Compensation flight

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A compensation flight is an upstream flight of female insects before laying their eggs, which is intended to compensate for the downward transport of eggs and larvae with the water flow ("drift") and thus prevent a shift in the habitat. Upstream flight movements were observed in various insects, in particular mayflies (Ephemeroptera) and caddisflies (Trichoptera), and interpreted as compensatory flights .

The actual role that these flights play in compensating for drift during development in the flowing water is, however, in many cases unclear. The extent of the drift depends on the shape of the eggs and larvae and the behavior of the latter. In particular, mayflies show only a low flight performance, which is also strongly influenced by the wind conditions. Thus the importance of the compensation flight probably varies between species, habitats and weather conditions in the corresponding year.

Various influences can hinder the possibility of a compensation flight and thus the settlement of a watercourse. It could be shown that dense spruce monocultures hinder the compensatory flight and thus act as an obstacle to spread.

A corresponding preference for laying eggs upstream has been described for the Pyrenean mountain newt ( Calotriton asper ), which occurs in rapidly flowing mountain streams in the Pyrenees and which has little chance of survival downstream due to predatory fish such as trout.

literature

  • A. Keller: The drift and its ecological importance - Experimental investigation on Ecdyonurus venosus (Fabr.) In a running water model . In: Aquatic Sciences - Research Across Boundaries . tape 37 , no. 2 , 1975, p. 295-331 .
  • BK Russev: Compensation flight in the order of the Ephemeroptera . In: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Ephomeroptera . Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, May 17-20 August 1970, p. 133-142 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ D. Hering, M. Reich, H. Plachter: Effects of spruce monocultures of the same age on the fauna of low mountain streams . In: Journal for Ecology and Nature Conservation . tape 2 , 1993, p. 31-42 .
  2. ↑ Albert Montori, Gustavo A. Llorente, Alex Richter-Boix: Habitat features Affecting the small-scale distribution and migration patterns of longitudinally Calotriton asper in a pre-Pyrenean population . (PDF) In: Amphibia-Reptilia 29, No. 3, 2008, p. 371.