Multi‐taxa colonisation along the foreland of a vanishing equatorial glacier

Abstract:

Retreating glaciers, icons of climate change, release new potential habitats for both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. High‐elevation species are threatened by temperature increases and the upward migration of lowlands species. Improving our understanding of successional processes after glacier retreat becomes urgent, especially in the tropics, where glacier shrinkage is particularly fast. We examined the successional patterns of aquatic invertebrates, ground beetles, terrestrial plants, soil eukaryotes (algae, invertebrates, plants) in an equatorial glacier foreland (Carihuairazo, Ecuador). Based on both taxonomical identification and eDNA metabarcoding, we analysed the effects of both environmental conditions and age of deglacierization on community composition. Except for algae, diversity increased with time since deglacierization, especially among passive dispersers, suggesting that dispersal was a key …

Año de publicación:

2021

Keywords:

Fuente:

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