Insect Habitat: The River Continuum
Physical conditions in a stream vary as you move downstream. Width, depth, temperature, and discharge increase, and those changes result in biological changes, like shifts in aquatic insect communities. Because the Jocko River is principally a mountain stream, its insect communities do not change between the headwaters and mouth as dramatically as say a much longer river system that begins in the mountains and flows all the way to the ocean. But even in a stream as short as the Jocko, the change is noticeable. By clicking on the circles below you can see how the relative proportion of the functional feeding groups changes as you move upstream or downstream.
Insect Habitat: The River Continuum
Physical conditions in a stream vary as you move downstream. Width, depth, temperature, and discharge increase, and those changes result in biological changes, like shifts in aquatic insect communities. Because the Jocko River is principally a mountain stream, its insect communities do not change between the headwaters and mouth as dramatically as say a much longer river system that begins in the mountains and flows all the way to the ocean. But even in a stream as short as the Jocko, the change is noticeable. By clicking on the circles below you can see how the relative proportion of the functional feeding groups changes as you move upstream or downstream.
