Trophic flexibility and hydrology structure alpine stream food webs: Implications for a fading cryosphere

Abstract

Understanding biotic interactions and how they vary across habitats is important for assessing the vulnerability of communities to climate change. Receding glaciers in high mountain areas can lead to the hydrologic homogenization of streams and reduce habitat heterogeneity, which are predicted to drive declines in regional diversity and imperil endemic species. However, little is known about food web structure in alpine stream habitats, particularly among streams fed by different hydrologic sources (e.g., glaciers or snowfields). We used gut content and stable isotope analyses to characterize food web structure of alpine macroinvertebrate communities in streams fed by glaciers, subterranean ice, and seasonal snowpack in the Teton Range, Wyoming, USA. Specifically, we sought to: (1) assess community resource use among streams fed by different hydrologic sources; (2) explore how variability in resource use relates to feeding strategies; and (3) identify which environmental variables influenced resource use within communities. Average taxa diet differed among all hydrologic sources, and food webs in subterranean ice-fed streams were largely supported by the gold alga Hydrurus. This finding bolsters a hypothesis that streams fed by subterranean ice may provide key habitat for cold-water species under climate change by maintaining a longer growing season for this high-quality food resource. While a range of environmental variables associated with hydrologic source (e.g., stream temperature) were related to diet composition, hydrologic source categories explained the most variation in diet composition models. Less variable diets within versus among streams suggests high trophic flexibility, which was further supported by high levels of omnivory. This inherent trophic flexibility may bolster alpine stream communities against future changes in resource availability as the mountain cryosphere fades. Ultimately, our results expand understanding of the habitat requirements for imperiled alpine taxa while empowering predictions of their vulnerability under climate change.