Eating at high elevation: an herbivorous beetle from alpine rock outcrops relies on ammonia‐absorbing lichens

Marris, John W. M.; Hawke, David J.; Glenny, David

doi:10.1002/ecy.2598

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…We define the alpine zone as a spatial band extending from the climatic timberline to the permanent snow line (Wardle 1964;Burrows 1967;H. D. Wilson 1976;Mark and Dickinson 1997;Mark, Dickinson, and Hofstede 2000;Marris, Hawke, and Glenny 2019). Above the alpine zone is the nival, a composite of permanent snow, ice, and bare rock.…”

Section: The Southern Alps and Its Invertebrate Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taxa are common to the New Zealand Southern Alps. Biogeographic and taxonomic information sourced from (but not limited to): Bigelow 1967;Buckley and Simon 2007;Gibbs 1999;Koot 2018;Mark 2012;Marris et al 2019;Richards 1972 and Morgan- Richards 2019, unpublished Department of Conservation surveys, and observations by W. Chinn. Classification is insects, spiders (and kin), others.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Tracking the snow line: Responses to climate change by New Zealand alpine invertebrates

Chinn¹,

Chinn²

2020

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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We review and test an ecological paradigm that asserts that alpine invertebrate communities may shift upslope with climate warming. Our model couples the end of summer snow line (EOSS) elevation with invertebrate populations in New Zealand's Southern Alps, using a forty-year data set, from fifty index glaciers. We show the snow line has risen an average 3.7 m a −1. This is equivalent to raising alpine isotherms by almost 150 m and presents alpine biotic populations with four possible scenarios: upslope tracking, stasis, horizontal dispersal, or local adaptation. We characterize the alpine invertebrate biota (AIB) and present two case studies that show that high-elevation taxa have tracked the snow line within a narrow range (<20 m), whereas lower elevation taxa have potentially shifted by tens of meters. Relationships between the EOSS and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) are investigated because precipitation and temperature influence snow line elevation by 25 percent. We also highlight the utility of invertebrates for monitoring climate change impacts on alpine ecosystems with a proposal for alpine climate monitoring units (CMUs), complementing an existing network of ecological management units (EMUs). We include an annotated list of New Zealand alpine invertebrates as potential indicators of climate change.

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Section: The Southern Alps and Its Invertebrate Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Tracking the snow line: Responses to climate change by New Zealand alpine invertebrates

Chinn¹,

Chinn²

2020

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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“…For example, it should be possible to assess the extent to which mice rely on lichen at high elevations. Lichens are typically very 15 N-depleted relative to terrestrial plants (Fogel et al, 2008;Lee, Lim & Yoon, 2009;Pinho et al, 2017), and this holds true for lichens from high elevations (Biazrov, 2012;Marris et al, 2019;Szpak et al, 2013) and volcanic fumeroles (Tozer et al 2005). If lichen forms an important part of the diet of P. vaccarum at high elevations, we would expect to observe negative δ 15 N values.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Diet of Andean leaf-eared mice (Phyllotis) living at extreme elevations on Atacama volcanoes: insights from metagenomics, DNA metabarcoding, and stable isotopes

Quezada-Romegialli,

Quiroga-Carmona,

D’Elía

et al. 2024

Preprint

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On the flanks of >6000 m Andean volcanoes that tower over the Atacama Desert, leaf-eared mice (Phyllotis vaccarum) live at extreme elevations that surpass known vegetation limits. What the mice eat in these barren, hyperarid environments has been the subject of much speculation. According to the arthropod fallout hypothesis, sustenance is provided by windblown insects that accumulate in snowdrifts ('aolian deposits'). It is also possible that mice feed on saxicolous lichen or forms of cryptic vegetation that have yet to be discovered at such high elevations. We tested hypotheses about the diet of mice living at extreme elevations on Atacama volcanoes by combining metagenomic and DNA metabarcoding analyses of gut contents with stable-isotope analyses of mouse tissues. Genomic analyses of contents of the gastrointestinal tract of a live-captured mouse from the 6739 m summit of Volcán Llullaillaco revealed evidence for an opportunistic but purely herbivorous diet, including lichens. Although we found no evidence of animal DNA in gut contents of the summit mouse, stable isotope data indicate that mice native to elevations at or near vegetation limits (~5100 m) include a larger fraction of animal prey in their diet than mice from lower elevations. Some plant species detected in the gut contents of the summit mouse are known to exist at lower elevations at the base of the volcano and in the surrounding Altiplano, suggesting that such plants may occur at higher elevations beneath the snowpack or in other cryptic microhabitats.

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“…Brontini consists of 13 genera from all the continents (Thomas, 2003(Thomas, , 2011, which can usually be found under bark of dead trees. Both adults and larvae of Brontini appear to be fungivorous (Thomas, 2003;Yoshida & Hirowatari, 2016), while Protodendrophagus antipodes Thomas, from New Zealand, was found to feed on lichens (Marris et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptions of larval and pupal morphologies of Macrohyliota militaris (Erichson) (Silvanidae: Brontinae: Brontini)

2020

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The mature larva and pupa of the Australian silvanid species, Macrohyliota militaris (Erichson) are described from laboratory reared material. This is the first description of immature stages of Silvanidae from Australia. The larva of M. militaris conforms to the general body shape and apparent morphological features of known Brontini and is very similar to the Asian M. sculptus Yoshida & Hirowatari. Larval and pupal features of M. militaris are compared with other known larvae and pupae of Brontini described in the literature.

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Eating at high elevation: an herbivorous beetle from alpine rock outcrops relies on ammonia‐absorbing lichens

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Tracking the snow line: Responses to climate change by New Zealand alpine invertebrates

Tracking the snow line: Responses to climate change by New Zealand alpine invertebrates

Diet of Andean leaf-eared mice (Phyllotis) living at extreme elevations on Atacama volcanoes: insights from metagenomics, DNA metabarcoding, and stable isotopes

Descriptions of larval and pupal morphologies of Macrohyliota militaris (Erichson) (Silvanidae: Brontinae: Brontini)

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