The stream banks and footpath have just had their annual clearing. Fool’s watercress has been left in the stream, together with some logs and wood debris. They provide a range of food for algae, microbes and invertebrates, which, in turn, provide food for larger invertebrates. Woody debris also provides a launchpad for mayflies, stoneflies and caddis flies as they emerge from their larval to adult stage.
Small streams like this fed from a spring are important habitats that need to be conserved. Already the rare white-clawed crayfish has disappeared from the stream, possibly due to competition from the American signal crayfish.
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