PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #77: Aquatic Ecology: Food webs, invertebrates. Presiding: R.A. Washington-Allen.
Friday, August 10, 2001. 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Hall of Ideas H.
Structural complexity of submerged rootmats and its influence on the resident aquatic insect community.
Wood, Diane1, Sites, Robert2, 1 2
ABSTRACT- A study of the effect of structural complexity of submerged rootmats on aquatic insect community epiphenomena (i.e., richness, abundance, diversity) was conducted in 3 Missouri Ozark streams. A suite of structural variables was measured and related to the richness, abundance, and diversity of the resident aquatic insects. Greater structural complexity appears to be predictive of community richness and individual abundance. Rootmats that are 3-dimensionally robust and exhibit a heterogenenous composition of root sizes support a greater number of insect taxa and individuals.
KEY WORDS: structural complexity, insect communities, aquatic systems