The distribution of Ephemerella ignita (Ephemeroptera) in streams: the role of pH and food resources

SUMMARY. 1. The mayfly Ephemerella ignita does not occur in upland streams of the River Duddon catchment which have waters with low pH values of 4.8-5.2, negative alkalinities and low ionic contents. However, it does occur in lowland streams of the catchment which have waters with higher pH values of 6.6 and above, large positive alkalinities and high ionic contents. This study addresses the question of whether the absence of the animal in the acid water streams is due directly to the water chemistry or to the absence of suitable food.
2. In comparative experiments using unfed animals of several species it was shown that E. ignita has a considerable tolerance of low pH, low ion water. In this it is similar to Amphinemura sulcicollis (Plecoptera), a stonefly which occurs in the acid water streams of the River Duddon catchment.
3. Growth rates in laboratory experiments with E. ignita were equally good whether the food supplied was that available in the low pH water streams (bryophyte Nardia compressa plus filamentous alga Hormidium subtile) or typical of that available in high pH water streams (moss Rhynchostegium riparioides with the epiphytic diatom Cocconeis placentula). However, a consideration of the natural habits of the animal suggests that it is the inaccessibility of the H. subtile algal food, rather than its unsuitability, which is relevant to the exclusion of E. ignita from the low pH streams. In addition, the very limited diversity of other algae in the low pH water streams, in the summer season, may well be influential in inhibiting the establishment of E. ignita.
4. The comparative experiments using unfed animals suggested that, contrary to the findings for E. ignita , the mayflies Baetis muticus and Beatis rhodani are probably excluded from the acid water streams of the Upper Duddon because of water chemistry.