image: The meltwater stonefly (Lednia tumana), a member of the cold-water community that has persisted in Glacier National Park since the Little Ice Age. The species was recently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to climate change. view more
Credit: Image credit: J. Joseph Giersch.
Researchers report that although the loss of glaciers worldwide endangers the biodiversity of mountain ecosystems through the loss of specialized melt-water communities, biological and glacier retreat data from Glacier National Park from 1850 through 2015 suggest that a specialized cold-water invertebrate community has persisted through time, even in areas that were deglaciated more than 150 years ago; the results suggest that high-altitude streams and snow-fed water sources may serve as refuges for mountain biodiversity, according to the authors.
Article #20-01697: "Specialized meltwater biodiversity persists despite widespread deglaciation," by Clint C. Muhlfeld et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Clint C. Muhlfeld, United States Geological Survey, West Glacier, MT; e-mail: cmuhlfeld@usgs.gov
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences