Influence of log additions on physical and biotic characteristics of a mountain stream

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (10) ◽  
pp. 2120-2137 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bruce Wallace ◽  
Jackson R. Webster ◽  
Judith L. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Sandy Bottom ◽  
Order Stream ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Behavioral Constraints ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Invertebrate Community Structure ◽  
Stream Depth

Three pairs of cobble riffle study sites were established in a second-order stream in North Carolina and logs added to the downstream riffle at each site. At log addition transects, stream depth increased, current velocity decreased, cobble substratum was covered by sand and silt, and both coarse and fine particulate organic matter increased dramatically. Log additions had less dramatic effects on uptake lengths of ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate, but they had immediate and significant impacts on invertebrate community structure: abundances and biomass of scrapers and filterers decreased; collectors and predators increased; overall shredder biomass did not change, but biomass of trichopteran and dipteran shredders increased, while that of most plecopteran shredders decreased; and plecopteran predators also decreased despite greater abundances of potential prey. These observations suggest that physiological and morpho-behavioral constraints preclude many animals from tracking resources among patches when patches display very different abiotic conditions. Secondary production of scrapers and filterers decreased, whereas that of collectors and predators increased. The shifts in functional group abundances, biomass, and production between reference and debris-dam transects, which differed considerably from those previously reported for low-gradient, sandy-bottom streams, accentuate the importance of localized abiotic factors in structuring invertebrate communities within patches.

Diversity of Gall-Inducing Insects Associated With a Widely Distributed Tropical Tree Species: Testing the Environmental Stress Hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 838-847
Author(s):  
Marcílio Fagundes ◽  
Pablo Cuevas-Reyes ◽  
Letícia F Ramos Leite ◽  
Magno Augusto Zazá Borges ◽  
Walter Santos De Araújo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Insect Diversity ◽  
Ecological Scale ◽  
Copaifera Langsdorffii ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Plant Herbivore

Abstract Abiotic factors can affect plant performance and cause stress, which in turn affects plant–herbivore interactions. The Environmental Stress Hypothesis (ESH) predicts that gall-inducing insect diversity will be greater on host plants that grow in stressful habitats. We tested this hypothesis, considering both historical and ecological scales, using the plant Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Fabaceae) as a model because it has a wide geographic distribution and is a super-host of gall-inducing insects. According to the ESH, we predicted that 1) on a historical scale, the diversity of gall-inducing insects will be higher in habitats with greater environmental stress and 2) on an ecological scale, gall-inducing insect diversity will be greater on plants that possess greater levels of foliar sclerophylly. We sampled gall-inducing insects on plants of C. langsdorffii in five sites with different levels of water and soil nutrient availability and separated from each other by a distance of up to 470 km. The composition, richness, and abundance of gall-inducing insects varied among study sites. Plants located in more stressful habitats had higher levels of foliar sclerophylly; but richness and abundance of gall-inducing insects were not affected by host plant sclerophylly. Habitat stress was a good predictor of gall-inducing insect diversity on a regional scale, thus corroborating the first prediction of the ESH. No relationship was found between plant sclerophylly and gall-inducing insect diversity within habitats. Therefore, on a local scale, we did not find support for our second prediction related to the ESH.

Production of the Crayfish Cambarus Bartonii (Fabricius, 1798) (Decapoda, Cambaridae) in an Acidic Appalachian Stream (U.S.a.)

Crustaceana ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 974-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue A. Perry ◽  
Lisa T. Wolcott ◽  
Michael B. Griffith
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
West Virginia ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Acidic Precipitation ◽  
Order Stream

AbstractThe growth rate and annual production of the crayfish Cambarus bartonii were estimated in Crouch Run, a 3rd-order stream that drains a high-elevation catchment in West Virginia and which has been acidified because of acidic precipitation. Production of C. bartonii in Crouch Run was 525.8 mg AFDW m-2 yr-1 and was less than that for C. bartonii in Upper Ball Creek, a high-elevation circumneutral stream in North Carolina (961.0 mg AFDW m-2 yr-1, Huryn & Wallace, 1987). This difference seemed to be related to differences in the biomass of C. bartonii between the streams, because the P/B ratio for C. bartonii in Crouch Run was 7.4 compared with 5.8 in Upper Ball Creek.

