2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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6/05/2017  |   3:00 PM - 3:15 PM   |  BIOPHYSICAL CONTROLS ON TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC LINKAGES: TRANSFER AND RETENTION OF LEAF LITTER IN A LARGE RIVER   |  302B

BIOPHYSICAL CONTROLS ON TERRESTRIAL-AQUATIC LINKAGES: TRANSFER AND RETENTION OF LEAF LITTER IN A LARGE RIVER

Terrestrial leaf litter inputs are valuable sources of energy in lotic ecosystems. While these linkages are well understood in small streams, many contemporary models consider allochtonous leaf litter to be of little importance in large rivers due to riparian-stream spatial separation and low in-stream retention. However, these models tend to overlook the influence of biophysical processes on litter transport and in-stream retention, ultimately enhancing large river terrestrial-aquatic linkages. Using a large river (5th order) in Southern Alberta, we designed a series of experiments and models to evaluate the effects of biophysical processes in the transport and retention of leaf litter. First, we modeled leaf litter transport for three dominant taxa of Populus spp. using varying wind conditions and riparian forest canopy characteristics. Secondly, we tested the effects of flow on litter retention using an in-stream leaf release experiment. Our results indicate that local wind speed, riparian vegetation structure, and flow characteristics strongly govern the availability of leaf litter subsidies to aquatic ecosystems. Thus, spatio-temporal variability of biophysical conditions should be considered when evaluating terrestrial-aquatic linkages in larger rivers.

  • C28 Land-Water Interfaces
  • C25 Food Webs
  • C06 Large River Ecology

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Presenters/Authors

David Tavernini (), University of British Columbia, taverninid@gmail.com;


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Trent Hoover (), University of Lethbridge, trent.hoover@uleth.ca;


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Samuel Woodman (), University of Lethbridge, samuel.woodman@uleth.ca;


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Stewart Rood (), University of Lethbridge, rood@uleth.ca;


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