A technique for predicting in‐stream flow requirements of benthic macroinvertebrates

SUMMARY. A total of 225 benthic samples was taken at various riffles along the Tongue River in Montana during three separate weekly intervals in 1975. For each sample, depth, current velocity, substrate microprofile, turbulence (Froude number), and the number and kind of species present were considered. The conditions of highest faunal diversity were 75–125 cm/s current velocity at 20–40cm depth. The optimum condition appeared to be 76 cm/s at a depth of 28 cm over medium cobble substrates. The centroids for optimum conditions of depth and current velocity for thirty‐six common macroinvertebrates are also presented. Representative diagrams of the tolerance ranges of some common invertebrate species are presented. Rhithrogena hageni Eaton was chosen as the indicator species since its tolerances closely matched those of the highest community diversity. The presence of Rhithrogena in future samples would indicate maintenance of adequate flow conditions for the present benthic community. A method for applying these data to produce a minimum flow recommendation is discussed. If the optimum conditions can be plotted on composite hydrologic maps of depth and velocity in riffle areas at various discharges, one can predict the discharge at which the optimum conditions are eliminated and, thus, the recommended minimum discharge.