Macroinvertebrate community structure across a wetland hydroperiod gradient in southern New Hampshire, USA

Abstract

We conducted a field study to examine the influence of hydroperiod and concomitant changes in abiotic (wetland size, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and water temperature) and biotic (predatory fish presence) characteristics on macroinvertebrate communities in isolated wetlands in southern New Hampshire. Invertebrates were sampled using dipnet sweeps in 42 wetlands with short (<4 months), intermediate (4-11 months) or long (permanent) hydroperiods in 1998 and 1999. We found that invertebrate genera richness, and to a lesser degree abundance, increased linearly along the hydrological gradient, and in response to temperature and dissolved oxygen. Relative abundance of genera also differed markedly with respect to hydroperiod. Most notably, invertebrate communities changed from Acilius-dominated communities to Notonecta-dominated communities. Invertebrate relative abundances in permanent wetlands also differed with respect to the occurrence of predatory fish. Some genera (e.g., Libellula, and Dytiscus) were more likely to occur in permanent wetlands without fish, whereas other genera (e.g., Buena, and Basiaeshna) were more likely to occur in wetlands with predatory fish. Because aquatic invertebrate communities differed markedly with respect to wetland hydroperiod, and in relation to the occurrence of predatory fish, it is essential to retain a diversity of wetlands in the landscape to ensure the long-term persistence of aquatic invertebrate biodiversity.

Diversity of Odonata (Insecta) larvae in streams and farm ponds of a montane region in southern Brazil

“…Studies on reservoirs conducted in different parts of the world have shown that environmental features of both large and small reservoirs, such as age, area, vegetation structure (e.g., density and the proportion of the surface area covered) and water permanence (Tarr et al 2005, for larvae; Kadoya et al 2004Kadoya et al , 2008, for adults) commonly influence the richness of odonate larvae (Oertli et al 2002, Carchini et al 2007, Maltchik et al 2010). These features are also remarkably influenced Neotrop.,vol.…”

Effects of hydrologic connectivity on aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in different marsh types

“…We sampled water-column macroinvertebrates using a D-shaped sweep net with a 30 cm opening and 1 mm mesh size. Many previous studies (Bolduc & Afton 2003, Batzer et al 2004, Nicolet et al 2004, Tarr et al 2005, Hornung & Foote 2006, Kratzer & Batzer 2007 have found a D-shaped sweep net is an effective sampling method for macroinvertebrate sampling in ponds. We conducted a total of 10 continuous sweeps, each of 2 m long (surface covered 6 m 2 ; Bolduc & Afton 2003) at a randomly selected point near the edge of each pond.…”

A Comparison of Aquatic Invertebrate Diversity between Paddy Fields under Traditional and Modern Management in Western Japan

“…Protracted water permanence may provide nutrients (Lawler & Dritz, 2005) and extended habitat availabilities for aquatic invertebrates, thereby promoting biodiversity and species richness (Collinson et al, 1995;Tarr et al, 2005;Boulton, 2003). However, our two study areas differed not only in terms of water management practices but also in (i) land use in the tracts surrounding the fields, (ii) the extent of agrochemical usage, and (iii) water irrigation systems, which we did not evaluate in this study.…”