Diel changes in the abundance and size composition of invertebrate drift in five rivers in South Island,New Zealand

Drift was collected over 24‐h periods in five rivers in South Island, New Zealand, to determine whether diel periodicity was consistent across a range of river types, and whether the pattern was similar for different life stages/sizes of selected taxa. Total drift density (numbers per 100 m³ ) of aquatic invertebrates was greater at night than during the day in all rivers; peak abundance occurred shortly after sunset in clear water rivers and shortly before sunrise in a turbid, glacier‐fed river. Densities of drifting Deleatidium spp., Nesameletus spp. (both Ephemeroptera), Aoteapsyche spp., and Hydrobiosidae (both Trichoptera), were generally greater at night than during the day. However, the timing of peak abundance in the drift for other common taxa varied between rivers. Larger Deleatidium spp. larvae (> 1.00 mm head width) were more common in the drift at night than during the day in all rivers. However, this was not apparent for Aoteapsyche spp. and Hydrobiosidae, for which diel differences in the size of drifting animals were not consistent even within the same river. The propensity for some aquatic invertebrates to drift at night may influence fish feeding behaviour, particularly with respect to the timing of feeding and the species or life history stages of their prey.