The trophic basis of production of the macroinvertebrate community of a southeastern U.S.A. blackwater stream

The trophic basis of production of the macroinvertebrate communities at three sites on a second-order, low gradient blackwater stream in southeastern U.S.A. was determined. The sampling sites were located above, within and below a low-flow swamp system. From 47–64% of macroinvertebrate production was supported by FPOM at the three sites, with dependence on FPOM being greatest at the swamp site. Algae (filamentous species and diatoms) supported 15–31% of production, indicating that algae can be of considerable importance even in fully canopied headwater streams. The production of some collector-gatherers including Stenonema modestum (55%), Hexagenia munda (58%) and Baetis spp. (78%), was supported predominantly by algae. Algae also supported 61–79% of Hydropsychidae production and 68% of Simuliidae production. Animal material supported 16–26% of macroinvertebrate production at the three sites. CPOM was of minor direct importance to the macroinvertebrate community of this headwater stream, supporting only 1–3% of macroinvertebrate production. Shredders ingested only 1–3 g m⁻² y⁻¹ of CPOM, or about 1% of the annual direct leaf fall to this stream. Assuming a 10% assimilation efficiency for CPOM, shredders produced <3 g m⁻² y⁻¹ of FPOM through CPOM processing, this being approximately 2 orders of magnitude less than reported for high gradient headwater streams. These results indicate that low-order coastal plain streams vary somewhat from the River Continuum Concept in that they exhibit little utilization of and dependence on CPOM as a direct energy source. Only the smallest first-order streams and especially the extensive floodplains may be the functional headwaters of these stream systems.