A test of the hypothesis of compensatory upstream dispersal using a stream-dwelling waterstrider, Gerris remigis Say

This paper reports the results of 2 experiments designed to determine if adult Gerris remigis (Hemiptera, heteroptera), a stream-dwelling waterstrider, tend to disperse preferentially upstream, as predicted by the colonization cycle hypothesis summarized by Muller (1982). Markrecapture observations and experimental removals were used to assess the distance and direction of movement of adult G. remigis along a small mountain stream, over a full year. These experiments indicated that adult G. remigis show a significant upstream bias in movement distance, but not in numbers of animals moving. This upstream bias is characteristic of pre-reproductive, sexually immature adults of both sexes, and occurs primarily in association with movements to and from diapause sites. Although the existence of a significant upstream bias in movement distances tends to support the colonization cycle hypothesis, the data from the removal experiments clearly show that upstream dispersal is not sufficient to compensate entirely for downstream drift.