The protection of cryospheric ecosystems and their biota cannot be properly defined without a detailed species inventory. Snow microinvertebrates are crucial for estimating cryophilic biodiversity, yet they are poorly described at broader spatial scales. To fill this knowledge gap, we collected samples from different snow surfaces in the Pyrenees, European Alps, Tatra Mts. (Poland), Baltic states (Latvia and Estonia), central...

Bdelloid rotifers are major components of zooplankton worldwide and have been reported in glacier ice in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Curiously, no reports of psychrophilic bdelloids have surfaced in North America despite exhaustive surveys of other ice-dwelling invertebrates, e.g., glacier ice worms. This distribution gap may be partially explained by a predator-prey relationship between these two animals, but the...

Alpine regions are changing rapidly due to loss of snow and ice in response to ongoing climate change. While studies have documented ecological responses in alpine lakes and streams to these changes, our ability to predict such outcomes is limited. We propose that the application of fundamental rules of life can help develop necessary predictive frameworks. We focus on four key rules of life and their interactions: the tempera...

Myzobdella lugubris is a commensal leech on crustaceans and a parasite to fishes, surviving predominantly in brackish waters throughout North America. Specimens in this study were collected within the tidal zone of the Delaware River basin (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). To compare regional M . lugubris specimens, defined characters were scored after dorsal and ventral dissections, and phylogenetic relationships were resolved u...