Anderson, N. H.; Sedell, J. R.; Roberts, L. M.; Triska, F. J. 1978. The role of aquatic invertebrates in processing of wood debris in coniferous streams. The American Midland Naturalist. 100(1): 64-82.
A study of the wood-associated invertebrates was undertaken in sevenstreams of the Coast and Cascade Mountains of Oregon. The amount of wood debriswas determined in terms of both weight and surface area. Standing crop of wood perunit area decreases with increasing stream order.
Invertebrates associated with wood were functionally categorized and their bio-mass on wood determined. Major xylophagous species were the caddisfly (Heteroplectroncalifornicum), the elmid beetle (Lora avara) and the snail (Oxytrema silicula). Stand-ing crop of these species is greater on wood in the Coast Range than in the Cascades,which is attributed to species composition of available wood debris. The density of L.avara was strongly correlated with the amount of wood available irrespective of streamsize within a drainage. The standing crop of invertebrates was about two orders of mag-nitude greater on leaf debris than on wood.
A potential strategy for wood consumption, based on microbial conditioning, is pre-sented. The data are used to develop a general scheme of wood processing by inverte-brates in small stream ecosystems. Their impact is similar to that of invertebrates whichprocess leaf litter in terrestrial and aquatic environments when the full decompositioncycle of wood debris is considered.