1. Hydrological Cycle

2. Streams
Stream = water flowing downhill in a defined channel. (River = large stream; Creek & Brook = small streams)
Lotic system = flowing (fresh)water system;
Riparian system = of/around river/stream;
Fluvial = river/stream ; Rheos/Rrheic = stream

3. Quantifying Stream Flow
Gradient = meters of drop per kilometer of stream
High gradient = fast
Low gradient = slow
Discharge = the amount of water carried by a stream (often varies seasonally and with precipitation) Usually measured as m3 per second at a given point of the stream.

4. Streams Basin/Drainage/Catchment = area drained by a stream.
Headwaters = small source streams that originate from springs (groundwater) or runoff from the basin.
Mouth = terminus of a stream at another body of water.
Floodplain = level area along a stream that is “frequently” flooded.
Riparian Zone = area where vegetation is influenced by the stream.

5. Mississippi Basin

6. “Typical” Stream

7. “Typical” Stream Profile
headwaters / source
mouth
highlands stream
-high gradient
-low discharge
-low turbidity
lowlands stream
-low gradient
-high discharge
-high turbidity

8. Stream Order often streams begin at a spring (ground-water
becomes surface water).
Stream Order = pattern
of stream branching.
1st Order Stream = headwater streams.
2nd Order Stream = streams formed by uniting of 1st order streams.
Etc.
Usually lower order = high gradient, cool, low turbidity, few species, small discharge, more variable flows over time.

9. Stream Order

10. “Typical” Stream Section
Flood Plain = area around a higher order stream covered by water during floods.
Channel = area where a stream usually flows.
Main Channel (thalweg?) = deepest part.
Levee = raised area on either side of a stream channel.
Channel
Main Channel

11. Streams, Runoff, & Groundwater
More surface runoff → greater discharge
Stream at groundwater level → more continuous discharge (won’t “go dry”; if channel above groundwater, then may “go dry”)
If stream higher than groundwater and channel, then may “re-charge” groundwater (especially if lower flow).
groundwater

12. Channel & Flow
Water flows faster further away from the substrate which causes turbulence.
More irregular channels slow flow more than regular channels.
Straighter channel sustains higher flow.

13. Meanders/Bends Channel composition determines erosion
Channels of evenly erodable material...
still form regular meanders/bends.

14. deposition

15. Cutbanks & Bars
erosion
deposition

16. Meandering Channel

17. Meanders/Bends

18. Oxbow Lakes
Oxbow lake = Portion of a bend cut off from the main flow of the stream.

19. Braided Channels
Braided Channel = multiple channels in a large (high order) stream separated by islands/bars.

20. Pools, Riffles, & Runs
Pool = relatively deep portion with slower water flow (lower dO2)
Riffle = relatively shallow portion with faster water flow where the water ripples or breaks on the substrate (higher dO2)
Run = relatively deep portion with faster water flow.

21. Pools & Riffles

22. Substrate & Cover
Substrate usually composed of larger elements the lower the order.
Cover = the percent of the sky above the stream that is shielded by vegetation. % cover usually higher the lower the order.

23. Drift
(Stream) Drift = normally benthic organisms in the water column moving downstream.
Allows re-positioning and/or benthic predator avoidance (but makes vulnerable to large predators) Always one way.

24. Drought and Floods
Effects usually most dramatic on low and mid- order streams.
Drought – problem = too little water; surface flow may be very low or absent drought refugia - isolated pools often connected by subsurface flow or connected higher order stream
Floods – problem = scouring flow; surface flow in channel very rapid flood refugia – inundated floodplain or water behind large structure (i.e., boulders) or connected higher order stream

25. In-Stream Primary Production
Very high flow, intermittent stream flow, and high turbidity reduce (or eliminate) in-stream photosynthesis.
In clear streams, periphyton (microphytes) & macrophytes may be able to undergo in-stream photosynthesis).
Phytoplankton (& zooplankton) only rarely present in very high order streams (consistent low flow but… high turbidity).
Marginal emergent vegetation and riparian zone vegetation can undergo significant production, especially in higher order streams.

26. Allochthonous Inputs
In most streams most nutrients come from surrounding terrestrial environments (dead parts of organisms, such as leaves, or dissolved molecules)
Allochthonous material = organic matter from a different habitat;
CPOM – coarse particulate organic matter
FPOM – fine particulate organic matter
DOM – dissolved organic matter
Detritivores (animals that eat detritus) and decomposers (bacteria & fungi that decompose dead organisms) are very important in most streams.
Flow washes detritus downstream, more FPOM and less CPOM in higher order streams.

27. Low Order Stream Food Web
dissolved organic
compounds (DOC)
runoff or
groundwater entry
leaf
litter
periphyton
coarse particulate
organic matter (CPOM)
bacteria
& fungi
conditioning
(microbial colonization)
grazing
insects &
crustaceans
fishes
bacteria
& fungi
shredding
insects &
crustaceans
fine particulate
organic matter (FPOM)
collecting
insects, crust.,
nematodes, &
annelids
“predatory”
fishes
predatory
insects &
crustaceans

28. N. Amer. Stream Insect Shredders
crane fly larva
caddis fly
larvae

29. N. Amer. Stream Insect Collectors
blackfly
larva
chironomid,
midge larva
caddisfly
net
baetid,
mayfly
larva

30. N. Amer. Stream Insect Grazers
heptageniid, mayfly larva
stone fly
larva
glossosomatid,
caddis fly larva

31. N. Amer. Stream Insect Predators
rhyacophilid, caddis fly larva
(non-case building)
Hellgrammite,
Dobson fly larva
damselfly
larva

32. N. Amer. Decapod Crustaceans
When crayfishes, crabs, and/or shrimps are present, they often have significant ecological effects as feeding generalists (acting as shredders, collectors, grazers, AND predators).

33. Low Order Stream Fishes

34. High Order Stream Fishes

35. Colorado River Fishes

36. Differences in Tropical Streams
Bacterial and fungal decomposition of allochthonous material is more rapid.
Allochthonous inputs are often (but not always) less seasonal.
Fewer aquatic insects. Fishes (and in some places decapod crustaceans) serve as the major shredders, collectors, and grazers.

37. Human Impacts: Runoff/Erosion
Increased nutrient inputs via agricultural fertilizers – favors algal periphyton and bacteria (can result in anoxia)
Increased turbidity due to erosion – less in-stream photosynthesis

38. Human Impacts: Channelization
Channelization and elimination of flood plains – reduces groundwater recharge, increases water velocity in flood and severity of floods when levees breached

39. Human Impacts: Impoundments
Formation of Lakes via damming of rivers.
Greatly changes conditions, especially downstream. (e.g., hypolimnetic release)