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Does the River Continuum Concept Work in Small Island Streams? Functional Feeding Group Variation Along a Longitudinal Gradient

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Does the River Continuum Concept Work in Small Island Streams? Functional Feeding Group Variation Along a Longitudinal Gradient UC Berkeley Student Research Papers, Fall 2006 Title Does the River Continuum Concept Work in Small Island Streams? Functional Feeding Group Variation Along a Longitudinal Gradient Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6db9m25g Author Groff, Margaret H. Publication Date 2006-12-01 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California DOES THE RIVER CONTINUUM CONCEPT WORK IN SMALL ISLAND STREAMS? FUNCTIONAL FEEDING GROUP VARIATION ALONG A LONGITUDINAL GRADIENT MARGARET H. GROFF Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 USA Abstract. The River Continuum Concept (RCC) predicts that as the form of particulate organic matter available in streams and rivers varies longitudinally, so will the functional feeding groups (FFGs) of benthic macroinvertebrates. The RCC was developed based on data from continental streams; therefore, its applicability to the unique ecology of island streams is virtually untested. The purpose of this study was to discover if the RCC works in the small streams of Moorea, French Polynesia. Three sites along an elevational gradient were sampled for benthic macroinvertebrates in five streams of similar catchment size. Each sample was sorted and all taxa were assigned to a FFG. Species richness and FFG variation along a longitudinal gradient were compared to RCC predictions. Patterns in the longitudinal variation of crustacean/mollusc species richness and shredder, grazer, and predator percent composition were found to match RCC predictions. However, total species richness, insect species richness, and the percent composition of collecting organisms did not. Therefore, an alternative theoretical framework is needed to accurately describe FFG variation in tropical streams. Key words: River Continuum Concept, benthic macroinvertebrates, functional feeding groups, species richness, island streams, Moorea INTRODUCTION Third, the majority of organisms found within island streams are not insects but diadromous The River Continuum Concept (RCC) was crustaceans and molluscs (Greathouse 2006). proposed to explain the longitudinal variation As with most other islands, it is unknown of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in whether the RCC applies in the streams on freshwater catchments (Vannote et. al. 1980). Moorea, French Polynesia, an island located The RCC postulates that as stream size 18 kilometers west of Tahiti (Resh 1990). Most increases and the composition of available streams on Moorea are small, reaching only organic matter changes, the functional feeding third order before reaching the Pacific. The groups (FFGs) will also change to reflect the Opunohu River to the north has the largest increase in habitat diversity and the shift in catchment on the island, reaching only fifth food availability (Vannote et. al. 1980). The order as it enters Opunohu Bay. RCC assumes an abundance of The objectives of this study were to: (1) macroinvertebrate taxa, especially insects, and describe the macroinvertebrate fauna of the a substantial catchment size. small streams of Moorea; (2) determine how Because the RCC was developed using the functional feeding groups of data collected from large continental streams macroinvertebrates change along a in North America, its usefulness to the unique longitudinal gradient in these streams; and (3) biology of small island streams is largely determine if the River Continuum Concept untested. Island streams have many applies to the streams on Moorea. I postulate particular features that may affect the that the RCC will not apply on Moorea application of the RCC. First, their watersheds because of its low aquatic insect diversity and are generally small, so streams meet the ocean the diadromous nature of the majority of its no larger than mid-sized, fifth-order streams. in-stream fauna. Second, the banks of island streams are often heavily vegetated, providing a continuous METHODS supply of organic matter, but frequent flooding washes away the accumulated plant Study sites material (Resh 1995). This is different from continental streams, where riparian vegetation Five streams with similar catchment sizes is often reduced as stream order increases. were selected from different regions of the island (Fig. 1). Each stream was divided into is to the south, a convenience store with a three different sites: (1) a low-gradient, 50- large Hinano sign is to the north. Site MM2 is meter reach starting at the first riffle from the located 1.5 kilometers from the mouth. It is mouth; (2) a high-gradient, 25-meter mid- reached by following the road past a