| |
Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002
in Disturbance Ecology I
THE MEIOFAUNAL COMMUNITY OF A NEW STREAM IN GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK, S.E. ALASKA.
M. McDermott1, A.L. Robertson1, and A.M. Milner2. 1School of Life Sciences, University of Surrey Roehampton, West Hill, London SW15 3SN, U.K., 2School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, U.K.
Glacier Bay National Park has undergone rapid glacial recession in the last 200 years and represents a unique natural laboratory that can be used to examine the colonisation dynamics and succession of meiofauna, a neglected but ubiquitous component of the lotic invertebrate community. This research focuses on 35-y old Stonefly Creek. This complex system is buffered by 2 lakes and contains two distinctive sections, the upper is fed solely by rainwater and the lower by remnant ice. Additionally the upper section contains a waterfall that forms a barrier to salmon migration. Thus meiofaunal responses to glacial waters and to the presence of salmon can be examined. Five replicate hyporheic wells were sunk at each of 6 stations, selected to encompass the variety of conditions described above. These were sampled weekly for interstitial meiofauna over a 2 month period in 2000 and 2001. Epibenthic meiofauna were sampled at the same times and locations using surber samples. The interstitial community was distinct from the epibenthic community both in diversity and species present. The community in the stream section draining remnant ice differed significantly from that in clearwater sections and the meiofaunal community also differed above and below the salmon barrier.
|
|
