Abstract
Human use of stream flow for water supply may increase the duration and/or
frequency of dry periods in intermittent streams, but there is little
information on the effect of this change on in-stream flora or fauna. To
predict the effects of dry periods on stream biota, it is necessary to
understand the relative roles of various sources of recolonization. A
transplant experiment was used to test the hypothesis that the dry residual
algal biofilm on stones in intermittent streams is an important source of
algal growth when the streams are re-wetted. Two sites were chosen, one on
each of two intermittent streams in south-eastern Australia. Rocks at the
sites differed in the amount of naturally occurring residual biofilm on them.
Forty rocks were transplanted between the sites and counts of algal densities
were made from samples taken one and five weeks after flow recommenced. At one
of the sites, where the biofilm was dominated by Cyanobacteria, dry residual
biofilm strongly influenced the developing algal community at both one and
five weeks after flow recommenced. At the other site the influence of dry
biofilm was limited after five weeks, implying that other sources of algal
recolonization were influential there.
Subject
Ecology,Aquatic Science,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics,Oceanography
Cited by
33 articles.
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