2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
5/23/2019 | 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM | FACILITATION BY ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS DIFFERENTIALLY INFLUENCES INVERTEBRATE SIZE STRUCTURE ACROSS A STRESS GRADIENT | 251 DE
FACILITATION BY ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERS DIFFERENTIALLY INFLUENCES INVERTEBRATE SIZE STRUCTURE ACROSS A STRESS GRADIENT
The community-level consequences of ecosystem engineering are relatively understudied. We explore how net-spinning caddisfly (Hydropsychidae) retreats differentially facilitate macroinvertebrate communities by identifying traits of the beneficiaries along an environmental gradient. We quantified macroinvertebrates associated with caddisfly retreats versus neighboring rock substrates at five study sites spanning a gradient of hydrologic environmental harshness from headwaters to the mainstream of the Gunnison River, CO. We found that macroinvertebrate density was 5X higher in retreats than on rocks but invertebrate biomass in retreats was 2X lower. Invertebrates using retreats were relatively small in body size regardless of gradient location, whereas body size on the rocks varied. Individuals of the low stress rock communities were relatively large-bodied compared to those of the high stress communities. Taken together, these findings indicate that individuals using retreats in higher stress sites represent a greater proportion of the community size structure compared to lower stress sites. These results suggest that caddisfly engineering could influence a specific body size of the invertebrate community, and size-specific facilitation is mediated by environmental stress. Our findings highlight the complexities between ecosystem engineered facilitation, traits of the surrounding community and abiotic environments.
- Hydrology
- Hotspot
- Biodiversity
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Presenters/Authors
Benjamin Tumolo
(), Montana State University, bbtumolo@gmail.com;
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Lindsey Albertson
(), Montana State University, lalbertson@stroudcenter.org;
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Melinda Daniels
(), Stroud Water Research Center, mdaniels@stroudcenter.org;
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