Effect of diatom, <i>Didymosphenia geminata</i>, on Invertebrate Abundance and Composition in Rocky Mountain Streams
Abstract
The diatom Didymosphenia geminata has become an increasing concern for aquatic habitats. The algae has spread within its native environment and exhibit invasive characteristics, as well as invade ecosystems outside of its native range. D. geminata does not appear to affect the species richness of an ecosystem, however it does appear to effect the abundance of specific taxa. Three taxa belonging to the Heptageniidae family, specifecially Rhithrogena, Epeorus and Cinygmula, deacrease in the presence of D. geminata. Chironomidae larva appeared in much more larger densities in places where D. geminata was present. The over all trend the experiment exhibited was a decrease in larger taxa in the presence of D. geminata and an increase in smaller invertebrates in the presence of D. geminata. In order to explain this trend we conducted a predator refuge experiment. In this experiment we tested to find if chironomids find refuge in a D. geminata imitation from stonefly predators. The experiment revealed siginificant evidence that chironomids do benefit from D. geminata as a refuge.
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References (4)
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