Over 2000 individuals from 36 taxa (21 families), accounting for 86-97% of total abundance of macroinvertebrates in the streams, were dissected. Collector-gatherers were the dominant group, accounting for 52-74% of macroinvertebrate abundance. Scraper abundance was low, and did not vary greatly despite changes in shading conditions (3–20% in shaded streams, 7–20% in unshaded streams).

Shredders comprised only 0.9–6.4% (mean = 3.1%) of macroinvertebrate abundance in shaded streams and 0.6–1.5% (mean = 1.1%) in unshaded streams whereas, in north temperate forest streams, shredders generally comprise 10-70% of macroinvertebrates. The scarcity of shredders seems typical of tropical streams, although a study in tropical Australia found that shredders comprised 12% of invertebrate abundance and 24% of invertebrate biomass. Shredder diversity was low in Hong Kong streams, and only 2 species of specialist shredders were numerous (the calamoceratids Anisocentropus maculatus and Ganonema extensum).