REU: Debris Dams as Mitigating Patches for Stream Fauna During Floods

洪水对河流无脊椎动物的影响一直是许多河流生态学家研究的主题。在极端洪水之后，迅速重建人口是很常见的，但我们不了解这种恢复的机制。这个试点项目将开始测试这样一种假设，即碎片坝减轻了洪水对水生动物的有害影响，这些缓解斑块（水坝）对那些繁殖速度最慢的物种的影响最大。启动资金将用于开展工作，以确定动物繁殖是否足够快，足以解释洪水后种群的恢复。将投入额外的开发时间来确定碎屑坝附近大量的动物群是否与洪水事件有关。这项研究将开始提供有关机制的数据，以确定哪些种类的河流无脊椎动物随着时间的推移在给定的地点持续存在，并为长期的项目铺平道路，该项目将通过实验检查扩散，繁殖和斑块动态的相互作用。

The effect of floods on stream invertebrates has been the topic of a number of studies by stream ecologists. Rapid re- establishment of populations following extreme floods is common yet we do not understand the mechanisms responsible for this recovery. This pilot project will begin to test the hypothesis that debris dams lessen the detrimental effect of floods on stream meiofauna and that the effect of these mitigating patches (dam) will be greatest for those species with slowest reproductive rates. Start up funds will be used to begin work to determine if faunal reproduction is rapid enough to account for recovery of populations following floods. Additional development time will be invested in determining if the high abundances of fauna near debris dams are linked to flood events. This study will begin to provide data on the mechanisms determining which species of stream invertebrates persist at a given locale over time, and pave the way for longer project which will experimentally examine the interplay of dispersal, reproduction and patch dynamics.