Abstract
Droughts often intercept the longitudinal continuity of lotic habitat and are suggested to affect the stream and river ecosystems. In this study, we conducted a field survey on the stream environment and invertebrates in Shigenobu River, Ehime prefecture, in order to elucidate the impacts of human-induced droughts on the longitudinal distribution of stream invertebrates. Obvious influence of droughts on the stream invertebrates was not observed, while there was influence of droughts on the water quality at the downstream stretch. In contrast, water quality had a strong influence on the longitudinal distribution of invertebrates. These results imply that a drought affects stream invertebrates via altering water quality at the downstream.
