Muscisaxicola griseus Tacazanowski, 1884 as the final consumer of the net glacial food chain of the glaciers Artesonraju and Quisoquipina, Peru

Abstract:

This study was carried out on the Artesonraju glacier, Cordillera Blanca and Quisoquipina glacier, Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru, to observe the dynamics of purely glacial ecosystems. Expeditions were carried out in situ during the months of August to October from 2014 to 2019. In the ablation zone (4700-5100 m a.s.l.), we found cryoconite deposits that shelter a diversity of microbes, which in turn are used as a source of food by the insects that colonize these environments to develop their life cycle (egg, larva, pupa). The adult insects leave the cryoconite deposits to reproduce, and at the same time they are used as food by the Muscisaxicola griseus (Taczanowski´s ground tyrant), which is the final consumer of a distinctly glacial food chain.