LOTIC ECOSYSTEM

STREAMS & RIVERS

 inherited from preexisting river; evolution

through geologic time

 Although there are many rivers and streams,

these sources of running water account for a very
small portion of the earth's total surface, just .3%.

 linear morphology; shallow; relatively fast

flowing; longitudinal zonation

 stream bed (rocks/mud/detritus) - determined

by interaction b/ween discharge (volume per time;
m3/s) & current (distance per time) with substrate

 thermal stratification & chemical density is not

important

 chemical composition is affected by their

irregular discharge

 max discharge during rain or spring snow melt

 plankton do not play a significant role in biotic
structure, except in big, deep rivers

 upstream;
- erosion effect
- more particles eroded
- bigger substrates

 downstream:
- accumulation of particles
- mud accumulation

 relatively fast flowing & high dependent to

allochthonous organic matter

 closely link to the catchments or watersheds

 all biota are influenced by unidirectional current

& adapted accordingly

 high discharges transport much of the annual

load of soluble nutrients
 organism distribution is limited
 the exchange of material b/ween soil & water is
faster
 dissolved oxygen is high in the fast flowing
waters
 salt content increase towards the river mouth
(estuary)
 lotic ecosystem combine the chemical &
physical aspects with biotic interactions

 rivers and streams form a network of

waterways across the countryside.
 the network of rivers and streams form a
watershed which drains the land of excess water.
A Lateral View Across the Stream Corridor

 The focus here is on structural features or

zones that one encounters moving across the
stream.

 Lateral structure of the corridor affects the

movement of water, materials, energy, and
organisms from upland areas into the stream
channel.

A Longitudinal View Along the Stream Corridor

 This section takes a view of structure along the

stream corridor's whole length from its
headwaters to mouth.

 It includes discussions of channel form,

sediment transport and deposition, and how
biological communities have adapted to different
stages of the river continuum
Stream Corridor Structure: A Lateral View

three major components in cross section :

i. Stream channel, a channel with flowing

water at least part of the year.

ii. Floodplain, a highly variable area on one

or both sides of the stream channel that is
inundated by floodwaters at some interval,
from frequent to rare.

iii. Transitional upland fringe, a portion of

the upland on the landward side of the
floodplain that serves as a transitional zone
or edge between the floodplain and the
surrounding landscape
In this example, the floodplain is seasonally inundated
(flood) and includes features such as floodplain forest,
emergent marshes and wet meadows. This river's
transitional upland fringe includes an upland forest and
a hill prairie. Landforms such as natural levees are
created by processes of erosion and sedimentation,
primarily during floods. The various plant communities
possess unique moisture tolerances and requirements,
and consequently occupy distinct positions relative to
the stream.
 Streamflow

The two basic components are:

1. Stormflow:

from precipitation that reaches the channel over a

short time frame through overland or
underground routes.
2. Baseflow :

from precipitation that percolates (filtrate) to

the ground water and moves slowly through
substrate before reaching the channel.

It sustains (support) streamflow during periods

of little or no precipitation.
Changes in hydrology after urbanization

The hydrology (study of water movmt) of urban

streams changes as sites are cleared and natural
vegetation is replaced by impervious cover

 more of a stream's annual flow is delivered as

storm water runoff rather than baseflow.

 since impervious cover prevents rainfall from

infiltrating into the soil, less flow is available to
recharge ground water.

 Therefore, during extended periods without

rainfall, baseflow levels are often reduced in urban
streams (Simmons and Reynolds 1982).
 Stream managers categorize streams based on the
balance and timing of the stormflow and baseflow
components. There are three main categories:

Ephemeral streams
flow only during or immediately after periods of
precipitation. They generally flow less than 30 days per
year.

Intermittent streams flow only during certain times of

the year. Seasonal flow in an intermittent stream usually
lasts longer than 30 days per year.

Perennial streams flow continuously during both wet

and dry times. Baseflow is dependably generated from
the movement of ground water into the channel.
 Ephemeral streams in Antarctica

Plate 3.1: The upper runnel area with the adjacent snow
bank (a) as the only source of water to the shallow pool; (b)
indicates the building of Casey Station located about 500
meters from the sampling area.

