Spawning salmon and the phenology of emergence in stream insects

Abstract

Phenological dynamics are controlled by environmental factors, disturbance regimes and species interactions that alter growth or mortality risk. Ecosystem engineers can be a key source of disturbance, yet their effects on the phenologies of co-occurring organisms are virtually unexplored. We investigated how the abundance of a dominant ecosystem engineer, spawning sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), alters the emergence phenology of stream insects. In streams with high densities of salmon, peak insect emergence occurred in early July, immediately prior to salmon spawning. By contrast, peak insect emergence in streams with low densities of salmon was weeks later and more protracted. The emergence of specific taxa was also significantly related to salmon density. A common rearing experiment revealed that differences in emergence timing are maintained in the absence of spawning salmon. We hypothesize that these patterns are probably driven by predictable and severe disturbance from nest-digging salmon driving local adaptation and being a trait filter of insect emergence. Thus, salmon regulate the timing and duration of aquatic insect emergence, a cross-ecosystem flux from streams to riparian systems.