Stream Organisms & Adaptations Flashcards
Top 3 endangered species in North America are freshwater species. What are they?
- Freshwater mussels
- Crayfish
- Stoneflies
What are they 4 functional feeding groups (FFG’s) and what are they specialised in?
Scrapers (grazers)
Eat primary producers
Shredders
Decomposers, they are the first part of breaking down of the CPOM
Collectors
Use the decomposed organic materials from the shredders
Predators
Eat rest of the FFG’s
Name the 3 orders of insects are good indicators of seeing how a stream is doing.
EPT
Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)
Plecoptera (Stoneflies)
Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
Name 2 examples of freshwater vertebrates.
American Dipper
Orangethroat Darter (fish)
Pacific Giant Salamander
River Otter
What does the river continuum concept say?
Predictable changes in abiotic conditions in a stream leads to predictable changes in biotic conditions
○ Depends on where the nutrients come from
§ Allochtonous or Autochtonous
Explain and draw the river continuum concept with the different FFG’s and vertebrates in mind.
In smaller stream order (head waters) the nutrients come from allochtonous sources. These are CPOM from riparian vegetation. The shredders are evolve to decompose CPOM, that is why they are most abundant in these orders. Collectors are also present because they are evolve to use decomposed material from the shredders, though are they not highly present in headwaters. Predators are also present because they eat shredders and collectors.
In medium stream orders the shredders biomass reduce, and they are more collectors, because of decomposed nutrients coming from headwaters. The grazers are also present here, because they eat plancktons which are present here because of there is less shade from riparian vegetation and the flow is low enough.
In higher stream orders collectors dominate, and shredders are barely there.
Who wrote the River Continuum Concept paper and when?
Robin L. Vannote in 1980
