Characteristics of Playa Lakes Related to Summer Waterfowl Use

Tadpole shrimp structure macroinvertebrate communities in playa lake microcosms

“…Invertebrate diversity in playas of West Texas are affected by a wide range of local factors, including period of inundation, basin modification by agricultural practices, and vegetation (Sublette & Sublette, 1967;Rhodes & Garcia, 1981;Bolen et al, 1989;Haukos & Smith, 1994;Hall et al, 1999;Hall et al, 2004). Furthermore, the effects of a single species, such as tadpole shrimp, on community structure likely depends on many contextual factors such as productivity (Balciunas & Lawler, 1995;Leibold, 1996), disturbance (Menge et al, 1994), and community composition (Power et al, 1996).…”

“…More than 60 species of macroinvertebrates reside in playas, or use them as breeding or foraging sites (Sublette & Sublette, 1967;Merickel & Wangberg, 1981;Haukos & Smith, 1994;Hall et al, 1999;Anderson & Smith, 2004). However, diversity of invertebrates differs greatly among playas, depending partly on the persistence of water and surrounding landuse practices (Sublette & Sublette, 1967;Rhodes & Garcia, 1981;Hall et al, 1999;Hall et al, 2004).…”

Freshwater Molluscs of Selected Playa Lakes of the Southern High Plains of Texas

“…Even though freshwater gastropods were first reported from playas by E. H. Ruffner in 1876 (Baker, 1985), records of freshwater gastropods from playas are rare (Fullington, 1978), and there are no published records of bivalves. Rhodes and Garcia (1981) reported incompletely identified snails in eight playas from Castro and Swisher counties, Texas. Rhodes and Garcia (1981) reported incompletely identified snails in eight playas from Castro and Swisher counties, Texas.…”