Summary
Field experiments were conducted to assess the effects of different population densities of the herbivorous caddisfly Helicopsyche borealis on periphyton biomass and on its own growth rate in Big Sulphur Creek, a third-order stream in northern California, USA. Stream enclosures were used to vary grazer density from one-eighth to twice natural density (1/8X–2X) in two experiments (35 d and 60 d), which spanned the period of most rapid larval growth. Periphyton biomass and chlorophyll a were inversely related to grazer density. Grazer densities of 1/8X–1/2X moderately reduced periphyton when compared to an ungrazed control, whereas densities of 1X–2X greatly depleted periphyton. The growth rate of H. borealis larvae declined with increasing larval density. Growth rate was highest at densities of 1/8X–1/2X; larvae grew more slowly at 1X and showed no growth at 2X. Weekly supplementation of periphyton to 1/4X, 1X, and 2X densities significantly increased the final body mass of larvae at 1X and 2X (by 26% and 50%, respectively, compared to unsupplemented larvae) but did not change the body mass of larvae at 1/4X. These results suggest that periphyton is a limiting resource in Big Sulphur Creek and that H. borealis larvae compete exploitatively for that resource. Intraspecific competition may be an important, but often overlooked, feature of many herbivore populations in streams.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Black R (1977) Population regulation in the intertidal limpet Patelloida alticostata (Angas, 1865). Oecologia (Berlin) 30:9–22
Brockelman WY (1969) An analysis of density effects and predation in Bufo americanus tadpoles. Ecology 50:632–644
Butlin RK, Day TH (1984) The effect of larval competition on development time and adult size in the seaweed fly, Coelopa frigida. Oecologia (Berlin) 63:122–127
Coffman WP, Cummins KW, Wuycheck JC (1971) Energy flow in a woodland stream ecosystem: 1. Tissue support structure of the autumnal community. Arch Hydrobiol 68:232–276
Connell JH (1983) On the prevalence and relative importance of interspecific competition: evidence from field experiments. Am Nat 122:661–696
Creese RG, Underwood AJ (1982) Analysis of inter-and intraspecific competition amongst intertidal limpets with different modes of feeding. Oecologia (Berlin) 53:337–346
Eiseuberg RM (1966) The regulation of density in a natural population of the pond snail, Lymnaea elodes. Ecology 47:889–906
Eisenberg RM (1970) The role of food in the regulation of the pond snail, Lymnaea elodes. Ecology 51:680–684
Glass LW, Bovbjerg RV (1969) Density and dispersion in laboratory populations of caddisfly larvae (Cheumatopsyche, Hydropsychidae). Ecology 50:1082–1084
Gregory SV (1983) Plant-herbivore interactions in stream systems. In: Barnes JR, Minshall GW (eds) Stream ecology. Plenum Press, New York, pp 157–189
Hairston NG, Smith FE, Slobodkin LB (1960) Community structure, population control, and competition. Am Nat 94:421–425
Hart DD (1981) Foraging and resource patchiness: field experiments with a grazing stream insect. Oikos 37:46–52
Hart DD (1983) The importance of competitive interactions within stream populations and communities. In: Barnes JR, Minshall GW (eds) Stream ecology. Plenum Press, New York, pp 99–136
Hart DD (1985) Causes and consequences of territoriality in a grazing stream insect. Ecology 66:404–414
Haven SB (1973) Competition for food between the intertidal gastropods Acmaea scabra and Acmaea digitalis. Ecology 54:143–151
Hildrew AG, Townsend CR (1980) Aggregation, interference and foraging by larvae of Plectrocnemia conspersa (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae). Anim Behav 28:553–560
Lamberti GA, Moore JW (1984) Aquatic insects as primary consumers. In: Resh VH, Rosenberg DM (eds) The ecology of aquatic insects. Praeger, New York, pp 164–195
Lamberti GA, Resh VH (1983) Stream periphyton and insect herbivores: an experimental study of grazing by a caddisfly population. Ecology 64:1124–1135
