Feeding plasticity in alpine stream chironomids: evidence from river monitoring in the Hohe Tauern National Park
Georg Niedrist, University of Innsbruck (AT)
Glacier retreat provides striking evidence of environmental change in alpine streams. Overall effects on the invertebrate community structure are largely understood, but potential alterations in functional strategies are not. Here we show how the flexibility in feeding and food exploitation might explain the dominance of larvae within the chironomid genus Diamesa in glacial headwaters. Our results indicate that glacier retreat not only affects macroinvertebrate community structure but also favors species that are able to shift functional traits to overcome harshest environmental conditions.