Invertebrate recolonization at short-term exposures (2–192 h) in the hyporheic zone of a gravel stream revealed significant depth-specific differences. In the shallow hyporheic zone (0–20 cm), mean meiofaunal density increased asymptotically stabilizing within 66 h, a similar but nonsignificant pattern was found for macrofauna. Permanent meiofaunal members (e.g., rotifers, chironomids, cyclopoids) were the fastest colonizers of the traps. At the deeper hyporheos (20–50 cm) meiofauna and macrofauna entered the pipes rapidly (2 h) but neither a power curve nor an asymptotic curve described their colonization pattern. Nonlinear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship between amounts of interstitial sediment entering the pipes and abundances of macrofauna and meiofauna.