Abstract
Gut content analysis, field and laboratory observations, and food choice experiments were used to assign four abundant macroinvertebrate taxa in the headwaters of the Buffalo River, eastern Cape, to functional feeding groups. The mayfly Adenophlebia auriculata (Leptophlebiidae) was classified as a collector: brusher; while the caddisflies, Dyschimus ensifer (Pisuliidae) and Goerodes caffrariae (Lepidostomatidae), and stoneflies Afronemoura spp. (Notonemouridae) were classified as shredders. The effects of organism size, season and biotope on dietary composition were tested, with size accounting for most of the dietary variability within each taxon. Larger individuals consumed more material, larger items, and, in the case of A. auriculata, a wider variety of food-types. There was little variation in the feeding of the taxa in different seasons or biotopes. Shredders ingested mainly leaf fragments, and this, rather than the size of particles in the gut, is a more useful basis for the shredder designation. A. auriculata was the most opportunistic feeder, and items in its diet additional to fine detritus varied seasonally and in the various biotopes. Of the shredders, Afronemoura spp. and D. ensifer were more varied in their diet, augmenting the staple intake of leaf material with other items. G. caffrariae was the most specialised feeder, being exclusively a shredder, regardless of biotope or season. Despite criticisms of the applicability of the FFG concept in the literature, we conclude that these taxa can reasonably be accommodated in functional feeding classes, and that the results are useful in describing the functions performed by the organisms in the river. The relationship between feeding function and river process is emphasised: we suggest that collectors contribute primarily to organic particle retention, while shredders facilitate organic particle size reduction and mobilisation, and the enhancement of substrates for microbial colonisation. An emphasis on river function is a useful context within which to view the FFG concept.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Anderson, N. F. & E. Grafius, 1975. Utilisation and processing of allochthonous material by stream Trichoptera. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 19: 3038–3088.
Anderson, N. F., J. R. Sedell, L. M. Roberts & F. J. Triska, 1979. The role of aquatic invertebrates in processing wood detritus in coniferous forest streams. Am. Midl. Nat. 100: 64–82.
Anderson, N. H. & J. R. Sedell, 1979. Detritus processing by macroinvertebrates in stream ecosystems. Ann. Rev. Ent. 24: 351–377.
Barmuta, L. A., 1988. Benthic organic matter and macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups in a forested upland stream in temperate Victoria. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 23: 1394–1398.
Calow, P., 1977. Ecology, evolution and energetics: a study in metabolic adaptation. Adv. ecol. Res. 10: 1–62.
Chessman, B. C., 1986. Dietary studies of aquatic insects from two Victorian rivers. Aus. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 37: 129–146.
Coffman, W. P., K. W. Cummins & J. C. Wuycheck, 1971. Energy flow in a woodland stream ecosystem. I. Tissue support trophic structure of the autumnal community. Arch. Hydrobiol. 68: 232–276.
Cummins, K. W., 1973. Trophic relations of aquatic insects. Ann. Rev. Ent. 18: 183–206.
Cummins, K. W., 1974. Structure and function of stream ecosystems. Bioscience 24: 631–641.
Cummins, K. W., 1979. The natural stream ecosystem. In: J. V. Ward & J. A. Stanford, (eds), The ecology of regulated streams, Plenum Press, New York: 7–24.
Cummins, K. W. & M. J. Klug, 1979. Feeding ecology of stream invertebrates. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 10: 147–172.
Cummins, K. W. & R. W. Merritt, 1984. Ecology and distribution of aquatic insects. In: R. W. Merritt & K. W. Cummins (eds), An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America, Kendall Hunt, Dubuque: 59–66.
Darrow, P. O. & R. S. Holland, 1989. Influence of a collector filterer caddisfly (Trichoptera: Hydropsyche betteni Ross) on leaf processing rates in an artificial stream. Hydrobiologia 174: 201–205.
Feminella, J. W. & K. W. Stewart, 1986. Diet and predation by three leaf associated stoneflies (Plecoptera) in an Arkansas mountain stream. Freshwat. Biol. 16: 521–538.
Grafius, E. & N. H. Anderson, 1979. Population dynamics, bioenergetics and role of Lepidostoma quercina Ross (Trichoptera: Lepidostomatidae) in an Oregon woodland stream. Ecology 60: 433–441.
