Invertebrate communities of glacial and alpine rivers in the central highlands of Iceland

Gíslason, Gísli Már; Aðalsteinsson, Hákon; Ólafsson, Jón S.; Hansen, Iris

doi:10.1080/03680770.1998.11901509

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…At a certain distance from the glacier snout and with a relative low stream gradient more taxa and higher emergence numbers and rates were found. This corresponds very well to the results of benthic species numbers and abundances (Schu¨tz 1999;Lencioni et al 2000;Fu¨reder et al 2000;Gislason et al 2000;Fu¨reder et al 2001) and to the general literature about alpine river zonation (see e.g. Kownacka and Kownacki 1975;Milner and Petts 1994;Ward 1994;Fu¨reder 1999;Brittain and Milner 2001).…”

Section: Benthos -Emergencesupporting

confidence: 67%

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Füreder

Wallinger²,

Burger³

2005

Aquat Ecol

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Prevailing water sources and/or regional climate are known to have an important influence on hydromorphology and chemistry of high alpine streams, affecting biology and phenology of aquatic insects considerably. Seven reaches in two different stream types (glacial and non-glacial) in the European Central Alps were investigated along a longitudinal gradient above the tree line to elucidate community structure and emergence patterns of aquatic insects. Aquatic insect emergence was dominated by chironomid taxa in both streams (95.0% in the glacial vs. 90.5% in the spring-fed stream). Emergence rate was much higher in the non-glacial stream, with Chironomidae 638.9 ind. m À2 d À1 and EPT (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) 20.3 ind. m À2 d À1 (annual mean), compared to the glacial stream (Chironomidae 132 ind. m À2 d À1 and EPT 7.0 ind. m À2 d À1 ). Whereas, in the glacial stream a richer and more diverse species composition was found at lower elevations, emergence rate and emerging taxa numbers were higher at higher altitude in the non-glacial stream. Seasonal comparisons also showed a significant difference between the two streams. In the glacial stream maximum emergence was in April/May, whereas, in the nonglacial stream in July. A comparison with similar studies carried out in alpine streams showed that abundance and biomass of emerging insects were relatively low in the glacial stream. The continuous emergence throughout the summer is another example of insect life-cycle adaptation to the harsh environmental conditions in glacial streams: most likely, emergence during the warmer summer months, where the probability of experiencing favourable climate conditions on land is higher than for the rest of the year, was an evolutionary advantage for many glacial stream taxa.

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Section: Benthos -Emergencesupporting

confidence: 67%

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Füreder

Wallinger²,

Burger³

2005

Aquat Ecol

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“…Such a high T max at site 2 suggests kryal communities should have been displaced by more competitive species, if other environmental conditions were not limiting (Ward, 1994; Flory & Milner, 1999). Lencioni, Maiolini & Rossaro (2000) also found Diamesa steinboecki‐latitarsis and D. zernyi‐cinerella dominated communities in the Italian Alps at water temperatures in excess of 4 °C, and Gíslason et al . (2000) found communities dominated by Diamesa spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of glacial runoff on stream macroinvertebrate communities in the Taillon catchment, French Pyrénées

Snook

Milner

2001

Freshwater Biology

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1. Benthic communities were sampled from five sites within a glacial catchment in the Cirque du Gavaranie, French Pyrénées, over two consecutive years (i) to investigate whether longitudinal patterns in zoobenthic communities exist downstream of a glacial margin and (ii) to identify the principal environmental variables influencing such patterns. 2. There was a distinct zonation of communities with increasing distance from the glacial margin. Ordination of the zoobenthic distribution indicated sites were separated by the relative contributions of taxa rather than their presence or absence. A shift in community composition and diversity separated a kryal type community dominated by Diamesa spp., Prosimulium spp., Eriopterini and Empididae at ≥2200 m a.s.l., from a more rhithral community of Orthocladiinae, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera at 1900 m a.s.l. 3. Chironomidae showed a defined gradient in distribution from Pseudokiefferiella parva and Diamesa latitarsis groups close to the glacier, through D. zernyi and D. cinerella groups, Orthocladius, Parametriocnemus and Micropsectra further downstream with Rheocricotopus, Corynoneura and Nilotanypus furthest from the glacial margin. Diamesa cinerella/zernyi group was the most euryzonal taxon. 4. Gradients in channel and hydraulic stability, groundwater input and mean water temperature were identified as the principal environmental variables associated with the downstream distribution gradient of zoobenthos. Diamesa, Empididae, Eriopterini and Nematoda were most tolerant of channel and hydraulically unstable and cold water habitats. Simuliidae (Prosimulium), Crenobia alpina, Rhyacophila, Chaetopterygini, Drusus rectus, Capnioneura, Orthocladius and Parametriocnemus were associated with intermediate conditions. Corynoneura, Tanypodinae, Perlidae, Chloroperlidae, Agapetus fuscipes and Coleoptera were least tolerant of channel and hydraulic instability and low water temperature.

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“…A fissure zone assumed to be connected with a central volcano below the glacier (Björnsson, 1988; Sigurdsson, 1990) cuts through the area. The river flows along a slope of 5–10‰ for most of the way from the glacier to the lowlands, except between the edge of the highland plateau and the lowlands, where the slope is around 20‰ (Gíslason et al ., 2000b).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The downstream zonation of physical and chemical parameters and of macroinvertebrate species in the River W‐Jökulsá has been described by Adalsteinsson et al . (2000), Gíslason et al . (2000b) and Ólafsson et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages along a glacial river system in central Iceland

et al. 2001

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1. Macroinvertebrate assemblages were studied in the glacial river West‐Jökulsá, originating from the Hofsjökull Ice Cap in central Iceland at an altitude of 860 m. Sampling sites were distributed from the source to 45 km downstream at 160 m a.s.l. Comparative studies were carried out on non‐glacial rivers and tributaries in the area, at similar altitudes and distances from the glacial source. 2. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) demonstrated that species composition of benthic macroinvertebrates was related to the distance from the glacier. Assemblages at sampling sites furthest from the glacier were similar in species composition to sites in non‐glacial rivers. Temporal variation was small compared with longitudinal zonation. 3. Based on canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of data from the main glacial river, distance from the glacier, altitude, bryophyte biomass and the Pfankuch Index of channel stability were the measured explanatory variables having a significant effect on the structure of macroinvertebrate assemblages, accounting for 31% of the total variation in the data set. When data from all the rivers were analysed, altitude, bryophyte biomass, channel slope, suspended sediment concentration and maximum water temperature explained 21% of the variance. 4. Macroinvertebrate communities were in general agreement with the predictions of the conceptual model of Milner & Petts (1994) for the upstream reaches. The assemblages consisted mainly of Orthocladiinae and Diamesinae (Chironomidae), although other taxa such as Simuliidae, Plecoptera and Trichoptera were also found in low numbers. Shredders were lacking from the benthic communities, apparently because of continued glacial influence in the river even 45 km downstream from the glacier and lack of allochthononus inputs from riparian vegetation.

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Invertebrate communities of glacial and alpine rivers in the central highlands of Iceland

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

The influence of glacial runoff on stream macroinvertebrate communities in the Taillon catchment, French Pyrénées

Longitudinal changes in macroinvertebrate assemblages along a glacial river system in central Iceland

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