Human and wildlife use of mountain glacier habitat in western North America

Abstract

ContextThe global recession of glaciers and perennial snowfields is reshaping mountain ecosystems. Beyond physical changes to the landscape and altered downstream hydrology, the implications of glacier decline for biodiversity are poorly known. Before predictions can be made about how climate change will affect wildlife in glacier-associated ecosystems, a more thorough accounting of the role that glaciers play in species life histories is needed. However, typical approaches for documenting wildlife presence and behavior--remote camera traps--are difficult to use in glaciated terrain due to limited options for securing them (e.g., no trees) and dramatic seasonal changes in snowpack. AimsIn this study, we sought to test a novel camera trap designed for glaciated mountain ecosystems. We also aimed to use this approach to gain insight into wildlife and human usage of a mountain glacier in western North America. MethodsWe deployed an elevational transect of uniquely designed camera traps along the western margin of the Paradise Glacier, a rapidly receding mountain glacier on the south side of Mount Rainier, WA, USA. Our simple camera trap design consisted of a wildlife camera attached to a camouflaged cylindrical cooler filled with snow and rocks. Key resultsOur camera design proved ideal for a mountain glacier ecosystem and from June to September 2021, we detected at least 16 vertebrate species (seven birds, nine mammals) over 770 trap nights using glacier-associated habitats. Humans, primarily skiers, were the most common species detected, but we also recorded 99 observations of wildlife (birds and mammals). These included three species of conservation concern in Washington: wolverine (Gulo gulo), Cascade red fox (Vulpes vulpes cascadensis), and white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura). ConclusionsCollectively, our results provide proof-of-concept for a novel camera trap design that is ideal for treeless, perennially snow-covered landscapes and revealed a rich diversity of wildlife using mountain glacier habitat in the Pacific Northwest. We highlight the global need for similar studies to better understand the true scale of biodiversity that will be impacted by glacier recession in mountain ecosystems.