Seasonal abundance and community structure of Chironomidae in two contrasting high alpine streams

Füreder, Leopold; Schütz, Cornelia; Burger, Rainer; Wallinger, Manfred

doi:10.1080/03680770.1998.11901508

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 7 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: 66%

“…Like in the investigations about benthic community structure in glacier-fed Rotmoosache and spring-fed Ko¨nigsbach (Schu¨tz 1999;Fu¨reder et al 2000;Fu¨reder et al 2001), there were distinct differences in the emergence when the two different stream types were compared. Emergence numbers as well as emergence rate were much lower in the glacier-fed stream than in the spring-fed stream.…”

Section: Benthos -Emergencementioning

confidence: 96%

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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: 66%

Section: Benthos -Emergencementioning

confidence: 96%

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Füreder

Wallinger²,

Burger³

2005

Aquat Ecol

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“…Many of the studied lakes were sampled once a year, some over a two to three summer weeks/months period, and almost no data exist from the rest of the year -which is 70-80% of an aquatic insect's life cycle. When we initiated year-round sampling in alpine streams (Fu¨reder et al, 2000;Schu¨tz et al, 2001) results were considerably altered and different from earlier studies. Similar effects may be expected for alpine lakes.…”

Section: Future Research Focimentioning

confidence: 60%

“…The decline of taxa numbers and diversity combined with an increase of individuals definitely demonstrates the shifting impact from biotic to abiotic conditions, a pattern which is known from other freshwater ecosystems (e.g. Tockner et al, 1997;Fu¨reder et al, 2000;Brittain & Milner, 2001).…”

Section: Effects Of Altitude and Catchment Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Macroinvertebrate Diversity in Alpine Lakes: Effects of Altitude and Catchment Properties

et al. 2006

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Lakes are common features of alpine landscapes, and the attention given to alpine lakes has increased recently in response to increased recognition of the important role that these freshwaters play as sensible indicators of climate change. Despite this general research interest, there is nevertheless a general lack of information about zoobenthos especially of lakes in the Alps, and only few published data are available, which has made it nearly impossible to draw general conclusions in respect to benthic community structure, profundal and/or littoral food webs. This paper aims to explore the relationships between main environmental/catchment properties of 55 lakes and their littoral benthic fauna across three regions of the Alps. We provide updated information on relative abundance, species richness, distribution and ecology of macroinvertebrates which occur and are typical in the littoral of high-mountain lakes of the Alps. These lakes were located in the Lago-Maggiore Watershed (Italy and Switzerland), in South Tyrol (Italy) and in North/East Tyrol (Austria), between 1840 and 2796 m a.s.l., in catchments undisturbed by human activities. As the studied lakes are situated above the tree line, they were characterised by low nutrient levels indicating an oligotrophic status. Lake water chemistry corresponded closely to the geo-lithology of the catchment and some parameters (especially nutrient concentrations) differed between the regions. The macroinvertebrates were dominated by insects which to a high degree were chironomid larvae and pupae. Other insect orders were typical cold stenotherm species of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera. Non-insect macroinvertebrates contributed to the 144 taxa found. Other than lake size and catchment area, the faunal parameters exhibited a clearer pattern along altitude. Macroinvertebrates per sample increased with higher elevation, reached their maximum in lakes between 2400 and 2600 m a.s.l., but decreased strongly above 2600 m. The altitudinal pattern of species richness and Shannon diversity resembled each other being highest between 2001 and 2200 m a.s.l., but decreased when going lower and higher, respectively.Various patterns and trends along altitude were also evident when individual groups were analysed within the individual sampling regions. The somewhat conflicting trends of various biocoenotic indices let assume that factors other than altitude are also responsible for the structure of faunal assemblages in the littoral of alpine lakes. Six variables (were selected by the CCA analysis where these three groups of lakes were identified: (1) lakes with a higher alkalinity (higher pH, conductivity, ion concentration), a higher relative vegetation cover (compared to the ''bare rocks'' on the opposite side) and lower nitrate levels; (2) lakes with a higher portion of ''bare rocks'' in their catchments and higher nitrate levels; and (3) a smaller group of lakes with higher ammonia levels and a boggy environment. Geographical patterns seemed to have weak effects on the...

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“…Accordingly, our research in the Central Alps (FÜREDER et al, 2000(FÜREDER et al, , 2003(FÜREDER et al, a, b, 2005SCHÜTZ et al, 2001) showed that temperature, flow pattern, and low nutrient concentrations defined the study streams as typical alpine headwater streams, including the typical invertebrate assemblage. The duration of the snow cover (5 -7 months) created a long winter period with constant water temperatures near 0°C, reduced solar radiation, reduced primary production and low input of allochthonous organic matter.…”

Section: A Conceptual Model For Alpine and Arctic River Ecosystems Famentioning

confidence: 94%

Life at the Edge: Habitat Condition and Bottom Faunaof Alpine Running Waters

Füreder

2007

International Review of Hydrobiology

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Alpine river systems are fed by glacial icemelt, snowmelt, and groundwater and share common features (e.g., steep gradients, high flow velocities and dynamics) but each source produces a characteristic discharge regime and a distinctive suite of physical and chemical characteristics. The distribution of snow, ice, and groundwater springs varies spatially from stream-reach to catchment scale, resulting in stream segments with characteristics, reflecting the different runoff sources. In recent investigations we have been focusing on the large variety of natural freshwater ecosystems in the Hohe Tauern Nationalpark and, based on hydromorphological conditions at catchment and reach scale, we defined specific river types. Glaciation in the catchment turned out to be a major factor for defining the hydromorphological conditions. Subsequently, we tested the effect of glaciation on the bottom fauna in applying a preliminary set of species traits, indicating strategies and adaptations of resilience and resistance as well as to face environmental harshness. Our results demonstrated the high degree of adaptation of the bottom fauna in alpine streams but especially in glacial streams. As current climate change scenarios propose major impacts at both high altitude and latitudes, considerable changes within the faunal assemblages including species number, densities and the distribution of species traits are to be expected.

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Seasonal abundance and community structure of Chironomidae in two contrasting high alpine streams

Cited by 15 publications

References 7 publications

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Longitudinal and seasonal pattern of insect emergence in alpine streams

Macroinvertebrate Diversity in Alpine Lakes: Effects of Altitude and Catchment Properties

Life at the Edge: Habitat Condition and Bottom Faunaof Alpine Running Waters

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