The Role of Disturbance in Stream Ecology

• DOI: 10.2307/1467300
• Publication Date: 2006-05-08T06:24:52Z
• Authors: Vincent H. Resh; Arthur V. Brown; Alan P. Covich; Martin E. Gurtz; Hiram W. Li; G. Wayne Minshall; Seth R. Reice; Andrew L. Sheldon; J. Bruce Wallace; Robert C. Wissmar
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 13. Climate action; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

We define disturbance in stream ecosystems to be: any relatively discrete event in time that is characterized by a frequency, intensity, and severity outside a predictable range, and that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources or the physical environment. Of the three major hypotheses relating disturbance to lotic community structure, the dynamic equilibrium hypothesis appears to be generally applicable, although specific studies support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and the equilibrium model. Differences in disturbance frequency between lentic and lotic systems may explain why biotic interactions are more apparent in lakes than in streams. Responses to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances vary regionally, as illustrated by examples from the mid-continent, Pacific northwest, and southeastern United States. Based on a generalized framework of climatic-biogeochemical characteristics, two features are considered to be most significant in choosing streams...