Climate Change Could Mean End for Glacier Insect

Scientists say climate change is imperiling a rare aquatic insect found only in Glacier National park.

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Bucknell University and the University of Montana reported on the plight of the western glacier stonefly in the journal Freshwater Science.

Lead author Joe Giersch says the small stoneflies, first identified in 1963, are dependent on cold water from the park's glaciers in northwest Montana.

With those glaciers predicted to disappear by 2030, Giersch says the stoneflies could too.

Researchers recently looked for the glacier stonefly in six streams that the insect historically occupied. They found them in only one, plus two high-elevation alpine springs.