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Ice Streams & Invertebrates

Ice Streams & Invertebrates. Matthew McClure Winter Ecology, Mountain Research Station; 2008. Questions. Is there invertebrate activity in winter streams? If so, how active are the invertebrates? What importance do invertebrates serve during the winter?. 3 types of Invertebrates.

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Ice Streams & Invertebrates

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  1. Ice Streams & Invertebrates Matthew McClure Winter Ecology, Mountain Research Station; 2008

  2. Questions • Is there invertebrate activity in winter streams? • If so, how active are the invertebrates? • What importance do invertebrates serve during the winter?

  3. 3 types of Invertebrates • Macro invertebrates • Mesofauna • Micro invertebrates • Nematodes, Small Arthropods, Springtails, Rotifers, Snails, Fly larvae etc.

  4. Ice Streams • Flowing >0 C° • Frozen < 0 C° • Ice Anchors

  5. Ice Stream Profile

  6. Is there invertebrate activity in a winter stream? • YES! • How we know this • Fecal Matter (Shepard, Minshall; 1984) • Visual Observations

  7. Winter Adaptations for Winter Stream Survival • Freeze • Cryptobiosis • Activity • Tolerate • Migration • Die

  8. How active are the invertebrate fauna? • Fecal Matter Observations

  9. Fecal Matter(Shepard, Minshall; 1984) • Winter activity is species dependent • Typically: Higher activity in winter for some species • Example: Caddis Flies

  10. Ecological Impacts of Winter Invertebrate Activity

  11. Activity • Provides a large influx of nutrients in Spring • Decomposition, wood/leaf litter (Anderson et al., 1978) • Fecal Matter Deposition

  12. Non-Active Importance • Dead Invertebrates, Nutrient cyclers • Frozen Invertebrates Ready for Spring

  13. Conclusions • Yes, Invertebrates are Active During the Winter • Some Species Maintain High Levels of Activity During Winter • Activity and Inactivity Play Important Roles in the Ecological Function of Streams During the Winter with Relations to Nutrient Loading for Spring and Summer Months

  14. References • Anderson N.H., J.R. Sedell, L.M. Roberts and F.J. Triska. 1978. The role of aquatic invertebrates in processing of wood debris in coniferous forest streams. American Midland Naturalist 100:64-82. • Crowe J.H. 1971. Anhydrobiosis: An unsolved problem. The American Naturalist 105:563-573. • Lillehammer A. and J.E. Brittain. 1978. The invertebrate fauna of the streams in Ovre Heimdalen. Holartic 1:271-276. • Olsson, T.I. 1981. Overwintering of benthic macroinvertebrates in ice and frozen sediment in a north Swedish river. Holarctic Ecology 4:161-166. • Oswood M.W., L.K. Miller, and J.G. Irons III, “Overwintering of Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates,” in P. Marchand Life in the Cold (Hanover: University Press of New England, 1996), 148-149. • Pace M.L. and J.D. Orcutt. 1981. The relative importance of protozoans, rotifers, and crustaceans in a freshwater zooplankton community. Limnology and Oceanography 26:822-830. • Pennington W. 1941. The control of the numbers of freshwater phytoplankton by small invertebrate animals. The Journal of Ecology 29:209-211. • Pace M.L. and J.D. Orcutt. 1981. The relative importance of protozoans, rotifers, and crustaceans in a freshwater zooplankton community. Limnology and Oceanography 26:822-830. • Shepard R.B. and G.W. Minshall. 1984. Role of benthic insect feces in a Rocky Mountain stream: Fecal production and support of consumer growth. Holartic 7:119-127.

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