Patterns of biodiversity in sub-alpine wetlands
Abstract
Aquatic insect colonization dynamics were studied in an attempt to understand patterns of diversity in sub-alpine wetlands. More specifically, this study investigated three alternate hypotheses: species-level diversity in habitat patches is a function of 1) patch size, 2) patch complexity, or 3) source-community characteristics. Experimental ponds that varied in size and habitat complexity were placed around natural source ponds of varying hydroperiods. Samples of invertebrate abundance and species richness were taken after a nine days of natural colonization. Results revealed higher species richness in more complex habitats (F 1, 66 = 5.756; p = 0.0193). Species richness also varied with respect to hydroperiod (F 2, 66 = 12.961, p < 0.0001), with highest diversity in habitat patches around vernal ponds. Species richness did not vary with respect to patch size (F 1, 92 = 0.665; p = 0.417). Results support the hypothesis that diversity is a function of habitat heterogeneity, while they do not support the hypothesis that diversity is a function of size. Thus, the protection and/or creation of large bodies of water may not be sufficient to preserve wetland species-diversity; success may hinge on the complexity of protected/created habitat patches. Additionally, patterns of diversity in habitat patches varied with respect to source community. Thus, assessment of the biotic and abiotic characteristics of existing wetland communities may be necessary to ensure site-specific preservation of species diversity.
Local Knowledge Graph (7 entities)
Related Works
Items connected by shared entities, co-authorship, citations, or semantic similarity.
Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management
Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management
Environmental Variation and Vegetative Composition in Beaver Engineered Ecosystems
Does environmental heterogeneity drive functional trait variation? A test in montane and alpine meadows
Data from: Microenvironment and functional-trait context dependence predict alpine plant community dynamics
Facilitation strength across environmental and beneficiary trait gradients in stream communities
Beaver Pond Ecosystems and Their Relationships to Multi-Use Natural Resource Management
A New Hydrologic Perspective of How Beaver Ponds Function
Small Mammals: A Beaver Pond Ecosystem and Adjacent Riparian Habitat in Idaho
References (19)
19 references to works outside the Knowledge Hub