Dissertation Research: Dispersal within and among Stream Corridors: Implications for the Distribution and Population Structure of Stoneflies in the White Mountain National Forest

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Although streams are networks of aquatic habitat that are distributed across a terrestrial landscapes; little is known about how the patterns of these networks affect the distributions of organisms that live within them. The objective of this research is to examine how stoneflies, a group of insects that develop as larvae in streams and live in the forest as adults, disperse among streams, and how the patterns of streams affect the distribution of stoneflies in the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. Using stable isotopes, adult stoneflies will be tracked in the forest to measure flight distances. A model will be developed to predict how individual insect and habitat characteristics affect flight patterns. Historic dispersal patterns will be estimated indirectly by assessing relatedness of individuals using molecular genetics. This research will provide a greater understanding of how aquatic insect populations are integrated among streams, and will be useful for predicting how disturbances affect populations distributed across connected habitats.