Lamberti GA, Resh VH (1985) Comparability of introduced tiles and natural substrates for sampling lotic bacteria, algae and macroinvertebrates. Freshwater Biol 15:21–30
McAuliffe JR (1984) Competition for space, disturbance, and the structue of a benthic stream community. Ecology 65:894–908
McClure MS, Price PW (1975) Competition among sympatric Erythroneura leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) on American sycamore. Ecology 56:1388–1397
Mecom JO (1972) Feeding habits of Trichoptera in a mountain stream. Oikos 23:401–407
Moss B (1967 a) A spectrophotometric method for the estimation of percentage degradation of chlorophylls to pheo-pigments in extracts of algae. Limnol Oceanogr 12:335–340
Moss B (1967 b) A note on the estimation of chlorophyll a in freshwater algal communities. Limnol Oceanogr 12:340–342
Ortega S (1985) Competitive interactions among tropical intertidal limpets. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 90:11–25
Peckarsky BL, Dodson SI (1980 a) Do stonefly predators influence benthic distributions in streams? Ecology 61:1275–1282
Peckarsky BL, Dodson SI (1980 b) An experimental analysis of biological factors contributing to stream community structure. Ecology 61:1283–1290
Peckarsky BL, Penton MA (1985) Is predaceous stonefly behavior affected by competition? Ecology 66:1718–1728
Peterson CH (1982) The importance of predation and intra- and interspecific competition in the population biology of two infaunal suspension-feeding bivalves, Protothaca staminea and Chione undatella. Ecol Monogr 54:437–475
Price PW (1984) Insect ecology (2nd ed). John Wiley and Sons, New York
Quiring DT, McNeil JN (1984) Exploitation and interference intraspecific larval competition in the dipteran leaf-miner, Agromyza frontella (Rondani). Can J Zool 62:421–427
Resh VH, Lamberti GA, Wood JR (1984a) Biology of the caddisfly Helicopsyche borealis (Hagen): a comparison of North American populations. Freshwater Invertebr Biol 3:172–180
Resh VH, Lamberti GA, Wood JR (1984b) Biological studies of Helicopsyche borealis (Hagen) in coastal California stream. In: Morse JC (ed) Proceeding sof the 4th international symposium on Trichoptera. Dr W Junk Publishers, The Hague, pp 315–319
Ricklefs RE (1979) Ecology (2nd ed). Chiron Press, New York
Schmitt RJ (1985) Competitive interactions of two mobile prey species in a patchy environment. Ecology 66:950–958
Schoener TW (1983) Field experiments on interspecific competition. Am Nat 122:240–285
Stiling PD (1980) Competition and coexistence among Eupteryx leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) occurring on stinging nettles (Urtica dioica). J Anim Ecol 49:793–805
Stiling PD, Brodbeck BV, Strong DR (1984) Intraspecific competition in Hydrellia valida (Diptera: Ephydridae), a leaf miner of Spartina alternifolia. Ecology 65:660–662
Underwood AJ (1978) An experimental evaluation of competition between three species of intertidal prosobranch gastropods. Oecologia (Berlin) 33:185–202
Vaughn CC (1985) Life history of Helicopsyche borealis (Hagen) (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae) in Oklahoma. Am Midl Nat 113:76–83
Wiggins GB (1977) Larvae of the North American caddisfly genera (Trichoptera). University of Toronto Press, Toronto
Williams AH (1981) An analysis of competitive interactions in a patchy back-reef environment. Ecology 62:1107–1120
Williams DD, Read AT, Moore KA (1983) The biology and zoogeography of Helicopsyche borealis (Trichoptera: Helicopsychidae): a Nearctic representative of a tropical genus. Can J Zool 61:2288–2299
Wilson DS, Leighton M, Leighton DR (1978) Interference competition in a tropical ripple bug (Hemiptera: Veliidae). Biotropica 10:302–306
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lamberti, G.A., Feminella, J.W. & Resh, V.H. Herbivory and intraspecific competition in a stream caddisfly population. Oecologia 73, 75–81 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376980
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00376980