Poster Details
SPATIAL VARIATION IN PERIPHYTON AND MACROINVERTEBRATE VERNAL POOL COMMUNITIES AT THE TIDD-OAKES FARM (HARDIN COUNTY, OHIO)
Vernal pools are ephemeral, fishless, freshwater habitats that appear in early spring. Despite their well-documented importance as breeding habitats for amphibians and selected macroinvertebrates, much less is known about factors that drive variation in macroinvertebrate community structure within and across vernal pools. Understanding drivers of alpha diversity (within a pool) and beta diversity (species composition turnover between pools) has important implications for conservation and restoration of these habitats. The pilot study conducted in 2013 suggested that pool morphology and dominant riparian vegetation could both influence macroinvertebrate communities in vernal pools. The main purpose of the current study was to establish a baseline data set of macroinvertebrate community structure and diversity within and across five vernal pools differing in pool morphology and dominant riparian vegetation types at the Ohio Northern University Tidd-Oakes Farm (Hardin County, Ohio, USA). March 2017, each pool was divided into four quadrats. Each quadrat, macroinvertebrates were collected with dip nets, dominant riparian vegetation was recorded and physicochemical parameters were measured. Preliminary analysis during 2017 suggested that pool morphology and proximity to permanent ponds was more influential on macroinvertebrate communities than dominant riparian vegetation type.
Olivia Keserich (Primary Presenter/Author), Ohio Northern University, o-keserich@onu.edu;
Kelsey Weidner (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, k-weidner@onu.edu;
Leslie Riley (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, l-riley.1@onu.edu;
Robert Verb (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, r-verb@onu.edu;