Downstream and Lateral Transport of Nymphs of Two Mayfly Species (Ephemeroptera)

Abstract

By releasing live and dead nymphs of two mayfly species, Baetis tricaudatus Dodds and Ephemerella inermis Eaton, into the water column of a river and catching them downstream in a series of contiguous nets, I estimated settling and lateral dispersal rates. Live animals settled over shorter distances than dead individuals, and became more widely laterally dispersed for any given distance downstream and mean current velocity. Transport of suspended organisms in a river in which mean current velocity increases with increasing distance from shore may produce a skewed cross-river benthic distribution of animals. The degree of skewness will depend on the current velocity gradient and on suspended animals' settling behavior.