Benthic Macroinvertebrate and Chemical Assessment of Water Quality in Relation to the Shope Creek Trout Farm

2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 111-115
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Creech ◽  
Mark V. Brenner
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Oxygen Demand ◽  
The United States ◽  
Macroinvertebrate Community ◽  
Biotic Index ◽  
Order Stream ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Chemical Assessment

Abstract North Carolina is the second largest commercial producer of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, in the United States, yet few studies have measured the effects of trout farm effluent on regional water bodies. Our objective was to assess water quality directly upstream and downstream of a low-production rainbow trout farm located on Shope Creek, a second-order stream in western North Carolina, using both biological and chemical assessment methods. Benthic macroinvertebrates were collected upstream and downstream of the trout farm annually from 2009 to 2011 using Hester-Dendy samplers. Organisms were identified to family and compared using the Family Level Biotic Index. We found no significant difference between mean upstream and downstream index values, suggesting no negative impacts of trout farm effluent on the macroinvertebrate community. Water samples were collected from each site on four days over a two month period, with three subsamples taken per site, per day. There were no significant differences between mean ammonia or phosphate levels upstream or downstream of the trout farm. While biochemical oxygen demand levels were significantly higher at the downstream site, this increase did not appear to affect the macroinvertebrate community. Between 2009 and 2011 the Shope Creek trout farm produced approximately 500 kg of fish annually. This is much lower than average annual regional trout farm production rates of 34,000 kg of fish, which likely accounts for the minimal impacts observed in this study.

Life histories, production, and microdistribution of two caddisflies (Trichoptera) in a Rocky Mountain stream

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (12) ◽  
pp. 2706-2716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gael A. Ogilvie ◽  
Hugh F. Clifford
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Larval Instar ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Annual Production ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Prepupal Stage ◽  
First Order ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Two Populations

This paper reports results of a 2-year study of the caddisflies Oligophlebodes zelti (Limnephilidae) and Neothremma alicia (Uenoidae) in a first-order Rocky Mountain stream of southern Alberta. The Oligophlebodes population had a univoltine cycle: eggs were oviposited in July and August and hatched in about 20 days, and the larvae grew rapidly during the remainder of the ice-free season. Larvae overwintered in the fourth larval instar and molted to the fifth instar the following spring. Pupation occurred in June, and adults started emerging in mid-July. Annual production for the O. zelti population was 116 mg∙m−2∙year−1. The Neothremma population had a 2-year cycle. Eggs apparently hatched after freeze-up. Larvae overwintered in the second instar. Most of the population achieved the third instar by the following July and the fourth instar by August, and spent the second winter in either the fourth or fifth instar. There was about a 3-week prepupal stage the following July and then emergence in July and August. Annual production for the N. alicia population was 103 mg∙m−2∙year−1. Oligophlebodes zelti and N. alicia larvae fed mainly on fine particulate organic matter and diatoms. Both O. zelti and N. alicia larvae were found on rocks only in fast water areas, but the two populations did not inhabit the same riffles. The riffles inhabited by O. zelti were wider with lower slopes and water velocities than riffles dominated by N. alicia larvae. Correlation analysis, using several parameters, indicated that total periphyton of the rocks might be a major factor accounting for O. zelti's distribution. The microdistribution of the N. alicia population was not correlated with any food source.

