Organisms native to flashy lotic systems possess traits that allow their populations to persist despite extreme flood and drought disturbances, employing a variety of strategies.  Aquatic invertebrates can be classified according to their ability to withstand and recover following disturbance.  Susceptible taxa experience high mortality from floods and low rates of recovery post-flood, resistant taxa have some adaptations to survive floods and recolonize, and opportunistic taxa experience little overall population mortality from floods and have quick post-flood recovery.  These varying recovery trajectories are due to differences in trait complexes, which may include life-history strategies, distributions, morphologies, and behavioral adaptations.  We have examined the effect of multiple experimental floods (1000 to 2500 cfs) on variously flood-adapted taxa groupings in the Bill Williams River (BWR) in Arizona.  After a 2500 cfs flood, baetid mayfly populations increased (opportunistic), coleopterans decreased but were not completely decimated (resistant), and ostracod populations decreased dramatically (susceptible).  We model expected responses using these and other empirical data from the varying flood levels on the BWR.  This approach will be useful in predicting effects of flood changes on invertebrate populations, particularly in relation to high flow events.