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Insect Species Diversity as a Function of Environmental Variability and Disturbance in Stream Systems

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Abstract

Thienemann (1954) observed that the number of species inhabiting a given locality is highest in areas which have persisted largely unchanged for a long time and are characterized by diverse and predictable (i.e., not deviating substantially from the long-term norm) environmental conditions. The rhithron (i.e., the habitat of cold, rubble-bottom streams often found in the middle and upper reaches of river systems) epitomizes the ideal running water environment for co-existence of many species (Illies, 1969), most of which are usually insects (Hynes, 1970).

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© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

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Stanford, J.A., Ward, J.V. (1983). Insect Species Diversity as a Function of Environmental Variability and Disturbance in Stream Systems. In: Barnes, J.R., Minshall, G.W. (eds) Stream Ecology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3775-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3775-1_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-3777-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-3775-1

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