The water velocity preferences of Austrosimulium furiosum and Simulium ornatipes (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae, and the implications for micro-habitat partitioning

Horne, P. A.; Bennison, G.L.; Davis, Jenny

doi:10.1007/bf00015112

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…We frequently saw larvae emigrating from ow reduction tiles even when predators were absent, which agrees with the results of laboratory and ®eld experiments in which emigration rates often rise with decreasing current speed, at least over the range of current speeds studied here (Po and Ward 1991;Horne et al 1992;Fonseca and Hart 1996).…”

Section: Figsupporting

confidence: 87%

Predator-prey interactions in a benthic stream community: a field test of flow-mediated refuges

Hart¹,

Merz

1998

Oecologia

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Ecological theory suggests that the impact of predation can be strongly modified by the existence of regions of the environment in which prey are less accessible to predators, which underscores the need for empirical studies examining the factors influencing the availability and importance of such prey refuges. Our study tested whether benthic microhabitats with high flows provide suspension-feeding larval black flies (Simulium␣vittatum) with a spatial refuge in which the negative impact of predatory flatworms (Dugesia dorotocephala) is reduced. We conducted a short-term field experiment in Chester Creek (southeastern Pennsylvania, United States) to examine how the number of black fly larvae inhabiting tile substrates responded to manipulated variations in flatworm abundance and current speed. The abundance of flatworms declined with increasing current speed, thereby creating the potential for sites with high flows to provide larvae with a refuge from these predators. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the final abundance of larvae exhibited a significant negative relationship to flatworm abundance and a significant positive relationship to current speed. After adjusting for variations in elapsed time and initial larval abundance, flow and predators explained 38% of the variation in the rate of change in larval abundance. The positive correlation between larval abundance and flow had two components: a positive, direct effect of flow on larvae, which arises because these food-limited consumers prefer to reside within sites with faster flows where they can feed at higher rates; and a negative effect of flow on predators, and of predators on larvae, which combine to yield a positive indirect effect of flow on larvae. This indirect effect demonstrates the existence of flow-mediated refuges (i.e., microhabitats in which the impact of predation is reduced due to high flows), although the effect accounts for a small proportion of total variation in larval abundance. A consideration of biomechanical relationships suggests that microhabitats with high flows are likely to create prey refuges in a wide range of freshwater and marine benthic environments. In particular, predators will often experience greater dislodgement forces than prey because of their larger size and because they project farther above the bed where current speeds are faster. Moreover, the ability to resist a given dislodgement force may be greater for many prey, especially those that are sessile or semi- sessile.

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Section: Figsupporting

confidence: 87%

Predator-prey interactions in a benthic stream community: a field test of flow-mediated refuges

Hart¹,

Merz

1998

Oecologia

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“…�ven though several other studies, such as Horne et al (1992) and Scheder and Waringer (2002), among others, also rely on the distributional patterns of stream macroinvertebrates to infer their microhabitat preferences, this premise can be controversial. Fonseca and Hart (2001) suggested that stream insects, such as Simuliidae, may have their ability to reach preferred microhabitats limited by dispersal constraints of drifting larvae, which means that the observed patterns would be influenced more by chance than by habitat preferences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Diversity and microdistribution of black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) assemblages in the tropical savanna streams of the Brazilian cerrado

Figueiró

Gil-Azevedo

Maia-Herzog

et al. 2012

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz

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“…Many invertebrates display distinct velocity preferences (Wetmore, Mackay & Newbury, 1990; Jowett et al. , 1991; Horne et al. , 1992; Collier, 1993) and are influenced by near‐bed turbulence regimes (Hart et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of floods versus low flows on invertebrates in a New Zealand gravel‐bed river

Suren¹,

Jowett²

2006

Freshwater Biology

107

111

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1. Floods and low flows are hydrological events that influence river ecosystems, but few studies have compared their relative importance in structuring invertebrate communities. Invertebrates were sampled in riffles and runs at eight sites along 40 km of a New Zealand gravel-bed river every 1-3 months over 2.5 years, during which time a number of large flood and low flow events occurred. Flows were high in winter and spring, and low in summer and autumn. Four flow-related variables were calculated from hydrological data: flow on the day of sampling (Q sample ), maximum and minimum flow between successive samples (Q max and Q min , respectively), and the number of days since the last bed-moving flood (N days ). 2. The invertebrate community was summarised by relative densities of the 19 most abundant taxa and four biotic metrics [total abundance, taxon richness, the number of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa (i.e. EPT richness), and per cent EPT]. Invertebrate density fluctuated greatly, and was high in summer and autumn, and low during winter and spring. Stepwise multiple regression (SMR) analysis was used to investigate relationships between the invertebrate community and season, flow, habitat and water temperature. 3. Seasonal variables were included in almost 50% of the SMR models, while flow-related variables were included in >75% of models. Densities of many taxa were negatively correlated to Q min and Q max , and positively correlated to N days , suggesting that while high flows reduced invertebrate densities, densities recovered with increasing time following a flood. Although season and flow were confounded in this study, many of the taxa analysed display little seasonal variation in abundance, suggesting that flow-related variables were more important in structuring communities than seasonal changes in density associated with life-cycles. 4. Five discrete flood and low flow events were identified and changes to invertebrate communities before and after these events examined. Invertebrate densities decreased more commonly after floods than after low flows, and there was a significant positive relationship between the number of taxa showing reductions in density and flood magnitude. Densities of most invertebrates either remained unchanged, or increased after low flow events, except for four taxa whose densities declined after a very long period (up to 9 months) of low flow. This decline was attributed to autogenic sloughing of thick periphyton communities and subsequent loss of habitat for these taxa. 5. Invertebrate communities changed more after floods and the degree of change was proportional to flood magnitude. Community similarity increased with increasing time since the last disturbance, suggesting that the longer stable flows lasted, the less the Correspondence: Alastair M. Suren, 2207 community changed. These results suggest that invertebrate communities in the Waipara River were controlled by both floods and low flows, but that the relative effects of floods were greater than even e...

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The water velocity preferences of Austrosimulium furiosum and Simulium ornatipes (Diptera: Simuliidae) larvae, and the implications for micro-habitat partitioning

Cited by 14 publications

References 14 publications

Predator-prey interactions in a benthic stream community: a field test of flow-mediated refuges

Predator-prey interactions in a benthic stream community: a field test of flow-mediated refuges

Diversity and microdistribution of black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) assemblages in the tropical savanna streams of the Brazilian cerrado

Effects of floods versus low flows on invertebrates in a New Zealand gravel‐bed river

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