Macroinvertebrates are often organized in guilds based on their feeding habits. The guild structure in a stream will reflect the overall health of the stream. Typically, polluted streams see a decline in CPOM/FPOM shredders and collectors dependent on allochthonous inputs, and a rise in scrapers and collectors dependent on autotrophic energy inputs.
|
Functional Feeding Group |
Dominant Food Source |
Feeding Mechanisms |
Examples |
|
Scrapers |
Periphyton – attached algae (diatoms) and other material growing on substrates |
Herbivores – grazing scrapers. |
Trichoptera, Ephemeroptera, Coleoptera |
|
Shredders |
Living plant tissue |
Herbivores – chewers, borers, gougers. |
Diptera, Coleoptera |
|
Coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) |
Detrivores – chewers, borers, gougers. |
Trichoptera, Tipulidae, Plecoptera, Crayfish | |
|
Decomposing plant tissue and wood (>1 mm) |
|||
|
Collectors/Filterers |
Decomposing fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) |
Detrivores – gatherers, deposit feeders. Detrivores – filterers, suspension feeders. |
Trichoptera, Diptera Ephemeroptera, Diptera, Chironomidae |
|
Predators |
Prey – other invertebrates |
Carnivores – attack prey, pierce tissues and cells, suck fluids. Carnivores – ingest whole (or part of) other organisms. |
Plecoptera, Megaloptera, Odonata |
