Physico‐chemistry and aquatic insects of a glacier‐fed and a spring‐fed alpine stream

Abstract

1. Physico‐chemical conditions and benthic macroinvertebrates were studied in two adjacent alpine streams in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria, for 2 years, and aquatic insect emergence was recorded for 1 year. 2. In the spring‐fed system, maximum discharge and increased concentrations of suspended solids, nitrate and particulate phosphorus occurred during snowmelt in June. In the glacier‐fed stream, high discharge and strong diel fluctuations in flow and concentrations of suspended solids created a harsh and unstable environment during summer. Glacial ablation, variation in groundwater inflow, and water inputs from tributaries draining calcareous rocks caused water chemistry to vary both seasonally and longitudinally in glacier‐fed Rotmoosache. 3. A total of 126 aquatic or semi‐aquatic invertebrate taxa were collected, 94 of which were found in the glacier‐fed stream and 120 in the spring‐fed stream. Chironomid abundance was 2–8 times and taxa richness 2–3 times lower in the glacier‐fed stream than in the spring‐fed stream, as was the number of chironomid taxa (72 versus 93 total). 4. These results broadly support the conceptual model by Milner & Petts (1994) concerning glacier‐fed stream systems. However, single samples and seasonal means showed relatively high invertebrate abundance and richness, especially during winter, indicating a considerable degree of spatial and temporal variability. 5. We suggest that the seasonal shifts from harsh environmental conditions in summer to less severe conditions in autumn and a rather constant environment in winter are an important factor affecting larval development, life‐history patterns and the maintenance of relatively high levels of diversity and productivity in glacier‐fed streams.