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Achievement

Abiotic variables in mountain streams

Research Achievements

Abiotic variables in mountain streams

Morris M. W. L., M. Hondzo, M. Power. 2011. Scaling Glossosoma (Trichoptera) density by abiotic variables in mountain streams. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 30(2):493?506.

Abstract: The stream-dwelling larvae of the caddisfly Glossosoma spp. are dominant grazers in lotic food webs and are capable of suppressing stream periphyton. We explored a method for developing a scaling relationship between macroinvertebrate density and local hydraulic variables. We quantified habitat for larval stone-cased caddisflies, Glossosoma califica and Glossosoma penitum, in 3 coastal mountain streams in northern California over 2 y. We developed a functional relationship from a power law based on dimensionless local hydraulic and larval density variables that was applicable to areas where Glossosoma are present. Glossosoma densities were negatively correlated with streambed relative roughness and positively correlated with the ratio of inertial to gravitational forces in the stream.

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