Concepts

Mechanisms used by individuals to convey different cues to others, including color, vocal cues, body language, and biofluorescence

Behavior where caddisfly larvae consume material from their own or others' protective cases

Organic matter particles larger than 1 mm, including intact leaves and larger detrital fragments

Daily behavioral pattern where aquatic organisms move vertically in the water column, typically showing different activity levels during day versus night periods

A measure comparing the proportion of prey in predator diet to proportion in environment to detect selection or avoidance

the rate of nutrient excretion per unit body mass of an organism

Combined impact of multiple predators differs from the sum of their individual effects, can be greater or less than additive

Mechanism where state and behavior mutually reinforce each other, measured as positive correlation between individual intercept and slope in random regression models.

Statistical method used to identify the structuring factors driving life-history variation and to detect slow-fast continuum patterns

Measure of how effectively a sampling method captures target organisms relative to processing time and effort

Input of terrestrial invertebrates into aquatic food webs providing energy to aquatic predators

The hypothesis that disposing of excess dietary nutrients imposes a growth cost on organisms, creating hump-shaped relationships with diet stoichiometry

Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera orders used as indicators of aquatic ecosystem health

Standard measure of organic biomass determined by ashing samples to remove inorganic material

Physical structure and arrangement of beaver ponds, specifically comparing single isolated ponds versus terraced series of connected ponds

Organic material found in pond sediments that serves as nutrient storage compartment

Paedomorphosis becomes the preferred life strategy when growing conditions such as prey abundance, water temperature, and population density are poor, so individuals opt to cut losses and become sexua...

The accumulation of substances like sodium in organisms through their food chain, allowing carnivores to obtain adequate salt from prey

The sequential development of microbial communities on substrates following disturbance

Population response where decreases in fitness due to other factors are offset by increases in another demographic parameter

Population estimation method using repeated sampling to remove individuals and estimate total abundance from decline curve

Consumption of dead organic matter by organisms, particularly caddisfly larvae feeding on detritus

Functional guild of macroinvertebrates that break down dead organic material, contributing to nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems

Daily patterns in organism behavior, with some mayfly species showing increased drift activity at night to minimize exposure to visual predators

Differential prey use based on habitat type, with fairy shrimp comprising majority of diet in temporary ponds

Degree of environmental stress affecting survival and reproduction, differing between elevational sites

Biogeographic classification of species based on their broader distributional affinities and evolutionary origins

Physical habitat constraints related to water flow and stream geomorphology that affect oviposition site availability

Patterns of stream flow including magnitude, timing, and duration of high and low flow periods

Asymmetric intraguild predation (IGP) between caddisflies where larger, faster-growing species prey on smaller competitors

The downstream transport and repeated cycling of nutrients through uptake and release in stream ecosystems

Algae growing attached to surfaces such as decomposing plant material

The removal of phosphorus from the water column by organisms for metabolic processes

The rate at which predators consume prey, measured as prey mortality per predator per unit time

Habitat structure that provides protection from predation by offering shelter or hiding places

The production of organic compounds by autotrophic organisms, measured here through chlorophyll-a concentration

Differences between sexes in fluorescent patterns, as identified in Plethodon metcalfi

The body size of mayflies when they emerge as adults from aquatic larval stage

Univoltine species which develop from overwintered eggs in pools formed by melting snow water

The roles that invertebrates play in the flow of energy and cycling of nutrients in wetlands