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Use of Macroinvertebrates to Identify Cultivated
Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region

Ned H. Euliss, Jr., David M. Mushet, and Douglas H. Johnson

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Abstract: We evaluated the use of macroinvertebrates as a potential tool to identify dry and intensively farmed temporary and seasonal wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region. The techniques we designed and evaluated used the dried remains of invertebrates or their egg banks in soils as indicators of wetlands. For both the dried remains of invertebrates and their egg banks, we weighted each taxon according to its affinity for wetlands or uplands. Our study clearly demonstrated that shells, exoskeletons, head capsules, eggs, and other remains of macroinvertebrates can be used to identify wetlands, even when they are dry, intensively farmed, and difficult to identify as wetlands using standard criteria (i.e., hydrology, hydrophytic vegetation, and hydric soils). Although both dried remains and egg banks identified wetlands, the combination was more useful, especially for identifying drained or filled wetlands. We also evaluated the use of coarse taxonomic groupings to stimulate use of the technique by nonspecialists and obtained satisfactory results in most situations.

Key Words: aquatic invertebrate signatures, delineation, macroinvertebrates, prairie potholes, wetland identification

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This resource is based on the following source (Northern Prairie Publication 1136):

Euliss, Ned H., Jr., David M. Mushet, and Douglas H. Johnson.  2001.  
     Use of macroinvertebrates to identify cultivated wetlands in 
     the prairie pothole region.  Wetlands 21(2):223-231.

This resource should be cited as:

Euliss, Ned H., Jr., David M. Mushet, and Douglas H. Johnson.  2001.  
     Use of macroinvertebrates to identify cultivated wetlands in 
     the prairie pothole region.  Wetlands 21(2):223-231.  Jamestown, 
     ND: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.  
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wetlands/macrouse/index.htm
     (Version 05DEC2001).

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Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Acknowledgments
• Literature Cited

Tables and Figures

• Table 1 -- Evidence type used, habitat affinity, frequency of occurrence, and mean count of taxa.
• Table 2 -- Simplified taxa evidence type used, habitat affinity, frequency of occurrence, and average count.
• Table 3 -- Adjusted marginal means and standard errors of numbers of species from field samples and LogCount.
• Table 4 -- Taxa, habitat affinity, frequency of occurrence, and average number incubated.
• Table 5 -- Simplified taxa, habitat affinity, frequency of occurrence, and average count incubated.
• Table 6 -- Adjusted marginal means and standard errors of numbers of species incubated from samples and LogCount.

• Figure 1 -- Relationship of LogCount and the number of invertebrate taxa.
• Figure 2 -- Relationship of LogCount and the number of invertebrate taxa.

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Ned H. Euliss, Jr., David M. Mushet, and Douglas H. Johnson, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, 8711 37 Street SE, Jamestown, North Dakota, USA 58401

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Downloading Instructions -- Instructions on downloading and extracting files from this site.

macrouse.zip ( 97K) -- Use of Macroinvertebrates to Identify Cultivated Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region

Installation: Extract all files and open index.htm in a web browser.

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