A melting cryosphere constrains fish growth by synchronizing the seasonal phenology of river food webs.

ABSTRACT: Mountain watersheds often contain a mosaic of glacier-, snow-, and rain-fed streams that have distinct hydrologic, temperature, and biogeochemical regimes. However, as glaciers diminish and precipitation shifts from snow to rain, the physical and chemical characteristics that make glacial or snowmelt streams distinct from rain-fed streams will fade. Among the unforeseen consequences of this hydrologic homogenization could be the loss of unique food webs that sustain aquatic consumers. To explore the impacts of a melting cryosphere on stream food webs, we parameterized an aquatic food web model with empirical physicochemical data from glacier-, snow-, and rain-fed streams in southeast Alaska and used the model to simulate the seasonal biomass dynamics of aquatic primary producers and consum

SUBMITTER: Bellmore JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9544858 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature