Seasonal dynamics of invertebrate drift in a Hong Kong stream

Abstract

Drift samples were taken with paired nets on 19 occasions over a 12‐month period in Tai Po Kau Forest Stream (TPKFS), Hong Kong. Mean drift density (±1 S.E.) was 277·9 ± 25·0 individuals 100 m‐3; peaks in density were apparent during autumn and spring. One hundred and two taxa were recovered from the drift, and the total number of taxa drifting was positively related to water temperatures. Over 99% of the aquatic animals collected in drift samples were insects, 10 taxa of which constituted 67·3% of the entire catch. Baetid mayflies dominated the composition of the drift, comprising 40·4% of individuals caught.Seasonal changes in the drift of individual taxa were evident, reflecting significant relationships between drift densities and water temperature: Simulium T1 (Diptera). Anisocentropus maculatus (Trichoptera) and Amphinemura chui (Plecoptera) drifted most in winter, whereas Chimarra T1, Polymorphanisus astictus (Trichoptera), Helodes#1 and cf. Rhantus sp. (Coleoptera) were most numerous in summer. Drifting mayflies showed spring (Indobaetis sp., Cinygmina T1, Serratella T2), autumn (Baetiella sp., Pseudocloeon T2), or spring and autumn (Baetis nr pseudofrequentus) peaks which were not clearly related to water temperature. In only two cases (A. maculatus and P. astictus) was TPKFS drift seasonality associated with life‐cycle events. Overall, there was no evidence of community‐level trends in the periodicity of stream drift in this seasonal tropical habitat.