Tuesday, June 5, 2007
565

Macroinvertebrate biomass and abundances from restored wetlands along the Illinois River floodplain, Illinois

Jaclyn Michelle Negro, Department of Biology, University of Illinois at Springfield, HSB 215, One University Plaza, Springfield, IL 62703 and Amy Maria Lemke, Illinois Chapter, The Nature Conservancy, 301 SW Adams St., Suite 1007, Peroria, IL 61602.

We studied macroinvertebrate community dynamics in two restored floodplain wetlands that differ in management strategies.  Big Lake is a mitigation wetland with an unmanaged connection to the Illinois River and Spunky Bottoms is an actively managed restored wetland separated from the river.  We collected monthly benthic samples from shoreline and open-water habitats from March 2002 to February 2003.  In Big Lake, total abundances increased from 13298±4654 ind m−2 (March) to 23926±4907 ind m−2 (December) and were higher compared to those in Spunky Bottoms, which remained relatively steady throughout the year (range = 8,991±4,844 to 9227±4997 ind m−2).  Total biomass ranged from 185±139 to 3437±1200 mg DM m−2  and 320±197 to 1156±356 mg DM m−2 in Big Lake and Spunky Bottoms, respectively.  Taxa richness was 2−fold higher in Spunky Bottoms than Big Lake.  Oligochaetes and Chironominae dominated biomass and density in both wetlands.  Some differences in community structure were observed between these two wetlands including higher densities of mayflies (Caenis sp.), damselflies, dragonflies, and caddisflies in Spunky Bottoms and higher biomass of Tanypodinae in Big Lake.  Our goal is to provide diversity and production data to further understand how connectivity and management decisions affect macroinvertebrate structure and function in floodplain habitats.

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