When disturbed, the trout can possibly move to better habitat in cooler streams with less sediment bed load, but if the oxygen sensitive macroinvertebrates such as the mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies and others are pressured, they cannot move to new habitat, they simply disappear and in turn, trout habitat is lost.
In the stream benthic macroinvertebrates, fungi, bacteria and microinvertebrates that comprise complex food webs, require adequate leaf litter as a major food source, provided principally by native riparian tree canopy. As well, the shade these trees provide ensures cool temperatures for adequate dissolved oxygen levels in the stream.
