Aquatic food web response to patchy shading along forested headwater streams

Year: 
2018
Publications Type: 
Journal Article
Publication Number: 
5059
Citation: 

Heaston, Emily D; Kaylor, Matthew J; Warren, Dana R. 2018. Aquatic food web response to patchy shading along forested headwater streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. [Online: 2 March 2018]. doi:https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0464

Abstract: 

In forested streams, changes in age and structure of riparian vegetation have been shown to directly influence the amount of light reaching the stream benthos. The potential for light to directly impact primary productivity in forested streams is generally understood, but most field experiments exploring reach-scale in-stream light dynamics have evaluated large changes in riparian vegetation. Fewer studies have quantified influences of smaller changes in irradiance, particularly how patchy in-stream light developed with complex riparian forests affects stream biota. We applied patches of shade, covering ~50% of three manipulation reaches, which were each paired with an unmanipulated reference reach. We quantified changes in stream light availability, benthic periphyton, and aquatic macroinvertebrate, fish, and salamander biomass using a before–after control–impact study design. Patchy shading decreased localized and reach-scale light and reduced periphyton, macroinvertebrate, fish, and salamander biomass in manipulation sites relative to the reference reaches. Results suggest that moderate changes in stream light, such as those that occur through stand development and small-scale disturbance processes, can impact stream biota through bottom-up processes.