Variations in fecundity over catchment scales: Implications for caddisfly populations spanning a thermal gradient

Population sizes of stream insects depend on the number of eggs that enter the benthos. Densities of oviposited eggs have been linked to densities of oviposition habitat, but variability in fecundity has not been explored. Fecundity may differ between sites where females experience different thermal environments during development, because insects generally grow larger and produce more eggs in cold places (e.g. high elevation and latitude). We...