Hydroecology of river plankton: the role of variability in channel flow

The mechanisms by which entrained planktonic organisms survive in river systems, despite an inexorable, unidirectional downstream transport, are revisited. The importance of channel retentivity to downstream population recruitment is emphasized. The aggregated dead-zone (ADZ) model is shown to be adequate to explain downstream recruitment of a growing population. The ADZ behaviour is more prevalent in sinuous, low-gradient reaches than in other parts of the river. Plankton selection and dynamics relate conspicuously to flow at higher discharges but other environmental features are important at low flows. Discharge variability is pivotal to the opportunities for potamoplankton to thrive.