Temperature preferences and tolerances for 137 common Idaho macroinvertebrate taxa

Call Number:

URL:

Keywords:

Abstract:

Stream temperature may affect macroinvertebrate taxa and community structure through changes in fecundity, growth rates, biomass, metabolism, and egg and larval diapause. The thermal regime of a stream can be influenced by a number of environmental factors. On the reach scale, factors such as width-to-depth ratio, canopy closure, ground water inflow, percent pools, and gradient can all play a significant role in stream temperature. On the landscape scale, stream temperature can be influenced by latitude/longitude, aspect, elevation, climate, and drainage area. Knowledge of stream temperature and the effect of land management decisions on stream temperature are needed if managers are to make good decisions regarding management actions. Many states in the West are in the process of determining stream temperature through the use of instream incremental data loggers. Although these data loggers are not prohibitively expensive, they do require multiple stream visits which can be difficult if the stream is located in a remote area. The need for a tool to determine a stream's thermal regime from biological data has been identified by many state land management agencies. Currently, land managers rely on professional judgment, conventional wisdom, consensus with other managers, and limited experimental data to determine macroinvertebrate temperature preference and from this information make an estimate as to the thermal regime of a stream. Because of the potential of stream temperature to play a dominant role in community structure, it is important for scientists and land managers to understand taxa response to temperature if they are to correctly interpret biologic data as it relates to impairment. For the most common taxa found in Idaho streams, the author has attempted to determine temperature preferences and tolerance using several thousand instantaneous temperature measurements from water bodies throughout the state.

Notes:

ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology: Invertebrates

CSE-style citation: Brandt D. 2001. Temperature preferences and tolerances for 137 common Idaho macroinvertebrate taxa. Coeur d'Alene (ID): Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

[NOTE: the URL in this Biblio record no longer works. This report is cited, though, in a 2013 report posted at http://www.deq.idaho.gov/media/60177748/development-idaho-macroinvertebr...