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Establishment of Invertebrate Communities on Log Substrates in the Kaskaskia River, Illinois
Author(s) -
Nilsen Henry C.,
Larimore R. Weldon
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1934344
Subject(s) - riffle , standing crop , biology , invertebrate , larva , hydropsychidae , ecology , detritus , population , chironomidae , colonization , habitat , biomass (ecology) , demography , sociology
Development of invertebrate communities on log substrates was investigated in three habitats. In slowly moving, shallow water, standing crops (weights) of colonizing invertebrates followed a sigmoid growth curve during a 6—week exposure period. Initial colonization was rapid, followed by 2 weeks of slow growth, a rapid increase during the next 2 weeks, and then a leveling off at 1,650 mg/m 2 during the final week. Numbers followed a similar pattern of growth, attaining a high of approximately 100,000/m 2 by the end of the 5th week. Chironomid larvae colonized first and in the greatest numbers, followed sequentially be sessile rotifers and oligochaetes. These three organisms had the greatest influence on standing crops and total numbers. In a riffle, colonization was also rapid: 569 mg and 8,830 individuals per m 2 at the end of four weeks . The riffle community was dominated by Taeniopteryx nivalis, hydropsychid larvae, chironomid larvae, and simuliid larvae. In a pool, the standing crop was largest on logs at an intermediate depth, next largest near the surface, and smallest near the bottom. The oligochaete, Aeolosoma sp., attained their largest population on logs at the greatest depth, chironomid larvae and taeniopterygid naiads attained their largest population at or above the intermediate depth. Communities on naturally occurring logs contained more planaria and insects of the families Hydropsychidae, Heptageniidae, and Elmidae than on the experimental logs in slowly moving, shallow water. Communities on the introduced logs did not reach a climax stage during the experimental period because organisms, organic detritus, and slit were constantly accumulating or sloughing off, the substrate was slowly decomposing, and changes were occurring seasonally in the chemical and physical condition of the water, all of which modified the habitat and influenced community development.