Lednia

Scientific Name: Lednia tuman. Other common names: Meltwater Forestfly, Meltwater Lednian Stonefly, Némoure brumeuse.(NatureServe Explorer 2.0. (n.d.). Lednia is a monotypic genus, containing the single species Lednia tumana (the meltwater stonefly)&mdash;a rare, alpine, aquatic insect that is endangered due to likely loss of glaciers and snowpacks in the Glacier National Park and other habitat in the Rocky Mountains due to climate change. The differentiation from the other Nemourids is to look at the abdominal stremite which only the Lednia and paranemoura lack the vesicles of the 9th abdominal stermite. The insect lives in the coldest streams just downstream of the glacier or snowbank sources and is considered as an early warning indicator species of climate warming in mountain ecosystems.The way the aquatic insects  in this case Lednia tumana is able to use biochemical and physiological strategies in order to dimmish cold stress which allows them to survive colder climates The Fisheries and Wildlife Service is being petitioned to protect the species under the U.S..Endangered Species Act.

A study of the melting of glaciers due to climate change found that some species would benefit from the subsequent emergence of new ecosystems. This also includes Lednia tumana. Lednia species generally emerge as adults in mid-to-late summer, varying among streams due to thermal regime and snow cover.(Green, M.D., Tronstad, L.M., Giersch, J.J. et al., 2022) Adult Lednia tumana have a short lifespan, likely lasting a week or less, making them challenging to collect at this stage.(Meltwater Lednian Stonefly, 2024)

Conservation efforts should focus on conducting surveys to identify unmapped Lednia populations, targeting management towards climate refugia-linked populations, and regular monitoring of population sizes and environmental conditions.(Green, M.D., Tronstad, L.M., Giersch, J.J. et al., 2022)