Ecology of Insect Communities in Nontidal Wetlands

Abstract

Published research about wetland insects has proliferated, and a conceptual foundation about how wetland insect populations and communities are regulated is being built. Here we review and synthesize this new body of work. Our review begins with a summary of insect communities found in diverse wetland types, marshes, forested floodplains, and peatlands. Next, we critically discuss research on the population and community ecology of wetland insects, including the importance of colonization strategies and insect interactions with the physical environment, plants, predators, and competitors. Results from many of the experimental studies that we review indicate that some commonly held beliefs about wetland insect ecology require significant reevaluation. We then discuss the importance of wetland insect ecology for some applied concerns such as efforts to manage wetland insect resources as waterfowl food and development of ecologically sound strategies to control pest mosquitoes. We conclude with a discussion of wetland conservation, emphasizing insect aspects.

A Bioenergetics Approach to Setting Conservation Objectives for Non-Breeding Shorebirds in California’s Central Valley

“…For example, invertebrate productivity can be affected by vegetation composition and cover, topography and water depth diversity, duration of flooding, and salinity (Severson 1987;Batzer and Resh 1992;Batzer and Wissinger 1996;Takekawa et al 2006;Batzer 2013). However, invertebrate responses to management may be taxonand region-specific, requiring careful research to identify effective strategies (Batzer 2013).…”

Diversity patterns of temporary wetland macroinvertebrate assemblages in the south-western Cape, South Africa

“…In addition, wetland invertebrates are generally understudied (Krieger 1992, Batzer andWissinger 1996), despite the fact that numerically they overwhelmingly dominate wetland animal assemblages. A recent upsurge of interest in research on wetland invertebrates is as a result of their potential importance in bioassessment increasingly being recognised.…”

Buffer-Mediated Effects of Clearcutting on In-Pool Amphibian Productivity: Can Aquatic Processes Compensate for Terrestrial Habitat Disturbance?

“…Similarly, planners must assess both the effects of management actions (e.g., cutting) and how other key drivers mediate those effects. In undisturbed ephemeral pools, hydroperiod strongly structures community composition and reproductive output [65,72,94]. Our study demonstrates that hydroperiod remains a key driver in disturbed pool-systems, mediating the impacts of cutting on amphibian fecundity.…”

“…Competition, by comparison, could reduce productivity by limiting resources available for growth. We expect this refuge-effect to be strongest in long-hydroperiod pools because (a) predator abundance normally increases with hydroperiod [72,73,81]; and (b) key competitors may thrive with longer hydroperiods (at least across the hydroperiods recorded in our study; e.g., midges; [82,83]). …”

“…If a pool dries before larvae metamorphose, high larval mortality results [23,71]. If the hydroperiod is too long, larvae risk predation from an increasingly abundant and rich predator pool [65,72,73]. Inter and intra-specific competition also influence development and metamorph productivity across the hydroperiod spectrum [23,63,74].…”