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Invertebrate colonisation of leaf packs of different palatability in an upland river.
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Invertebrate colonisation of leaf packs of different palatability in an upland river. Introduction Freshwater invertebrates are an extremely diverse group. Communities often consist of hundreds of species (Allan, 1975 and Benk et al, 1984). The group is so diverse due to the unstable nature of the benthic environment. Most of the invertebrates live on the stream bed or in leaf packs (conglomerations of organic matter fixed within the stream) due to the difficulties in free swimming in the high flow environment of a river. A large proportion of the stream invertebrates are insects (others include crustaceans and molluscs) and have been studied in great detail. Energy enters river systems in two ways, either through in-stream photosynthesis or via imported organic matter from riparian vegetation. In many streams the level of light which reaches the photosynthetic algae is to low to allow it produce enough to support the system. So in most cases...
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