Meltwater Lednian Stonefly - Lednia tumana
Species of Concern
Global Rank:
G1
State Rank:
S1
* (see reason below)
Agency Status
USFWS:
C
USFS:
BLM:
FWP Conservation Tier:
External Links
State Rank Reason
Currently at risk of becoming extinct due to the melting of the glaciers in Glacier National Park, which it depends on for it's alpine snow-melt stream habitat--It has been listed as a "candidate species" for Endangered Species Act in 2011.
General Description
The Meltwater Lednian Stonefly is a small, dark species of extremely cold glacier-fed streams at high elevations in Glacier Park. Little else is known about its habits or ecology, accept that the adults have hatched by mid-summer (July-August) and are presumably mating during this time.
General Distribution
Montana Range
Summary of Observations Submitted for Montana
Number of Observations: 4
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Relative Density
Recency
(Records associated with a range of dates are excluded from time charts)
Distribution Comments
Rangewide, the species is only known from the northern Rocky Mountains: Montana and Alberta, Cananda---particularly restricted to Glacier and Banff National Parks.
Migration
No migration is noted for this species, they are restricted in range and dispersal.
Habitat
The larvae are found in small alpine, mountain streams (Newell and Minshall 1978), but only those closely linked to glacial run-off (Giersch 2002).
Food Habits
Most of the species in the Nemouridae family are shredders or collector-gatherers utilizing coarse plant materials (Merritt and Cummins 1996, which could include mosses growing on the sides of the stream.
Ecology
Ecologically this species is a cold-water stenotherm unable to tolerate warming water temperatures (greater than 10 degrees celcius), and is generally collected within a few 100 meters of the base of glaciers or snow melt derived streams.
Reproductive Characteristics
Adults are present and presumably mating takes place in July and August (Baumann et al. 1977, Geirsch, pers. comm).
Management
This species lies entirely under the juristiction of the National Park System, so it's habitats are protected, but there is really no management against melting glaciers.
Threats or Limiting Factors
Specific threats to the populations of Lednia are largely related to global warming and the melting of glaciers and their associated snow melt streams. In general, stonefly populations are affected by changes to aquatic habitat such as alteration of flow patterns, streambed substrate, thermal characteristics.
References
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Meltwater Lednian Stonefly"
- Additional Sources of Information Related to "Insects"
