Biota of a subalpine springbrook in the Southern Alps

Cowie, Brent; Winterbourn, Michael J.

doi:10.1080/00288330.1979.9515806

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This was implicated by Suren (1991) who observed distinct seasonal cohorts in larval chironomid density, attributable to oviposition by emergent adults following peaks in pupal densities. This would be responsible for the often reported numerical dominance of large (> 250 |im) chironomids within bryophytes (e.g., Percival & Whitehead 1929;Hynes 1961;Stern & Stem 1969;Cowie & Winterbourn 1979;Brusven et al 1990) and would reflect a high abundance of smaller (unsampled) animals in these studies.…”

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 88%

Meiofaunal communities associated with bryophytes and gravels in shaded and unshaded alpine streams in New Zealand

Suren

1992

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Meiofauna associated with bryophyte and gravel habitats in two small alpine streams was investigated to determine its potential importance to stream communities. These invertebrates are traditionally neglected in stream surveys and their ecological roles poorly understood. Twenty-one operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found during the study, of which at least six were undescribed (two Copepoda and four Acarina). Meiofaunal densities were higher at the unshaded site than the shaded site, and higher within bryophyte than gravel habitats. Stepwise multiple regression analyses illustrated the importance of bryophytes to members of the meiofauna in each stream, and different meiofaunal communities were found associated with aquatic bryophytes and gravels. The high densities of Chironomidae, Nematoda, Copepoda, Tardigrada, and Rotifera associated with bryophytes may reflect the food value of the high periphyton biomass associated with these plants, and the shelter they offer from fast water currents. Although hyporheic meiofaunal taxa are known to move into interstices of mineral substratum for shelter, meiofauna associated with bryophytes dwell among stems and in leaf axils where they also find shelter. Because bryophyte-dwelling meiofauna occur in very high densities, they probably play an important, if as yet unknown, role in energy transfer in streams. M91030

show abstract

Section: Tablementioning

confidence: 88%

Meiofaunal communities associated with bryophytes and gravels in shaded and unshaded alpine streams in New Zealand

Suren

1992

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The first studies describing the biological communities inhabiting New Zealand freshwater springs were of Western Springs, Auckland (Johnstone 1972); Avon River/Otakaro, Christchurch (Marshall 1973); and Waikoropupu Springs and five other coldwater springs elsewhere in New Zealand (Michaelis 1974(Michaelis , 1976a(Michaelis , b, 1977. At the end of the 1970s, Russell & Rodgers (1977) characterised the waters of Western Springs and Cowie & Winterbourn (1979) investigated the biota at the spring source of Middle Bush Stream, an alpine springbrook near Cass, central South Island. During the next 20 years, there were no studies characterising biological communities or spring habitats, although the origin of some springs of the east coast of the North Island was studied (Hunt & Glover 1995) and some ecological studies compared springbrook biota with invertebrate communities of unstable streams fed by run-off (e.g.…”

Section: Biodiversity Values Of New Zealand Springs 3 1 H I S T O Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given a stable substrate, bryophyte species assemblage depends on a spring's water chemistry, flow permanence and the surrounding geology (Suren 1996). However, in a small alpine springbrook, Cowie & Winterbourn (1979) noted a distinct zonation of bryophyte species, with Fissidens rigidulus occupying the mid-channel, Pterygophyllum quadrifarium along the banks and Cratoneuropsis relaxa in the outer spray zone.…”

Section: T H E F L O R a O F S P R I N G Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Crenic habitats, hotspots for freshwater biodiversity conservation: toward an understanding of their ecology

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…In New Zealand, the only published information on the foods of moss-dwelling stream invertebrates are comments on gut content analysis by Cowley (1978) and Cowie & Winterbourn (1979). The latter observed no instances of bryophyte ingestion in three species of bryophyte-dwelling insect larvae in a South Island headwater stream, but Cowley found evidence of bryophyte consumption and/or case construction in nine out of 48 species of Trichoptera.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of aquatic bryophytes by alpine stream invertebrates in New Zealand

Suren

Winterbourn

1991

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

represented a less nutritious food source for animals. Avoidance of bryophyte tissues thus reflects a combination of the presence of alternative foods and their low nutritional value; bryophytes may also contain antifcedant compounds.Keywords aquatic bryophytes; invertebrates; feeding; bryophagy; stable carbon analysis; autochthonous; allochthonous; food value; antiherbivore compounds Abstract Gut contents of 23 invertebrate taxa that dwell among bryophytes in two small New Zealand alpine streams with different riparian vegetation were examined. Bryophyte fragments were found in guts of 14 taxa, but only the tipulid Limonia hudsoni and the oeconesid caddisflies Zelandopsyche ingens and Oeconesus similis commonly consumed bryophytes. Bryophyte-dwelling animals consumed more periphyton at the unshaded site or riparian vegetation at the shaded site than did animals dwelling amongst gravels. Stable carbon isotope ratios were compared between selected animals and plants, and indicated that animals in the unshaded site relied primarily on autochthonous detritus, whereas animals from the shaded site relied on allochthonous detritus.

show abstract

Biota of a subalpine springbrook in the Southern Alps

Cited by 15 publications

References 9 publications

Meiofaunal communities associated with bryophytes and gravels in shaded and unshaded alpine streams in New Zealand

Meiofaunal communities associated with bryophytes and gravels in shaded and unshaded alpine streams in New Zealand

Crenic habitats, hotspots for freshwater biodiversity conservation: toward an understanding of their ecology

Consumption of aquatic bryophytes by alpine stream invertebrates in New Zealand

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About