Aquatic invertebrate surveys of two ponds in Greenwoods Conservancy, one on and the other off the Volney-Marcy South Right of Way Bekka S. Brodie 1 INTRODUCTION Greenwoods Conservancy, in Burlington, NY, is a 1000 acre preserve that is protected by a conservation easement through the Otsego Land Trust. The Marcy South transmission line, or Right of Way (ROW), was constructed in the mid-1980s and runs 200 miles across central New York. The New York State Power Authority (PASNY) uses Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM), which includes clear-cutting and herbicides, to reduce interference and allow access for maintenance (Fickbohm, 2001.) PASNY avoids any disturbance of woody plants that will not grow high enough to interfere with the ROW. From conservation perspective, the ROW produces many different effects, including an ecotone created by the boundary between the ROW and the adjacent forest, serving as a potential new habitat for increased biodiversity of both flora and fauna. The Biological Field Station has been involved in monitoring plant succession along the ROW (Austin, 2000, Fickbohm, 2001), has evaluated the effect of slope and aspect on that succession (Adams, 2000), surveyed the vascular plant richness in a wetland within and adjacent to the ROW (Groff, 2000) and has surveyed vertebrates along the ROW corridor (Phillips, 2000). Additional inventories of arthropods along the ROW in 1999 (Scott, 2000) and in 2000 (Brodie, 2001) indicate that despite the differences in the characteristics of the plant communities, the two sites were quite similar in diversity and richness at the family level. The purpose of this research is to survey species richness of the aquatic invertebrate community in Woods Hole, a wetland crossed by the ROW, and in Broad Meadow Pond, a wetland off the ROW. From the information that this research provides one can attempt to gain insight into how maintenance practices affect this community. METHODS Aquatic arthropods were sampled on 19 June and 19 July 2001 using a surface trap, triangle net, and surface dipper. Qualitative samples were collected from the perimeters of the two ponds along the ROW, Broad Meadow Pond and Woods Hole Pond (Figure 1). Samples were taken along six sites around the perimeter each. The arthropods were then brought back to the BFS where they were killed and preserved in 70% ethanol. Identification was at least to family, generally, following 1 New York State Power Authority Intern. Present affiliation: SUNY Oneonta Biology Dapartment.
7
Embed
Aquatic invertebrate surveys of two ponds in Greenwoods ... · Aquatic invertebrate surveys of two ponds in Greenwoods Conservancy, one on and the other off the Volney-Marcy South
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Aquatic invertebrate surveys of two ponds in Greenwoods Conservancy, one on and the other off the Volney-Marcy South Right of Way
Bekka S. Brodie1
INTRODUCTION
Greenwoods Conservancy, in Burlington, NY, is a 1000 acre preserve that is
protected by a conservation easement through the Otsego Land Trust. The Marcy South transmission line, or Right of Way (ROW), was constructed in the mid-1980s and runs 200 miles across central New York. The New York State Power Authority (PASNY) uses Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM), which includes clear-cutting and herbicides, to reduce interference and allow access for maintenance (Fickbohm, 2001.) PASNY avoids any disturbance of woody plants that will not grow high enough to interfere with the ROW. From conservation perspective, the ROW produces many different effects, including an ecotone created by the boundary between the ROW and the adjacent forest, serving as a potential new habitat for increased biodiversity of both flora and fauna.
The Biological Field Station has been involved in monitoring plant succession
along the ROW (Austin, 2000, Fickbohm, 2001), has evaluated the effect of slope and aspect on that succession (Adams, 2000), surveyed the vascular plant richness in a wetland within and adjacent to the ROW (Groff, 2000) and has surveyed vertebrates along the ROW corridor (Phillips, 2000). Additional inventories of arthropods along the ROW in 1999 (Scott, 2000) and in 2000 (Brodie, 2001) indicate that despite the differences in the characteristics of the plant communities, the two sites were quite similar in diversity and richness at the family level.
The purpose of this research is to survey species richness of the aquatic
invertebrate community in Woods Hole, a wetland crossed by the ROW, and in Broad Meadow Pond, a wetland off the ROW. From the information that this research provides one can attempt to gain insight into how maintenance practices affect this community.
METHODS Aquatic arthropods were sampled on 19 June and 19 July 2001 using a surface
trap, triangle net, and surface dipper. Qualitative samples were collected from the perimeters of the two ponds along the ROW, Broad Meadow Pond and Woods Hole Pond (Figure 1). Samples were taken along six sites around the perimeter each.
The arthropods were then brought back to the BFS where they were killed and preserved in 70% ethanol. Identification was at least to family, generally, following
1 New York State Power Authority Intern. Present affiliation: SUNY Oneonta Biology Dapartment.
Peckarsky (1990) and Merrit and Cummins (1996.) All specimens are curated at the BFS for future reference.
Tables 1 and 2 provide a summary of the arthropods collected, including a taxonomic overview and quantity collected at each location. Despite the obvious differences in the characteristics of the plant communities, the two sites were quite similar in diversity and richness at the family level. Differences at the genus level were slight and without apparent consistency among sampling sites.
REFERENCES Adams, H. 2000. The effect of aspect on the forest edge along a power line corridor at
College Publishing. Ft. Wrth, Texas. Fickbohm, S. 2001. Monitoring vegetative succession by percent cover and species
diversity on established transects across the Volney-Marcy South right of way through Greenwoods Conservancy, summer 2000. In 32nd Annual Report (1999). SUNY Oneonta Bio. Fld. Sta., SUNY Oneonta.
Groff, S. 2000. Vascular plant richness in an electric power right-of-way wetland at
Merrit Richard W. and Senneth W. Cummins. 1996. An Introduction to the Aquatic
Insects of North America, 3erd Edition. Kedall/ Hunt Publishing Co. Peckarsky, Barbara L. et. al. 1990. Fresh water Macroinvertebrates of North America.
Comstock Publishing Ass. Cornell University Press. Phillips, R.R. 2000. Vertebrate survey of the Marcy South power corridor, Greenwoods
Order Family Genus Species Qty Isopod a Asellidae Caeci/otea 1 Odonata Coenagrionidae Coenagron 1 Hemiptera Notonectidae Notonecta 1 Hemiptera Corixidae 2 Coleoptera Haliplidae Pe/todytes 1