Tuesday, May 27, 2008
263

An investigation of the hyporheic food web of a sandy-bottomed Alabama stream

Thomas S. Wright, Biology, University of Alabama, 3201 Hargrove Road East, #3405, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 and Milton Ward, Department of Biology, University of Alabama, P.O. Box 870206, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0206.

     A study of hyporheic food webs was conducted on Mayfield Creek, a third-order stream located in the Talladega National Forest, Bibb County, Alabama.  The purpose of this continuing study is to ascertain the first level of the hyporheic food web (i.e., particulate organic matter or not), food chain lengths, directed connectance, connectivity, predator/prey ratios, trophic overlaps of the food webs, and the possible existence of seasonal and/or depth-related food webs. 

     Collection of organisms was carried out by insertion of 30 cm by 7 cm PVC push cores into the sediment of Mayfield Creek. Once collected, the sample was brought back to the lab and separated into three 10-cm sections (top, middle, and bottom) and organisms and particulate organic matter separated from the inorganic substrate.  Organisms were mounted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic grouping; gut contents, if present, were also analyzed with the aid of an oil-immersion light microscope.  Relevant physical and chemical parameters (such as dissolved oxygen, inorganic nutrients, etc.) were sampled via piezometers installed in the stream bed.  Results concerning organism density, biomass, and consumption patterns are presented, as well as details of secondary production, consumption and biomass turnover rates, and the status of the web as a quantitative feeding web.



Web Page: hyporheos, food webs, detritus