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Sharp altitudinal gradients in Magellanic Sub-Antarctic streams: patterns along a fluvial system in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (55°S)

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Abstract

Magellanic Sub-Antarctic streams run through steep, low-altitude mountainous gradients characterized by a topography that supports a mosaic of evergreen, mixed, and deciduous forests, peat lands, and scrublands. Here, the macroinvertebrate fauna and their ecological interactions are poorly known. This study linked the distribution, community composition, and functional feeding structure of benthic macroinvertebrates with physicochemical and thermal patterns along the altitudinal gradient of a Magellanic Sub-Antarctic watershed. Invertebrates were collected during the austral summers of 2008, 2009, and 2010 at five different altitudes. Our results indicate that benthic macroinvertebrate community distributions are predominantly affected by temperature and certain species show distribution restrictions through the altitudinal gradient studied. Temperature profiles indicate that this Sub-Antarctic watershed is characterized by a sharp thermal gradient, in which cumulative degree-days (°C) per year sharply increase through a relatively short altitudinal gradient (0–600 m above sea level). With the results from this study, we can now study thermal tolerances of altitude-restricted species or project changes in their distributions and voltinism patterns according to climate change scenarios. Ecosystems at higher latitudes and altitudes are experiencing some of the fastest rates of warming on the planet, and Magellanic Sub-Antarctic watersheds could be considered as “sentinel systems,” providing early warning of wider scale change.

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Acknowledgments

Support to conduct this work was provided by the University of North Texas Beth Baird Scholarship, the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (Chile) (Grants ICM P05-002 and PFB-23), the Omora Ethnobotanical Park-University of Magallanes, and the Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program (www.chile.unt.edu). We thank field support by the many students of the Tracing Darwin’s Path course series carried out in Navarino Island, especially Sebastian Rosenfeld, Heather Perry, Jeffrey Mabe, Ernesto Davis, Cristobal Pizarro, Rodrigo Molina, Kelli Moses, Alexandria Poole, Charles Braman, and Michael Simononok. Activities by Charles Braman and Michael Simononok, in support of this study, were supported by an NSF International Research Experience for Students Grant (OISE 0854350) awarded to the University of North Texas Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program, in association with the Universidad de Magallanes, and the Ecological Society of America SEEDS Program. The authors thank Lisa Naughton, Christopher Anderson, and Simón Castillo for providing valuable comments on this manuscript. Special thanks are provided to the anonymous reviewers, who provided comments that have significantly improved the final version of this work. Tamara Contador is supported by FONDECYT Grant 11130451. This paper is a contribution to the Universidad de Magallanes and the Research Program of the Chilean LTSER network at Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program and Omora Ethnobotanical Park, Chile.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Magallanes, Avenida Bulnes, 01855, Punta Arenas, Chile

    Tamara Contador, James H. Kennedy, Ricardo Rozzi & Jaime Ojeda Villarroel

  2. Sub-Antarctic Biocultural Conservation Program, Punta Arenas, Chile

    Tamara Contador, James H. Kennedy, Ricardo Rozzi & Jaime Ojeda Villarroel

  3. Omora Ethnobotanical Park, Puerto Williams, Chile

    Tamara Contador, James H. Kennedy, Ricardo Rozzi & Jaime Ojeda Villarroel

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    James H. Kennedy

  5. Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Ricardo Rozzi

  6. Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad-Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Tamara Contador, Ricardo Rozzi & Jaime Ojeda Villarroel

Authors
  1. Tamara Contador
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  2. James H. Kennedy
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  3. Ricardo Rozzi
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  4. Jaime Ojeda Villarroel
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Correspondence to Tamara Contador.

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Contador, T., Kennedy, J.H., Rozzi, R. et al. Sharp altitudinal gradients in Magellanic Sub-Antarctic streams: patterns along a fluvial system in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (55°S). Polar Biol 38, 1853–1866 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1746-4

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