Intermittency Evaluation
We modified Onset HOBO Pendant temperature and light data loggers (Model UA-002-64, Onset Computer Corp, Bourne, MA, USA) per the methods described by Chapin et al. (2014) to allow loggers to detect presence or absence of water. The modifications repurpose the light intensity circuitry to record a non-standardized conductivity measurement, which serves as a proxy for water presence. These modifications retain the original capacity of the logger to record temperature. One logger was placed in the deepest pool to capture potential periods of complete stream drying, while the other was placed a riffle to capture timing and duration of periods when the stream was at a no-flow state with limited connectivity among isolated pools.
We additionally measured stream depth in the same riffle as our data logger. A t-post marked at 0.1 m intervals was installed in the riffle, and a trail camera was placed nearby and set to take hourly photos of the t-post. Data loggers and camera data were collected from April 2022 through March 2023 to capture a complete annual cycle of the drying and rewetting stages of intermittency. We inspected sensors and cameras approximately every two months over the survey period, downloading data, replacing batteries, and repairing equipment as necessary.