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Comparability of introduced tiles and natural substrates for sampling lotic bacteria, algae and macro invertebrates
Author(s) -
LAMBERTI GARY A.,
RESH VINCENTH.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1985.tb00693.x
Subject(s) - benthic zone , invertebrate , algae , environmental science , sampling (signal processing) , ecology , river ecosystem , biology , habitat , computer vision , filter (signal processing) , computer science
SUMMARY.1 Benthic microflora (bacteria and algae) and macro invertebrates on two types of introduced substrates, unglazed clay tiles and sterilized rocks, were compared quantitatively with natural rocks in a third‐order stream. Big Sulphur Creek, California, U.S.A. 2 Exposure periods ranging from 28 to 153 days for introduced substrates indicated that tiles accurately represented bacterial density, chlorophyll a , and macro invertebrate density and species composition of natural rocks within 28 days; phaeophytin and total organic material (as ash‐free dry weight) were accurately represented within 63 days. In contrast. sterilized rocks required a 63 day exposure to simulate most of the above natural‐rock features. 3 Tiles reduced sampling variability (i.e. increased precision) when compared with either natural or sterilized rocks, especially the variability associated with algal measurements. In benthic studies where a sufficiently long exposure period is possible (1‐2 months), introduced substrates can reduce the effort and cost of benthic sampling while minimizing habitat disruption.