Hydrodynamic controls on the movement of invertebrate larvae and organic matter in small streams

Abstract

The movement of organisms and resources within ecosystems are essential elements in the productivity, stability, and distribution of communities. This thesis examines how water velocity, a defining factor of lotic systems, influences the dispersion of benthic organisms and particulate organic matter in small stream ecosystems. Variation in movement-related behaviours in two rheophilous (‘flow-loving’) mayflies (Epeorus and Baetis) and two rheophobic (‘flow-avoiding’) mayflies (Ameletus and Paraleptophlebia) were compared to determine how benthic organisms disperse between and within habitat patches in hydrodynamically complex landscapes. The degree to which water velocity and particle shape influence the retention of organic matter (including deciduous leaves, conifer needles, red-cedar fronds, and branch fragments) was examined to determine how physical factors determine detrital resource availability in streams. Although water velocity did not influence the crawling rates of Baetis and Ameletus in daylight conditions, both mayflies dispersed rapidly upstream in lowvelocity flows in dark conditions. Drift rates of both mayflies were lower in daylight than dark conditions, and were generally inversely related to their habitat preferences. Escape responses in grazing Epeorus, Baetis, and Ameletus larvae in a range of flow conditions showed that retreat distance was more sensitive than flight initiation distance to variation in water velocity, suggesting that