Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF06202
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 58(4)

Patch history, invertebrate patch dynamics and heterogeneous community composition: perspectives from a manipulative stream experiment

D. A. Olsen A B C , C. D. Matthaei A and C. R. Townsend A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9001, New Zealand.

B Present address: Cawthron Institute, Private Bag 2, Nelson 7042, New Zealand.

C Corresponding author. Email: nzcaddis@yahoo.co.uk

Marine and Freshwater Research 58(4) 307-314 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF06202
Submitted: 1 November 2006  Accepted: 1 February 2007   Published: 16 April 2007

Abstract

Recent research after bed-moving flow events has shown that local disturbance history can contribute to patchiness in stream communities. Patterns of recolonisation were studied following experimental disturbances in which patches of sediment were manipulated by removing 10 cm of surface sediment (scour) or by depositing 10 cm of clean sediment (fill) on top of existing sediments. Six invertebrate samples were collected from each patch type (including stable control patches) on five occasions up to six weeks after the manipulation. Immediately after the disturbance, distinctive macroinvertebrate communities occurred in scour, fill and stable patches. Community composition in scour patches remained distinct from fill and stable patches for the entire study period. Immediately after the manipulation, scour patches contained higher densities of hypogean taxa than did fill patches, but this difference did not persist for long, indicating that the relict community had little influence on the subsequent pattern of recovery. In contrast, fill patch communities were indistinguishable from stable patches by Day 14, most likely owing to recolonisation by buried invertebrates and invertebrate drift. Differences in patterns of recolonisation following different types of disturbance can result in patchy invertebrate communities that persist for several weeks after the disturbance.

Additional keywords: disturbance history, macroinvertebrate, patch dynamics, patch history, stream.


Acknowledgements

This study was funded by a University of Otago postgraduate scholarship awarded to Dean Olsen. Rebecca Stevenson assisted in processing the macroinvertebrate samples. Many thanks go to Andrew Boulton, Gerry Closs, Mike Scarsbrook and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on previous versions of the manuscript.


References

Andrews E. D., and Parker G. (1987). Formation of a coarse surface layer as the response to gravel mobility. In ‘Sediment Transport in Gravel-Bed Rivers’. (Ed. R. D. Hey.) pp. 269–325. (John Wiley & Sons Ltd.: Chichester, UK.)

Bonada, N. , Zamora-Muñoz, C. , Rieradevall, M. , and Prat, N. (2005). Ecological and historical filters constraining spatial caddisfly distribution in Mediterranean rivers. Freshwater Biology 50, 781–797.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Clements F. E. (1916) ‘Plant Succession: an Analysis of the Development of Vegetation.’ (Carnegie Institution of Washington DC: Washington, DC.)

Cook, D. R. (1983). Rheophilic and hyporheic water mites of New Zealand. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 21, 1–224.
Gotelli N. J., and Entsminger G. L. (2006). EcoSim: Null models software for ecology. Version 7. (Acquired Intelligence Inc. & Kesey-Bear: Jericho, VT.) Available at http://garyentsminger.com/ecosim.htm

Hearnden, M. N. , and Pearson, R. G. (1991). Habitat partitioning among the mayfly species (Ephemeroptera) of Yuccabine Creek, a tropical Australian stream. Oecologia 87, 91–101.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Matthaei C. D., Townsend C. R., Arbuckle C. J., Peacock K. A., Guggelberger C.,, Küster C.E., and Huber H. (2004). Disturbance, assembly rules and benthic communities in running waters: a review and some implications for restoration projects. In ‘Assembly Rules and Restoration Ecology – Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practise’. (Eds V. Temperton, R. Hobbs, T. Nuttle and S. Halle.) pp. 367–388. (Island Press: Washington, DC.)

McCabe, D. J. , and Gotelli, N. J. (2000). Effects of disturbance frequency, intensity, and area on assemblages of stream macroinvertebrates. Oecologia 124, 270–279.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Montgomery D. R., and Buffington J. M. (1993). ‘Channel Classification, Prediction of Channel Response, and Assessment of Channel Condition.’ Washington State Department of Natural Resources Report TFW-SH10-93-002. (Washington State Department of Natural Resources: Olympia, WA.)

Moser, D. C. , and Minshall, G. W. (1996). Effects of localized disturbance on macroinvertebrate community structure in relation to mode of colonization and season. American Midland Naturalist 135, 92–101.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | White P. S., and Pickett S. T. A. (1985). ‘The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics.’ (Academic Press: Orlando, FL.)

Williams, D. D. , and Hynes, H. B. N. (1976). The recolonisation mechanisms of stream benthos. Oikos 27, 265–272.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Williams, D. D. , and Mundie, J. H. (1978). Substrate size selection by stream invertebrates and the influence of sand. Limnology and Oceanography 23, 1030–1033.


Williams, D. D. , and Smith, M. R. (1996). Colonisation dynamics of river benthos in response to local changes in bed characteristics. Freshwater Biology 36, 237–248.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Zang, R. G. , Tao, J. P. , and Li, C. Y. (2005). Within community patch dynamics in a tropical montane rain forest of Hainan Island, South China. Acta Oecologica 28, 39–48.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Zenner, E. K. (2000). Do residual trees increase structural complexity in Pacific northwest coniferous forests? Ecological Applications 10, 800–810.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |