The macroinvertebrate colonisation of fresh and air-dried alder leaves
was compared in a third order stream using standardised leaf packs. R
esults were analysed in terms of numbers and biomass of invertebrates,
at three levels of resolution: total invertebrates, the shredder func
tional feeding group, and a selected taxon, the stonefly Protonemura,
which was the dominant shredder in the system. Analyses of variance an
d covariance revealed no significant differences between fresh and dri
ed litter in either densities or biomass of the associated fauna at an
y of the three levels examined. The taxonomic composition and the dive
rsity of animal assemblages were also similar between treatments. It i
s thus concluded that colonisation patterns of lotic macroinvertebrate
s on leaf litter are unaffected by artificial drying of leaves.