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The physico-chemical habitat template for periphyton in alpine glacial streams under a changing climate

  • GLOBAL CHANGE AND RIVER ECOSYSTEMS
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Abstract

The physico-chemical habitat template of glacial streams in the Alps is characterized by distinct and predictable changes between harsh and relatively benign periods. Spring and autumn were thought to be windows of favorable environmental conditions conducive for periphyton development. Periphyton biomass (measured as chlorophyll a and ash-free dry mass) was quantified in five glacial and three non-glacial streams over an annual cycle. One glacial stream was an outlet stream of a proglacial lake. In all glacial streams, seasonal patterns in periphyton were characterized by low biomass during summer high flow when high turbidity and transport of coarse sediment prevailed. With the end of icemelt in autumn, environmental conditions became more favorable and periphyton biomass increased. Biomass peaked between late September and January. In spring, low flow, low turbidity, and a lack of coarse sediment transport were not paralleled by an increase in periphyton biomass. In the non-glacial streams, seasonal periphyton patterns were similar to those of glacial streams, but biomass was significantly higher. Glacier recession from climate change may shift water sources in glacier streams and attenuate the glacial flow pulse. These changes could alter predicted periods of optimal periphyton development. The window of opportunity for periphyton accrual will shift earlier and extend into autumn in channels that retain surface flows.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. Illi and B. Ribi for analyses of water chemistry and chlorophyll a, and the Swiss Federal Office for Water and Geology for discharge data of several streams. We appreciate the helpful comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Aquatic Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland

    U. Uehlinger & C. T. Robinson

  2. Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    U. Uehlinger & C. T. Robinson

  3. INTERTEAM, Untergeissenstein 10/12, 6005, Luzern, Switzerland

    M. Hieber

  4. Department Sustainable Information Technology, Swiss Federal Institute for Material Testing (EMPA), Lerchenfeldstrasse 5, 9014, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    R. Zah

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Guest editors: R. J. Stevenson, S. Sabater / Global Change and River Ecosystems—Implications for Structure, Function and Ecosystem Services

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Uehlinger, U., Robinson, C.T., Hieber, M. et al. The physico-chemical habitat template for periphyton in alpine glacial streams under a changing climate. Hydrobiologia 657, 107–121 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-9963-x

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