| Remarks |
Collected from the river, 30 - 40 m wide and varying depths of less than a meter up to about 4 meters. The river reaches were a mixture of cascade sections, runs and deep pools. Water velocities from greater than 1 m/sec in the cascade sections to 0.03 m/sec in the pools. In-stream cover limited to boulders, some bank undercutting and associated rootmasses and sparse wood debris. When disturbed, rapidly seeks cover within the cracks and tumbled slabs of granite on the bed. A microphagous carnivore. Feeds mainly on aquatic insect larvae - mayfly nymphs (18%); chironomid larvae (17%), pyralid larvae (13%) and trichopteran larvae (6%); the 28% comprised of unidentified arthropod fragments. The food consumed indicate that foraging was mostly limited to the benthos; however, some individuals also foraged at the surface with terrestrial invertebrates (7%) and terrestrial plant matter (1%). |