Scaling of colonization processes in streams: Parallels and lessons from marine hard substrata

Abstract

Understanding colonization processes specifically requires a comprehensive understanding of the frequency and scales over which dispersal occurs, which in turn determines the degree of linkage within and between populations and possibly results in metapopulation structure. What is our level of such knowledge for stream systems? We examine colonization processes in streams using a framework produced by analogous literature on sessile, marine species, which are comparatively well-known and may provide insights for stream biota. For simplicity, we separate dispersal into two, somewhat artificial scales: microscale (between habitat patches - cm to m) and mesoscale (between groups of patches - te..