Grafius, E. & N. H. Anderson, 1980. Population dynamics and role of two species of Lepidostoma (Trichoptera: Lepidostomatidae) in an Oregon coniferous forest stream. Ecology 61: 808–816.
Gray, L. J. & J. V. Ward, 1989. Food habits of stream benthos at sites of differing food availability. Am. Midl. Nat. 102: 157–167.
Hawkins, C. P., 1985. Food habits of species of Ephemerellid mayflies (Ephemeroptera: Insecta) in streams of Oregon. Am. Midl. Nat. 113: 343–352.
Hill, M. O., 1979. TWINSPAN — A fortran program for arranging multivariate data in an ordered two-way table by classification of the individuals and attributes. Unpublished report, Ecology & Systematics, Cornell University, Ithaca
Irons, J. G. III, 1988. Life history patterns and trophic ecology of Trichoptera in two Alaskan (U.S.A.) subarctic streams. Can. J. Zool. 66: 1258–1265.
Irons, J. G., M. W. Oswood & J. P. Bryant, 1988. Consumption of leaf detritus by a stream shredder: influence of tree species and nutrient status. Hydrobiologia 160: 53–61.
King, J. M., J. A. Day, P. R. Hurly, M. Henshall-Howard & B. R. Davies, 1988. Macroinvertebrate communities and environmental in a southern African mountain stream. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 45: 2168–2181.
Lamberti, G. A. & V. H. Resh, 1983. Stream periphyton and insect herbivores: an experimental study of grazing by a caddisfly population. Ecology 64: 1124–1135.
McShaffrey, D. & W. P. McCafferty, 1986. Feeding behaviour of Stenacron interpunctatum (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae). J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 5: 200–210.
McShaffrey, D. & W. P. McCafferty, 1988. Feeding behaviour of Rithrogena pellucida (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae). J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 7: 87–99.
Merritt, R. W. & K. W. Cummins (eds), 1984. An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America, Kendall Hunt, Dubuque.
Merritt, R. W., K. W. Cummins & T. M. Burton, 1984. The role of aquatic insects in the processing and cycling of nutrients. In: V. H. Resh & D. M. Rosenberg (eds), The ecology of aquatic insects, Praeger, New York: 134–163.
Miller, R., 1981. Simultaneous Inference, 2nd edn. Springer, New York.
Minshall, G. W., 1988. Stream ecosystem theory: a global perspective. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 7: 263–288.
Palmer, R. W. & J. H. O'Keeffe, 1990. Downstream effects of a small impoundment on a turbid river. Archiv. fur. Hydrobiol. In press.
Rader, R. B. & J. V. Ward, 1987. Resource utilisation, overlap and temporal dynamics in a guild of mountain stream insects. Freshwat. Biol. 18: 521–528.
Rosillon, D., 1988. Food preferences and relative influence of temperature and food quality on the life history characteristics of a grazing mayfly, Ephemerella ignita (Poda). Can. J. Zool. 66: 1474–1481.
Shepard, R. B. & G. W. Minshall, 1984. Selection of fine particulate foods by some stream insects under laboratory conditions. Am. Midl. Nat. 111: 23–32.
Snedecor, G. W. & W. G. Cochran, 1967. Statistical Methods. 6th ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames. p 327.
Townsend, C. R., A. G. Hildrew & J. Francis, 1983. Community structure in some southern English streams: the influence of physicochemical factors. Freshwat. Biol. 13: 521–544.
Vannote, R. L., G. W. Minshall, K. W. Cummins, J. R. Sedell, C. E. Cushing, 1980. The River Continuum Concept. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 37: 130–137.
Vaughn, C. C., 1987. Substratum preference of the caddisfly Helicopsyche borealis (Hagen) (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae). Hydrobiologia 154: 201–205.
Wallace, J. B., A. C. Benke, A. H. Lingle & K. Parsons, 1987. Trophic pathways of macroinvertebrate primary consumers in subtropical blackwaters streams. Arch. Hydrobiol. Suppl. 74 (Monographiae Beitrage) 4: 423–451.
Webb, K. M. & R. W. Merritt, 1987. The influence of diet on the growth of Stenonema vicarium (Walker) (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae). Hydrobiologia 153: 253–259.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Palmer, C.G., O'Keeffe, J.H. Feeding patterns of four macroinvertebrate taxa in the headwaters of the Buffalo River, eastern Cape. Hydrobiologia 228, 157–173 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006204
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00006204