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Arthropod Assemblages in Invasive and Native Vegetation of Great Salt Lake Wetlands

  • Applied Wetland Science
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Abstract

Wetlands provide essential habitat for shorebirds, songbirds, and waterfowl. Invasive species can disrupt trophic interactions within wetlands by altering the arthropod assemblages on which birds rely. An invasive grass species, Phragmites australis (common reed), has invaded wetlands across North America, including those surrounding the Great Salt Lake, Utah, U.S.A. Phragmites outcompetes native vegetation and alters habitat for resident and migratory birds, yet how Phragmites affects arthropod assemblages is unclear. To address these knowledge gaps, this study investigated how arthropod assemblages differ between native and invasive vegetation in Great Salt Lake wetlands. We examined the arthropod assemblages found within three native habitats as well as in Phragmites-invaded areas. There were few differences in arthropod assemblages between Phragmites and two native habitats (hardstem bulrush, Schoenoplectus acutus and alkali bulrush, Bolboschoenus maritimus). Arthropod assemblages differed between Phragmites and the native Salicornia rubra (pickleweed), which differed markedly from the other plant species in structure, biomass, and related site conditions. Identifying how arthropods interact with Phragmites and native vegetation is critical to recognizing how to effectively manage wetlands for bird habitat. By gaining an understanding of these relationships, arthropod biomass, abundance, diversity, and assemblage composition could serve as assessment metrics for determining wetland management success.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available on Figshare, https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Arthropod_assemblages_in_invasive_and_native_vegetation_in_Great_Salt_Lake_wetlands_dataset/13135484.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful for manuscript feedback from E. Evans and would like to thank collaborators M. Pendleton and E. Tarsa. We would also like to acknowledge land managers J. Jones. R. Hansen, D. England, and K. Hambrecht for their support throughout the project.

Code Availability

The code used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This work was supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, USU Research and Graduate Studies, Utah State University Ecology Center, Society of Wetland Scientists, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands, Wetland Foundation and Utah Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA

    Emily E. Leonard, Charles P. Hawkins & Karin M. Kettenring

  2. Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, 84322, USA

    Amanda M. Mast

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  1. Emily E. Leonard
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  4. Karin M. Kettenring
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Contributions

EL collected, analyzed, and interpreted the arthropod assemblage data in this study. AM assisted with data collection and arthropod identification. EL, KK, and CH provided essential feedback on experimental design and methodologies, and were major contributors in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Emily E. Leonard.

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This animal research only involved invertebrates and therefore was exempt from USU’s (Utah State University) IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) oversight. USU defines animals that require oversight as “all live vertebrate animals”.

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Leonard, E.E., Mast, A.M., Hawkins, C.P. et al. Arthropod Assemblages in Invasive and Native Vegetation of Great Salt Lake Wetlands. Wetlands 41, 50 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01446-1

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