title: Ecological responses to experimental glacier-runoff reduction in alpine rivers.
abstract: Glacier retreat is a worldwide phenomenon with important consequences for the hydrological cycle and downstream ecosystem structure and functioning. To determine the effects of glacier retreat on aquatic communities, we conducted a 4-year flow manipulation in a tropical glacier-fed stream. Compared with an adjacent reference stream, meltwater flow reduction induces significant changes in benthic fauna community composition in less than 2 weeks. Also, both algal and herbivore biomass significantly increase in the manipulated stream as a response to flow reduction. After the flow reduction ceased, the system requires 14-16 months to return to its pre-perturbation state. These results are supported by a multi-stream survey of sites varying in glacial influence, showing an abrupt increase in algal and herbivore biomass below 11% glacier cover in the catchment. This study shows that flow reduction strongly affects glacier-fed stream biota, prefiguring profound ecological effects of ongoing glacier retreat on aquatic systems.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR EGCE, IRD-247 CNRS-UP Sud-9191, Avenue de la Terrasse, Bâtiment 13, 91198 Gif-sur Yvette, France.|Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador.|IRSTEA, UR MALY, 5 rue de la Doua, Villeurbanne 69100, France.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cauvy-Fraunié
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Patricio
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Andino
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Espinosa
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR G-EAU, 361 Rue Jean-François Breton, BP 5095, 34196 Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calvez
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador.|Freshwater Biological Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 4, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR EGCE, IRD-247 CNRS-UP Sud-9191, Avenue de la Terrasse, Bâtiment 13, 91198 Gif-sur Yvette, France.|Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Avenida 12 de Octubre, Quito 170150, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dangles