Monday, May 26, 2008 - 2:45 PM
71

Invertebrate drift in seasonal and perennial tributaries of the Sacramento River, California

Gina M. Benigno, Biology Department, California State Universit, Chico, CSU Chico, Holt Hall, Chico, CA 95927 and Michael Marchetti, Biology, CSU Chico, California State University, Chico, Holt Hall, Chico, CA 95927.

Invertebrate productivity in seasonally aquatic habitat can be an important component of terrestrial and aquatic food webs in climates with predictable wet and dry seasons.  Little information exists about assemblage composition and seasonal patterns of drift invertebrates in these systems.  Drift invertebrates were sampled in two neighboring tributaries of the Sacramento River – one seasonal and one perennial – from November 2005 through June 2006. We compared several community metrics and multivariate ordinations of  community composition between the two tributary types. Species richness and drift density were greater in the seasonal tributary than in the perennial tributary.  Seasonal patterns in community composition and abundance also were found to differ between the two tributaries. This research illustrates the importance of seasonally flowing tributaries as a source of aquatic invertebrate productivity.


Web Page: seasonal tributaries, invertebrate drift

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