Ecology of juvenile Northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) inhabiting low-order streams

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Cecala ◽  
Michael Dorcas ◽  
Steven Price
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Juvenile Stage ◽  
Nerodia Sipedon ◽  
Order Stream ◽  
First Order ◽  
High Survivorship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Order

AbstractThe juvenile stage for many reptiles is considered “the lost years” because of low capture probabilities, however understanding factors impacting juvenile survivorship and recruitment is critical for conservation of populations. We studied the ecology of juvenile Northern watersnakes, Nerodia sipedon, by intensively sampling a first-order stream and determined the occupancy of juveniles in 30 low-order streams in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Juveniles were relatively abundant within a single stream (n = 62 ± 9), and their capture probabilities were positively related to increasing stream-water temperatures. We also found that juveniles had high survivorship (ϕ = 0.87 ± 0.017). Occupancy of juvenile N. sipedon in low-order, Piedmont streams may be greater at streams that have confluences with high order streams or lakes, which potentially support adult N. sipedon populations. This study provides important information regarding the natural history of juvenile reptiles and indicates the importance of low order streams as habitat for N. sipedon populations.

An experimental evaluation of competitive and thermal effects on brown trout (Salmo trutta) and Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) performance along an altitudinal gradient

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2784-2795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter McHugh ◽  
Phaedra Budy
Keyword(s):  
Brown Trout ◽  
Salmo Trutta ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Reverse Direction ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Oncorhynchus Clarkii ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Brown Trout Salmo Trutta ◽  
Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

Temperature-mediated competition (i.e., dominance shifts between species depending on temperature) may explain the segregation of salmonid species along altitudinal stream gradients. We evaluated this hypothesis for exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) and native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) by rearing them in experimental sympatry and allopatry using enclosures constructed at six sites spaced along a 45-km segment of a mountain stream. For both species, we compared condition and growth between allopatric and sympatric treatment groups. We found that brown trout negatively affected cutthroat trout performance, whereas cutthroat trout failed to impart an effect in the reverse direction, regardless of temperature. Thus, we documented asymmetric competition between these species but found little evidence indicating that its outcome was influenced by temperature. Brown trout – cutthroat trout segregation is therefore unlikely to be due to temperature-mediated competition. Instead, brown trout may have displaced cutthroat trout from downstream areas through competition or other mechanisms, while abiotic factors preclude their (brown trout) invasion of upper elevations. Given the magnitude of effect observed in our study, we recommend that brown trout receive greater consideration in cutthroat trout conservation.

scholarly journals Coarse and Fine Particulate Organic Matter Transport by a Fourth-Order Mountain Stream to Lake Bourget (France)

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 2783
Author(s):  
Jérémie Gaillard ◽  
Vincent Chanudet ◽  
Guillaume Cunillera ◽  
Etienne Dambrine
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Mountain Stream ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Fine Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Litter Accumulation ◽  
Fine Particulate ◽  
Matter Transport ◽  
Lakes And Reservoirs ◽  
Lake Bourget

Transport of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) derived from forest litterfall has been hardly studied in rivers, unlike fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) or dissolved organic matter (DOM). Yet, many rivers are dammed or run into lakes, and there is growing evidence that CPOM accumulation in river delta participates substantially in ecological processes such as greenhouse gas emissions of lakes and reservoirs. We investigated the transport of CPOM and FPOM by the Leysse River (discharge from 0.2 to 106 m3 s−1) to Lake Bourget (France) in relation to aerial litter deposition, river network length, and discharge. Over a 19-month study period, the volume-weighted mean CPOM and FPOM concentrations were 1.3 and 7.7 g m−3, respectively. Most CPOM and FPOM transport occurred during major flood events, and there were power relationships between maximum discharge and particulate organic matter (POM) transport during these events. The annual export of CPOM (190 t AFDM) was 85% of the litter accumulation in autumn on permanent sections of the riverbed (224 t AFDM), which suggests that export is a major process compared to breakdown. Export of CPOM was 1.25 t yr−1 km−2 of the forested catchment area. This study highlights the need to account for long-range CPOM transport to describe the fate of litter inputs to streams and to quantify the organic matter input and processing in lakes and reservoirs.

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