Glacier runoff influences biogeochemistry and resource availability in coastal temperate rainforest streams: Implications for juvenile salmon growth

To assess heterogeneity in stream habitat quality for juvenile salmon in a watershed in the Alaska Coast Mountains, we collected organic matter and invertebrate drift and measured streamwater physical and biogeochemical properties over the main runoff season in two adjacent tributaries, one fed mainly by rain and the other partially by glacier ice/snowmelt. We collected organic matter (i.e. detritus) and invertebrate drift, and measured streamwater physical (temperature, flow, and turbidity) and biogeochemical properties (C, N, and P) during the main runoff season in both streams. We then used bioenergetic modeling to evaluate how temporal patterns in water temperature and invertebrate drift in each tributary influence juvenile salmon growth potential.