| Autor: |
Fell SC; Sarah Fell (gyscf@leeds.ac.uk) is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown (l.brown@leeds.ac.uk) is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick (j.l.carrivick@leeds.ac.uk) is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom., Carrivick JL; Sarah Fell (gyscf@leeds.ac.uk) is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown (l.brown@leeds.ac.uk) is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick (j.l.carrivick@leeds.ac.uk) is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom., Brown LE; Sarah Fell (gyscf@leeds.ac.uk) is a PhD student studying alpine-river ecosystem response to glacier retreat. Dr. Lee Brown (l.brown@leeds.ac.uk) is an associate professor of aquatic science with a research interest in the population and community ecology, hydrology, and geomorphology of cold-environment river systems. Dr. Jonathan Carrivick (j.l.carrivick@leeds.ac.uk) is a senior lecturer in geomorphology, with a research focus spanning Earth-surface processes and landforms in polar, Arctic, and alpine environments. All authors are affiliated with the School of Geography and water@leeds at the University of Leeds, in the United Kingdom. |
| Abstrakt: |
Climate change is driving the thinning and retreat of many glaciers globally. Reductions of ice-melt inputs to mountain rivers are changing their physicochemical characteristics and, in turn, aquatic communities. Glacier-fed rivers can serve as model systems for investigations of climate-change effects on ecosystems because of their strong atmospheric-cryospheric links, high biodiversity of multiple taxonomic groups, and significant conservation interest concerning endemic species. From a synthesis of existing knowledge, we develop a new conceptual understanding of how reducing glacier cover affects organisms spanning multiple trophic groups. Although the response of macroinvertebrates to glacier retreat has been well described, we show that there remains a relative paucity of information for biofilm, microinvertebrate, and vertebrate taxa. Enhanced understanding of whole river food webs will improve the prediction of river-ecosystem responses to deglaciation while offering the potential to identify and protect a wider range of sensitive and threatened species. |
