Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - 9:15 AM
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Thirty five years of change: A study of caddisfly (Insecta:Trichptera) species composition and diversity after agricultural land development

Michael Biondi II, Entomology Soils and Plant Sciences, Clemson University, 114 Long Hall, Clemson, SC 29634-0315

A study was conducted to determine change in species biodiversity and composition of adult caddisflies (Insecta:Trichoptera) after thirty five years of extensive land change.  The agricultural development of Northern Pickens County in South Carolina along the South Saluda River basin has changed the face of the land surrounding the river bed.  Species composition data from three sites along the Saluda River, collected by Dr. John C. Morse in 1969, were utilized as a base line prior to land development.  By repeating his collection methods in 2005 and 2006 and implementing GIS analysis of the change in land use between 1969 and 2005, a correlation between changes in land use and species diversity was determined.