Woody Debris as a Resource for Aquatic Macroinvertebrates in Stream and River Habitats of the Southeastern United States: a Review

Woody debris can be a valuable resource for stream macroinvertebrates both directly and indirectly as a source of food or substrate. We review the literature on woody debris-macroinvertebrate interactions in three ecoregions in the Southeastern U.S. Studies on streams in the Coastal Plain ecoregion, which tend to be sandy or muddy, indicate that woody debris is valuable as substrate. Studies on streams in the Appalachian ecoregion, which tend to have abundant stable rocky substrate, indicate that woody debris is more important for its role in altering flow dynamics, which diversifies habitat, and accumulating organic matter, which serves as food. Relevant studies on streams in the Piedmont ecoregion, which tend to have substrate intermediate between Appalachian and Coastal Plane streams, are limited. Current data suggests it is not as important as riffle habitat to all but a few taxa.