Waiting for the snow to melt…
Global climate change can disrupt ecosystems by impacting the interactions between organisms. I investigated the impact of early snowmelt and warming on the dioecious perennial herb Valeriana edulis, as well as their indirect effects on the aphid species Aphis valerianae and the ants that tend the aphids. The study was conducted in a field that had been partially buried by an avalanche, with the avalanche standing as a proxy for a later snowmelt scenario, and open-top chambers were placed around the bases of half the plants in the experiment to simulate climate warming. Aphids were then placed on the plants and their colonies and interactions with ants were observed over the course of several weeks. I also collected data on the plants’ growth the first, second, and last week of the experiment. I found was that snowmelt had the biggest impact on the plants’ growth and their ability to maintain aphid colonies and attract ants. Sex of the plants also impacted interactions in the system, independently of snowmelt. Warming the plants had no statistically-significant impacts on the plants or their interactions with the insects, though it did seem to have an impact on the total number of ants. These results suggest that changes in snowmelt will be a major driver of changes to ecosystem interactions in the Rocky Mountains.
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