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Energy Considerations: The Flow Of Life Through
The River
Drifting
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We wade the river at dusk, all the while unaware
of the nocturnal stirrings happening all along the bottom (benthos)
of the river. Each night, a potpourri of macro invertebrates rises
into the water column and is carried en mass towards the foot
of their home pool. Drift,
unknown to aquatic biologists until recently, takes place in most
freestone rivers twice a night, once about one hour after darkness,
and again just before sun up. This behavior is believed to relate
to food gathering of plankton
and other small particulate food items, but it may also function
to relieve the stress induced by competition
due to overcrowding, as species mature and prepare for their fifteen
minutes of fame; their moment in the sun. By daybreak, they have
re-attached themselves to the bottom strata and have, incredible
as it seems, crawled or swam back into their daytime niches from
whence they came. Fish that feed on these invertebrates are attuned
to the drift and align themselves at the lowest end of each large
pool to gather in their effort-free meals. The largest fish of
the river come out at night and begin their systematic search
for food. Smaller fish now hide and try not to draw the attention
of larger fish, or they will not be there at sunrise.
In the end, we only conserve
what we love,
We will only love what we understand,
We will only understand what we are taught
............ Baba Dioum, Poet |
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