Indiscriminate feeding by a predatory stonefly (Plecoptera: Perlidae) in a tropical Asian stream

Abstract

The diet of an undescribed species of Kamimuria was investigated in Tai Po Kau Forest Stream, Hong Kong, by comparing larval gut contents with the array of available prey living on and among cobble substrates. Diets were dominated by chironomids and philopotamid caddisflies, with Baetidae, Heptageniidae, Hydropsychidae and Simuliidae comprising secondary dietary items. These six taxa made up 94% of the prey individuals eaten by Kamimuria. Data analysis using a selectivity index revealed that these stoneflies fed indiscriminately, eating individual prey taxa in proportion to their availability in the environment. Large and small Kamimuria exploited essentially the same prey. A comparison of the diet of Kamimuria with the diets of four sympatric Odonata indicated that the degree of interspecific similarity was determined by the extent of overlap in microhabitat use. Diets of Euphaea decorata (Zygoptera) larvae, which live under cobbles, were most similar to Kamimuria. This is the first albeit limited - study of the gut contents of a tropical Asian stonefly. The results suggest that these predators have the potential to limit benthic invertebrate abundance but, because Kamimuria larvae feed unselectively, community structure may not be affected by their activities.