Plate 3.2: The earlier part of the middle runnel which indicates
the presence of rocks aligning the streambed.
streamflow is one of the variables that determine the
size and shape of the channel.

Discharge, Q (volume per time; m3/s)

Q=AV
where:
Q = Discharge
A = Area through which the water is flowing in square
feet
V = Average velocity in the downstream direction in feet
per second
Flood-Pulse Concept
 demonstrates how flooding processes, plants and
wildlife in all parts of the stream corridor interact

 Floodplains serve as essential focal points for the

growth of many riparian (river bank) plant communities
and the wildlife they support.

 Flooding also nourishes floodplains with sediments

and nutrients and provides habitat for invertebrate
communities, amphibians, reptiles, and fish spawning
(produce egg).

 The flood-pulse concept was developed to

summarize how the dynamic interaction between water
and land is exploited by the aquatic and terrestrial river
corridor biota.

 Applicable primarily on larger rivers, the concept

demonstrates that the predictable advance and
retraction of water on the floodplain in a natural setting
enhances biological productivity and maintains
diversity (Bayley 1995).
 What Is A Watershed?

A watershed describes an area of land that

contains a common set of streams and rivers that
all drain into a single larger body of water, such
as a larger river, a lake or an ocean.

All the streams flowing into small rivers, larger

rivers, and eventually into the ocean, form an
interconnecting network of waterways.

Not only does water run into the streams and

rivers from the surface of a watershed, but water
also filters through the soil, and some of this
water eventually drains into the same streams and
rivers.

The network of streams and rivers that drain the

watershed and carry water pollution ultimately
empty into larger bodies of water, such as lakes
and oceans.

Through watersheds, pollution is distributed far

away from its original source.
Drainage basin/watershed/basin/catchment
Stream order

Generally, the smallest streams in a watershed that have

year-round water and no tributaries (flowing) are termed
"first order" streams. When two first order streams come
together, they form a "second order" stream and when
two second order streams come together, they form a
"third order" stream. This process then continues on
down the drainage network until the large river meets an
ocean.
Riparian Corridors

 important landscape elements for ecosystem

function

 lie at the interface terrestrial and aquatic

ecosystems, and control/influence substantial
flows of energy and matter between them

 The physical processes of stream and

floodplain formation processes underpin the
ecosystem function or riparian zones.

 The longitudinal (along stream) and latitudinal

(cross stream) structure of the riparian corridor is
substantially established by stream and
floodplain formation processes and reflects very
definite spatial patterns in aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystem processes
Vegetation Across the Stream Corridor

The distribution of these communities would be based

on different hydrologic and soil conditions.

Plant communities play a significant role in

determining stream corridor condition, vulnerability
(damage), and potential for (or lack of) restoration.

the type, extent and distribution, soil moisture

preferences, elevation, species composition, age,
vigor, and rooting depth are all important
characteristics that must be considered when planning
and designing stream corridor restoration.
• deeper pools are separated by riffles of shallow,
turbulent water passing through or over stones
or gravel

Riffles:
• contain the majority of the stream’s benthic
invertebrates

• stones covered with algae & mosses – main in

situ 1º producers

Pools:
• less dense biota living among a mixture of
stones & fine-grain sediments

• accumulation of decaying terrestrial debris

2. Stream Corridor Structure: Longitudinal Zones
Zone 1, or headwaters:

• often has the steepest gradient

• Sediment erodes from slopes of the watershed

and moves downstream.
• low T; allochthonous organic matter
• neuston distribution is not important; plankton
doesn’t play an important role in biotic structure

Zone 2, the transfer zone :

• receives some of the eroded material

• characterized by wide floodplains and

meandering channel patterns

Zone 3, the primary depositional zone. :

• neuston population high

• phytoplankton & benthos

 RIVER CONTINUUM CONCEPT

In general width, depth, temperature, and

discharge increase further downstream.

