The Marie Drake Planetarium

When I was helping to put together the book on Aquatic Insects in Alaska I realized how important they were as food for young salmon and for pollinating plants in Alaska. Without aquatic insects we would not have salmon fisheries. Then I learned that when salmon spawn they displace huge numbers of the ones that live amongst the rocks. These insects typically disperse downstream and take refuge in piles of woody debris where salmon do not spawn. The insects later disperse to their preferred habitat. This video is meant to illustrate these connections. Of special importance is learning about the value of maintaining streamside vegetation and trees. For a scientific evaluation of woody debris look at “The value of large woody debris in Alaska's streams by Murphy and Koski” here https://www.naturebob.com/sites/default/files/murphy.pdf\ 

Bob Armstrong