Spatiotemporal patterns of aquatic macroinvertebrate community assemblages in interdunal wetlands

Session: Poster Session

Nicole Stewart , Western Michigan University , [email protected]
Tiffany Schriever, Western Michigan University, [email protected]

Abstract

A major goal in ecology is to understand the drivers of species diversity and community composition through space and time. Interdunal wetlands are a rare type of Great Lakes coastal wetland located at low points between dune ridges. These wetlands lie on a latitudinal gradient spanning four degrees from southern lower Michigan to northern lower Michigan, representing a wide array of regional and local environmental conditions. We investigated how these environmental factors structure macroinvertebrate community assemblages by quantifying taxonomic diversity and assessing patterns of species turnover in 38 interdunal wetlands along the latitudinal gradient. Thus far, we have identified 57 different taxa with individual wetland species richness ranging from 1 to 21, and Shannon-Weaver diversity ranging from 0 to 3.01. Data show an overall trend of increasing average species richness with decreasing latitude. This study is the first to inventory this type of Great Lakes coastal wetland. Our work highlights how environmental conditions structure biotic communities across the landscape and through time. Data generated by this research provides valuable insight for conservation management practices of these threatened habitats.

Twitter handle of presenter
@NicoleStewart_T