Diversity of Chironomidae(Diptera) in Nebraska

Barbara Hayford

Wayne State College

Purpose

• The purpose of the Chironomid Pupal Exuviae of Nebraska Project is to document diversity of Chironomidae in Nebraska.

– Thereby increasing the known diversity for the group.

• Data on diversity can also be used to classify streams.

• And to assist the conservation biologists implementing the Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan.

Nebraska Natural Legacy Project

• The NNLP’s purpose is to conserve wildlife in Nebraska.

• It is a state-wide, comprehensive plan which is based on voluntary action by landowners and other stakeholders,

• To conserve habitat in a state that is over 90% privately owned.

Nebraska Natural Legacy Project

NNLP Mission Statement

“The mission of Nebraska’s Natural Legacy Project is to develop and implement a blueprint for conserving Nebraska’s flora, fauna and natural habitats through the proactive, voluntary conservation actions of partners, communities and individuals.”

BUL

• The Legacy coordinators identified regions where they could focus their conservation work.

• These regions are called Biologically Unique Landscapes.

• The goal in identifying these regions was “. . . to identify a set of landscapes that offer some of the best opportunities for conserving the full array of biological diversity in Nebraska”.

• The NNLP plans to protect T&E species while ensuring that diverse, healthy communities stay that way.

Why Chironomidae?• Chironomidae are ubiquitous, widespread, and very important for the

ecological function of all aquatic ecosystems.

• They are often overlooked in surveys or only identified to family or genus level.

• My interest in biological and ecological diversity of Chironomidae can be used to help implement the NNLP for some of Nebraska’s BULs.

CPEN Study Sites

• 71 stream, lake, and wetland sites.

Study Sites: Pine Ridge

Stream sites are spring fed,spring water supplied by the Arikaree Aquifer.

Streams flow out of the pine ridge and

into the White River (except Monroe

Creek).

Streams flow through pine forest along an elevationalgradient. Land use is range-grazing and recreational.

Study Sites: Verdigris/Bazile Creek Watersheds

Streams are also spring-fed, but they do not flow through pine forests or exhibit a steep gradient.

Land use is mixed between row crop and pasture grazing.

Study Sites: Sandhills

Sites were sandy-bottomed, slow flowing, and land use is primarily range-grazing.

Lakes and Wetlands

Lakes and wetlands were sampled to document diversity but were not included in the classification analysis.

Methods• Floating pupal exuviae of Chironomidae.

• Specimen preservation and labeling.

• Identification.

Results: Diversity of Chironomidae

• 66 taxa collected and identified from streams• 47 taxa collected and identified from wetlands

(including temporary wetlands) and lakes.• 81 total taxa• Some taxa of note:

– Podominae (for example, Parochlus)--extremely rare– Radotanypus--indicative of healthy cold springs– Diplocladius--indicator of cold spring– Harnischia complex--indicative of sandy substrates– Corynocera --not found in this country

Results: Comparison to Literature

• 108 taxa found in white and grey literature and CPCB databases.

• 124 taxa when combined with CPEN data (this is an underestimate).

• 14% were only in CPEN collections (indicating an increase in known diversity)

• 35% were only in the literature and databases.

PR

VBW

Total

PercTanyp

PercDiam

PercProdiam

PercOrth

PercChir

Subfamily diversity by region and for all sites.

NSH

2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00

Dendrogram

Dissimilarity

NSHVBWNSHNSHVBWNSHVBWVBWVBWVBWNSHNSHNSHVBWPRPRPRPRVBWPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRNSHPRVBWPRPRPRPRPRPRVBWVBWNSHVBWNSHEcoregion

Cophenetic Correlation Coefficient: 0.80

Classification of sites by percent subfamily

2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00

Dendrogram

Dissimilarity

NSHVBWNSHNSHVBWNSHVBWVBWVBWVBWNSHNSHNSHVBWPRPRPRPRVBWPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRPRNSHPRVBWPRPRPRPRPRPRVBWVBWNSHVBWNSHEcoregion

Cophenetic Correlation Coefficient: 0.80

Classification of sites by percent subfamily

Conclusions

• This research increased known diversity of Chironomidae for Nebraska and will be made available to assist state and academic research ecologists.

• The streams were easily separated by chironomidcommunities, – Indicating that the streams in 2 of the NNLP’s BULs have

unique communities of Chironomidae.

• Some taxa may be unique enough to be used as bioindicators of high quality, spring-fed streams in Nebraska.

• Some streams support extremely rare taxa.

Final Notes

• We estimate ~300 species of Chironomidae live in the Great Plains.

• At least 120-150 species have been found in Nebraska.

• Nearly ½ of all midge diversity in the Great Plains!

• But, these findings need to be published.

(www.solpass.org)

Orphan projects can add to scientific understanding of aquatic resources.

Achnowledgments

• Thanks to CPCB for use of their data and to the state, federal and academic scientists who generated the data.

• I would like to thank Wayne State College students Billy Mausbach, Jessica Wimmer, Lisa Rech, Brent Herdlicka, and Cassidy Goc for their assistance.

• I would like to thank Chadron State College students Austin Fisher, Jason Lucus, and Ruby Reynolds, also.

• Field work for this project was funded by:– The National Science Foundation Biotic Surveys and Inventories grants (DEB-

0206674 and DEB-0816910), – The WSC A. Jewell Schock Museum of Natural History, – An EPA P3 grant, and – A Chadron State College Institutional Research grant.