Large versus small wood in streams : the effect of wood dimension on macroinvertebrate communities Lester, Rebecca E., Wright, Wendy, Jones-Lennon, Michelle and Rayment, Phil 2009, Large versus small wood in streams : the effect of wood dimension on macroinvertebrate communities, Fundamental and applied limnology, vol. 174, no. 4, pp. 339-351, doi: 10.1127/1863-9135/2009/0174-0339. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title Large versus small wood in streams : the effect of wood dimension on macroinvertebrate communities Author(s) Lester, Rebecca E. orcid.org/0000-0003-2682-6495 Wright, Wendy Jones-Lennon, Michelle Rayment, Phil Journal name Fundamental and applied limnology Volume number 174 Issue number 4 Start page 339 End page 351 Total pages 13 Publisher E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Place of publication Stuttgart, Germany Publication date 2009-05 ISSN 1863-9135 Summary Conventionally, most research and restoration involving in-stream wood focuses on large wood (>0.1 m diameter), excluding any smaller pieces. However, this may neglect a major component of in-stream habitat, as small wood can constitute the majority of pieces, particularly in small streams. The ecological benefit of large wood is well established, but corresponding benefits associated with small wood (0.05-0.1 m diameter) have not been demonstrated. To test the effect of wood dimension on macroinvertebrate community composition, we compared the fauna occupying large wood habitats with that occupying small wood at eight streams in south-eastern Australia. The relationships between wood dimensions and its macroinvertebrate fauna were complex. Community composition did not vary with wood dimension, and no significant correlations were found between other macroinvertebrate attributes (including family richness and evenness) and wood dimension, including diameter. However, analysis of covariance suggested that large wood supported a greater diversity and abundance of macroinvertebrates, indicating that the method of analysis could influence the result. Adjustment for differences in sample dimension using rarefaction determined that these findings were likely to be a result of the surface area and volumes sampled varying with the dimension of the wood. Per unit surface area, and per unit volume, small wood supported a similar number of families to large wood. Thus we conclude that, relative to the available surface area, small and large wood can be equivalent in their contribution to the available habitat in a stream. Therefore, the potential value of small wood as a habitat resource warrants its explicit consideration for inclusion in ecological and rehabilitation studies. Language eng DOI 10.1127/1863-9135/2009/0174-0339 Field of Research 059999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970105 Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences HERDC Research category C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2009 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30039439 Document type: Journal Article Collections: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment School of Life and Environmental Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Wed, 26 Oct 2011, 08:38:33 EST Fri, 28 Oct 2011, 13:38:09 EST Fri, 28 Oct 2011, 13:42:52 EST Fri, 28 Oct 2011, 13:46:37 EST Fri, 28 Oct 2011, 13:48:18 EST Fri, 17 Jan 2014, 09:52:20 EST Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 11:26:59 EST Thu, 11 Dec 2014, 17:24:44 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 10 times in TR Web of Science Cited 11 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 628 Abstract Views, 1 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Wed, 26 Oct 2011, 08:38:33 EST