Responses of organic matter and macroinvertebrates to placements of boulder clusters in a small stream of southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Diversity and productivity of stream food webs are related to habitat heterogeneity and efficiency of energy retention. We tested the hypothesis that experimental boulder placements in a second-order stream would increase diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates by restoring detrital retention and habitat heterogeneity. Two relatively natural, upstream, reference reaches and a downstream treatment reach with a relatively straight channel and less woody debris were studied for 3 months before and 1.2 years after the placement of six boulder clusters in the treatment reach. Mean velocity and its coefficient of variation increased in the treatment reach (140 and 115%, respectively), whereas the reference reaches remained relatively unchanged after the placements. Enhanced particulate organic matter storage (550%) was accompanied by increased total macroinvertebrate abundance (280%) in the treatment reach, converging with those of the reference reaches almost 1 year after the treatment. Detritivorous taxa numerically dominated the macroinvertebrate community, the total densities of which were best predicted by the fine fraction of organic matter biomass at microhabitat scale. However, the effect of boulder clusters on taxonomic richness was negligible. Our findings suggest that boulder clusters can be used at least as a short-term means to restore macroinvertebrate productivity in detritus-based stream systems.