Poster Details
VERTICAL MIGRATION OF ADULT PLECOPTERA (STONEFLIES) ABOVE FORESTED HEADWATER STREAMS
Aquatic insects have a life cycle that includes a larval aquatic stage and an adult terrestrial stage. Adult stream insects generally stay above the stream channel, but dispersal through upland areas connects populations. Vertical migrations up through the forest canopy may be the result of adaptations to avoid predators, complete reproduction, or for dispersal. Comparing insect abundance between the forested canopy and near the stream can provide information about a species’ life history and dispersal behavior. We examined the abundance of adult plecopteran in the forest canopy and near the stream. We set up malaise and canopy traps at four streams in the Mosquito Creek Watershed (Lycoming County, PA) in summer 2017 and 2018 and autumn 2018. We identified all Plecoptera to family and Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera to order. A significantly higher abundance of adults were captured in malaise than canopy traps for Plecoptera and Trichoptera but not Ephemeroptera. Leuctridae had the largest number of individuals in the canopy. A significantly greater number of individuals were caught in malaise than canopy traps for four of the six plecopteran families found in our study.
Ruric Bowman (Primary Presenter/Author), Lycoming College, bowruri@lycoming.edu;
Brittany Lenze (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lycoming College, lenbrit@lycoming.edu;
Robert Smith (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Lycoming College, smithr@lycoming.edu;