Developing Indicators to Evaluate Health and Functionality of Typha Dominated Palustrine Wetlands

Session: Poster session

Alexandra Mattingly, Central Michigan University, [email protected]
Allison Kneisel, Central Michigan University, [email protected]
Donald Uzarski, Central Michigan University, IGLR, CMUBS, and Department of Biology, [email protected]

Abstract

Palustrine wetlands are essential in maintaining the integrity of freshwater resources, yet they are often degraded by anthropogenic impacts. Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBI) use characteristics of a biotic community to assess the health of an ecosystem. While IBIs have been used successfully in other wetland ecosystems they have yet to be developed for palustrine wetlands of Michigan. To develop a palustrine IBI, between 2013 and 2016 we collected macroinvertebrates, chemical and physical habitat characteristics and the surrounding land use/cover (LULC) from 21 Typha dominated inland wetlands. A disturbance gradient of the sites was developed using the physicochemical and LULC data; non-metric multidimensional scaling was then used to determine if macroinvertebrate communities differed across that disturbance gradient. We identified several taxa and families that possess strong potential to indicate biotic integrity. We found Gyraulus and the Asellidae family were associated with highly degraded sites along the disturbance gradient while the Corixidae family and Pisidium were associated with higher quality sites. Additional metrics for exploration include taxa richness and Shannon Diversity Index. These preliminary indicators will be used to develop an IBI to provide managers with a tool to evaluate health and functionality of palustrine wetlands beyond simple water quality.

1. Keyword
bioindicators

2. Keyword
macroinvertebrates

3. Keyword
monitoring

4. Additional Keyword
wetland

5. Additional Keyword
anthropogenic

6. Additional Keyword
Index of Biotic Integrity