glacier-fed stream biota, prefiguring profound ecological effects of ongoing glacier retreat on aquatic systems" |
Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINECauvy-Fraunie, Sophie Andino, Patricio Espinosa, Rodrigo Calvez, Roger Jacobsen, Dean Dangles, Olivier eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2016/06/25 Nat Commun. 2016 Jun 24; 7:12025. doi: 10.1038/ncomms12025" |