Terrestrial–aquatic transitions: Local abundances and movements of mature female caddisflies are related to oviposition habits but not flight capability
Authors: Lancaster Jill , Downes Barbara J. , Dwyer Georgia K. 
Published: January 2020

Movement behaviours of adult aquatic insects can produce distinct spatial distribution patterns. Studies of adult abundance with distance away from water bodies are common and may invoke flight capability to explain species differences. In contrast, distribution patterns along river channels are poorly described, but are no less important for understanding population dynamics. Longitudinal patterns in adult abundance along short river lengths may differ between sexes and at different life stage transitions between aquatic and terrestrial environments, i.e. at emergence and oviposition. Flight capability is unlikely to influence longitudinal patterns created at emergence, but may influence local abundances of mature females seeking to lay eggs. We tested hypotheses about how local abundances of mature females might differ according to oviposition habits and flight capability.

We surveyed abundances of mature female caddisflies at adjacent riffle–pool pairs along short river lengths with homogeneous riparian cover. Our survey included nine species in three families (Hydrobiosidae, Leptoceridae, Hydropsychidae), which encompassed multiple different oviposition habits and a range of wing sizes and shapes. Several of the species oviposit preferentially in riffles. Accordingly, we tested for differences in female abundance between channel units (adjacent riffle–pool pairs). We also tested whether females attained higher abundances in some places along channels than others (i.e. over larger spatial scales and regardless of channel unit) which imply movements along the channel and aggregation in some locations. Wing morphology was used as a proxy measure of flight capability and included measures of wing span, area, aspect ratio and the second moment of wing area.

Three distinctly different distribution patterns of mature female caddisflies were identified. The abundance of three species varied over larger scales only (multiple channel units). Six species that oviposit preferentially in riffles had higher female abundances at riffles than pools, but for only one did abundances also vary over larger scales. There was no association between these different patterns and measures of wing morphology, after removing metrics that were correlated and that differed systematically between taxonomic families. However, we could not reject the hypothesis that some aspect of flight behaviour may have contributed to observed patterns.

The diverse but distinct distributions of mature female caddisflies we observed along short channel lengths are novel and suggest that species differ in their propensity for movement along streams, which could have consequences for local densities of eggs and juveniles in the aquatic environment. The degree to which population sizes are coupled across the terrestrial‐to‐aquatic transition is rarely investigated in aquatic insects and may provide fresh insight into sources of spatial variation within populations. Similarly, a more nuanced approach to research on the flight of aquatic insects, including age‐ and sex‐specific phenomena, may provide greater insight into the diverse ecological functions and consequences of movement.