TY - JOUR
T1 - Climate change links fate of glaciers and an endemic alpine invertebrate
AU - Muhlfeld, Clint C.
AU - Giersch, J. Joseph
AU - Hauer, F. Richard
AU - Pederson, Gregory T.
AU - Luikart, Gordon
AU - Peterson, Douglas P.
AU - Downs, Christopher C.
AU - Fagre, Daniel B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements We thank S. Hostetler, J. Stanford, P. Cross, J. Kershner, J. Potter, P. VanEimeren, and two anonymous reviewers for reviews of previous drafts. Funding was provided by the USGS Global Climate Change Program, Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative (U.S. Department of Interior), National Park Service, National Science Foundation (DEB 1067129), and the Walton Family Foundation. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
PY - 2011/5
Y1 - 2011/5
N2 - Climate warming in the mid- to high-latitudes and high-elevation mountainous regions is occurring more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth, causing extensive loss of glaciers and snowpack. However, little is known about the effects of climate change on alpine stream biota, especially invertebrates. Here, we show a strong linkage between regional climate change and the fundamental niche of a rare aquatic invertebrate-the meltwater stonefly Lednia tumana-endemic to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Canada and USA. L. tumana has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act due to climate-change-induced glacier loss, yet little is known on specifically how climate impacts may threaten this rare species and many other enigmatic alpine aquatic species worldwide. During 14 years of research, we documented that L. tumana inhabits a narrow distribution, restricted to short sections (~500 m) of cold, alpine streams directly below glaciers, permanent snowfields, and springs. Our simulation models suggest that climate change threatens the potential future distribution of these sensitive habitats and the persistence of L. tumana through the loss of glaciers and snowfields. Mountaintop aquatic invertebrates are ideal early warning indicators of climate warming in mountain ecosystems. Research on alpine invertebrates is urgently needed to avoid extinctions and ecosystem change.
AB - Climate warming in the mid- to high-latitudes and high-elevation mountainous regions is occurring more rapidly than anywhere else on Earth, causing extensive loss of glaciers and snowpack. However, little is known about the effects of climate change on alpine stream biota, especially invertebrates. Here, we show a strong linkage between regional climate change and the fundamental niche of a rare aquatic invertebrate-the meltwater stonefly Lednia tumana-endemic to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Canada and USA. L. tumana has been petitioned for listing under the U. S. Endangered Species Act due to climate-change-induced glacier loss, yet little is known on specifically how climate impacts may threaten this rare species and many other enigmatic alpine aquatic species worldwide. During 14 years of research, we documented that L. tumana inhabits a narrow distribution, restricted to short sections (~500 m) of cold, alpine streams directly below glaciers, permanent snowfields, and springs. Our simulation models suggest that climate change threatens the potential future distribution of these sensitive habitats and the persistence of L. tumana through the loss of glaciers and snowfields. Mountaintop aquatic invertebrates are ideal early warning indicators of climate warming in mountain ecosystems. Research on alpine invertebrates is urgently needed to avoid extinctions and ecosystem change.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79955010058&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10584-011-0057-1
DO - 10.1007/s10584-011-0057-1
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:79955010058
SN - 0165-0009
VL - 106
SP - 337
EP - 345
JO - Climatic Change
JF - Climatic Change
IS - 2
ER -