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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2002
in Conservation Ecology
SCULPTING THE BED OF GRAVELY RIVERS FOR RESEARCH ON BENTHIC INVERTEBTATE ECOLOGY.
T. Buffin-Belanger1, S. Rice1, I. Reid1, J.H. Chandler2, and J. Lancaster3. 1Department of Geography, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom, 2Department of Building & Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, United Kingdom, 3Institute of Ecology and Resource Management,University of Edinburgh, Darwin Building, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3JU, United Kingdom
In gravely rivers, macroinvertebrates are exposed to complex hydrodynamics. Field and laboratory studies have shed some light on their adaptation to near-bed flow regime. However, both field and laboratory approaches have critical drawbacks. In the field, it remains difficult to analyse simultaneously insect behaviour and flow dynamics, especially during high flows, while in the laboratory it is difficult to faithfully reproduce natural bed arrangements and flow characteristics. This is particularly true for flows over gravely beds where the rough, sedimentologically patchy surface yields complex hydrodynamics. Here, we present a novel method for reproducing the complex surface of natural gravel beds within an experimental channel. The technique consists of moulding (polyvinyl chloride and polyurethane foam) and casting (polyurethane resin) natural sediment patches. Our procedure has allowed us to sculpt large casts that look astonishingly realistic. Comparing digital terrain models of both the natural and artificial surfaces shows that the casts exhibit topographic and textural parameters almost identical to those of the prototype. The sculpting procedure facilitates new and exciting research opportunities at the interface of benthic ecology, geomorphology and hydrology. We are using it to investigate the relations between insect behaviour and near-bed flow hydrodynamics of gravely rivers.
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