The River Continuum Concept seeks to

correlate this continuum of physical changes
with biological changes throughout a river
system and provides a conceptual model to
compare with stream systems throughout the
world.

Aquatic macroinvertebrates play important

roles in the food webs of the stream ecosystem

Macroinvertebrates can be classified not only

by traditional taxonomy but also by how they
function in the ecosystem.

This method of classification based on feeding

adaptations and/or food preferences is known
as functional feeding groups.
The River Continuum Concept describes the
physical processes (geology, climate) outside of
a river that effect the biological processes
(vegetation) along a river, which effect the
physical and biological processes within a river
(temperature, nutrients).

The River Continuum Concept states that producer

and consumer communities become established
in harmony with the dynamic physical
conditions that include width, depth, velocity,
flow volume, and temperature of the river
(Vannote et al.).

Based on:

vi. Stream order

vii.Type of organic particle
viii.Type of benthic invertebrate

Networks of streams in the drainage basin forms a

continuum of physical gradients & associated
biotic adjustment

The structure & function of the benthic invertebrate

community is strongly regulated by the
gradients of allochthonous & autochthonous
organic matter
Food web in small stream

Figure 1. Food web in

=
small streams

The relative importance of the major functional

invertebrate groups gradually changes downstream with
the food supply
Functional Feeding Groups

Feeding Strategy Food Category

I. Shredders dead leaves/live

macrophytes
II. Collectors fine organic particles
(live/dead)
filter particles in
feeders water
column

miners buried
particles
browsers bottom
surface
deposits

III. Scrapers live benthic algae

(diatoms)
IV. Piercers live filamentous algae

V. Predators other invertebrates + small

fish
 Shredders and collectors
form the major proportion of
stream macroinvertebrates

Leaves accumulate in leaf packs in streams. The

animals adapted to feeding on leaves are called
"shredders."

Shredders get nutrition primarily from the fungi and

bacteria that colonize the leaf surface.

Small fragments of leaves and feces from shredders

are captured by another group of macroinvertebrates
called collectors.
 Collectors gather or filter plant
fragments, feces, and plankton.
Grazers, also known as Scrapers
browse on algae.
in-stream photosynthesis plays a more important role.

Leaf litter reaching the stream decreases and algae, due

to the increased sunlight, becomes more abundant.

As the food base shifts so does the type of invertebrates

Grazers/Scrapers who utilize the abundant algal

resource increase while shredders decrease

Snails, limpets, certain mayflies and case-building

caddisflies are adapted to feeding on the algae growing
on rock surfaces.
Trees shade only the edge of the river and sunlight,
although abundant, does not penetrate to the river's
bottom due to turbidity.
The food base is dominated by phytoplankton and fine,
suspended organic particles generated further upstream
and from the river's floodplain.
Filtering collectors such as mussels and clams are
adapted to filtering these fine particles from the water
column.
To complete food web ecology, a diverse group of
predators are found throughout the entire stream length
feeding on all other feeding groups.
 a)
old fish trout grazing- barbel-
carp-bream
based reach minnow pearch
reach
zonatation reach reach

100

b)
COLLECTORS (eg
75 midge larvae)
Percentage of
total
invertebrates
population 50 SHREDDERS (eg
crayfish) GRAZERS(
eg snail)
PREDATORS
25 (e.g stone flies)

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
STREAM/RIVER ORDER

The river continuum concept. (a) The older concept based

on typical fish

(b) An idealized repersentation of the relative

abundance of types of benthic invertebrates
(collectors, shredders, grazers and predators) from
headwater to river mouth.
 STREAM/RIVER WIDTH (m)

0.5 1.5 5 10 60 700

Entire
leaves, Nutritious leaf
twigs fragments
1.0 (CPOM) (CPOM+FPOM)
Refractory,
Ratio undigestable
FPOM leaf remains
CPOM (FPOM+DOM)
0.1

0.01

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

c) The ratio of CPOM to FPOM increasing downstream

as entire leaves, twigs, fruits are eaten & recycled by the
invertebrates & microbes

CPOM: > 1mm

FPOM: < 1mm