Page 30 - CBT 2018
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ωH M ~ u―
u rms
Response of aquatic organisms to changes in stream bed variables
Nationally, more than $1 billion
are invested each year on stream restoration projects, and one of the primary goals is enhancement of habitat for aquatic organisms. Aquatic macroinvertebrates are organisms
that make their homes on the rocks in stream beds. The larval population of these macroinvertebrates powerfully affect food webs in the streams through their suppression of algae
and their ability to outcompete
more vulnerable grazers. Through
field measurements, laboratory investigations, and numerical modeling, CEGE researchers discovered how hydraulic and stream bed variables impact larval spatial density and were able to explain 79% of the observed variation with the scaling relationship among larval spatial distribution M, velocity u, velocity fluctuation urms, vorticity ω, and depth H. [43,44]
