Abstract
The nature of benthic biofilm was assessed in four streams in New Zealand, two flowing through native tussock grassland and two through exotic Pinus radiata forest. Components of the biofilm were described using epi‐fluorescent staining (DAPI) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of rock and wood substrata. DAPI and SEM analyses showed significantly more bacteria and fungi on rock and wood in tussock as opposed to pine streams. This emphasises the importance of the heterotrophic community even in systems which have abundant light available for primary production. The lack of a significant heterotrophic biofilm in pine streams was unexpected, and we speculate that chemical characteristics of the water may be responsible.