farm to a reach; and (3) a high-gradient, 12.5-meter large dip in the road before a steep hill. A reach at the headwaters, the highest reach small tributary stream bisects the road at this possible to sample with a D-frame net. Each point. The sampled reach extends 25 meters site was partitioned into three subsites based upstream from the confluence. Site MM3 is on stream morphology (riffle, run, pool, and 2.2 kilometers from the mouth of the step). The physical parameters describing Mahaerua. It is accessed by hiking upstream each site are found in Table 1. from the end of the road for approximately 15 minutes. The right branch is followed at each confluence. A small island splits the channel in the upper eight meters of the 12.5-meter reach. Papetoai-Vaihana (PV) The town of Papetoai is located on the north side of Moorea, immediately west of the entrance to Opunohu Bay (Fig. 1). The Vaihana River flows from the northern face of Mount Tautuapae down the northwest facing Terahimaua Valley. The mouth of the Vaihana River outlets into the Pacific Ocean as a fourth- order stream just east of “Chez Kiri” in Papetoai. Site PV1 is approximately Fig. 1: Map of Moorea and 15 study sites 30 meters upstream from the circum-island road. A road approximately Maatea-Mahaerua (MM) 50 meters west of the mouth of the Vaihana leads to site PV2; it intersects the main road The town of Maatea is located on the east between a residence surrounded by tall side of Moorea, just above the southernmost hedges and a low grey-brick wall. It is one of point of the island (Fig. 1). The Mahaerua two paved roads in Papetoai. Site PV2 is River follows the Toto Valley, starting from located 10m upstream from the end of this the south-facing slope of Mount Tohiea, and road. Site PV3 is reached by hiking meets the Pacific as a third-order stream at the approximately 2.5 hours upstream from site southwest end of Maatea. Site MM1 is located PV2. Site PV3 is unique from the other approximately 109 meters upstream from the headwater sites sampled because the channel circum-island road. The furthest downstream was restricted within a narrow bedrock reach is bisected by an artificial riffle and both canyon. banks are leveed. The morphology is primarily composed of runs (78%) and a large Vaiare-Vaipohe (VV) shallow pool (20%) created by the riffle (Table 1). Flow is highly influenced by the tide, The town of Vaiare is located on the east causing the depth to fluctuate approximately side of Moorea at the base of Vaiare Bay, near 20 cm every few minutes, but the salinity is the Gare Maritime. The Vaipohe River flows unaffected (Table 1). from the ridge between Mount Tearai to the Sites MM2 and MM3 were both accessed north and Mount Mouaputa to the south. by the road approximately 150 meters from Approximately twenty meters from the mouth the left bank of the Mahaerua; a tall brick wall Table 1: Abiotic characteristics of study sites. Measurements were made from mid-October to mid- November 2006. Ru=run, Ri=riffle, P=pool, S=step. Opunohu data was collected by Resh et al. (1990) Site MM1 MM2 MM3 PV1 PV2 PV3 Reach length 50 25 12.5 50 25 12.5 pH 6 6 6 6 6 6 Conductivity (uS/cm) 122.9-132.6 89.7 95.6 123.5 95.5 93.2 Salinity (ppt) 0.1 0 0 0.1 0 0 Turbidity (NTU) 5.7 2.25 8.64 1.6 3.62 1.62 Width (m) 7.1 2.2 2.5 5 7.6 2 Depth (m) .27-.62 .12-.45 .02-.18 .05-.15 .07-.76 0.25 Temperature in air/water (°C) 33/26.2 27/23.2 26/21.8 22/22 23/22 22/22.3 Elevation (m) 5 73 141 13 80 268 Distance from mouth (km) 0.109 1.5 2.19 0.03 0.94 2.29 Stream order 3 3 1 4 3 2 Morphology (%) 78Ru, 2Ri, 30Ri, 25P, 60Ri, 40S 35Ru, 30Ri, 45Ru, 20P 45S 65Ri 30P, 40S 25Ri, 30P Site VV1 VV2 VV3 AV1 AV2 AV3 Reach length 50 25 12.5 50 25 12.5 pH 6 6 6 5-6 6 7 Conductivity (uS/cm) 148 134.9 114.6 94.5 78.7 66.1 Salinity (ppt) 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 Turbidity (NTU) 3.94 2.43 2.4 2.8 7.8 3 Width (m) 2.5 3.5 2 3.6 3 2.7 Depth (m) 0.01 0.25 0.07 .07-.17 .08-.73 .1-.43 Temperature in air/water (°C) 33/25.5 29/24.1 27/23.5 26/24.4 25/23.7 25-22.9 Elevation (m) 11 75 190 1 50 311 Distance from mouth (km) 0.2 0.9 1.6 0.075 0.73 1.26 Stream order 4 4 2 2 2 1 Morphology (%) 45Ru, 55Ri 40Ru, 80Ri, 20P 40Ru, 20Ru, 30P, 70S 20Ri, 20P 60Ri 60Ri, 20P Site HV1 HV2 HV3 MPIV OIIA OI Reach length 50 25 12.5 -- -- -- pH 6 6 6 7.6 7.6 9.2 Conductivity (uS/cm) 128.1 119.4 115.1 120 120 113 Salinity (ppt) 0.1 0.1 0.1 -- -- -- Turbidity (NTU) 3.6 1.5 4.5 -- -- -- Width (m) 6.5 2.4 1.2 12 2 5 Depth (m) 0.01 .09-.25 .05-.17 0.5-1.0 0.2-0.3 0.001-0.3 Temperature in air/water (°C) 28/25.1 25/24.2 24/23 25/23 27/23 26/26 Elevation (m) 16 118 225 2 122 335 Distance from mouth (km) 0.02 1 2 0.4 3.1 4.0 Stream order 3 2 1 4 2 1 Morphology (%) 40Ru, 60Ri 50Ru, 40Ru, -- -- -- 20Ri, 30P 20Ri, 40 P it intersects the Nuuati, entering the Pacific upstream side of the bridge on the road Ocean as a fifth-order stream.
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