Michael Nikolaos Styllas

Abstract Glacier-fed streams (GFSs) are harsh environments hosting unique, highly specialized communities. Interestingly, glaciers and their GFSs are also present in Earth’s tropical regions, where environmental characteristics contrast with GFS conditions elsewhere. Yet, despite the unique and isolated nature of tropical GFSs, little is known about their inhabitants, even though they may disappear later this century with ongoing climate change.

Abstract Most cryospheric ecosystems are energy limited. How their energetics will respond to climate change remains largely unknown. This is particularly true for glacier-fed streams, which interface with the cryosphere and initiate some of Earth’s largest river systems.