Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial and temporal variation in aquatic macroinvertebrates in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, USA

  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aquatic macroinvertebrates of the Okefenokee Swamp have been largely overlooked despite their ecological importance and value as water quality indicators. In a two-year study we analyzed taxon richness and abundances of individual macroinvertebrate taxa in the Okefenokee Swamp to assess temporal variation among seasons and spatial variation among five plant community habitats (marsh prairies, cypress forest, scrub-shrub thickets, deepwater lakes, and boat trails) and across six areas of the Okefenokee. Chironomid and ceratopogonid midges and water mites numerically dominated the macroinvertebrate community, and chironomids, dytiscid beetles, and libellulid dragonflies had the greatest generic richness. Multivariate analysis of macroinvertebrate community structure did not show clear patterns among seasons, habitats, or areas. Furthermore, few individual taxa had either spatial or temporal variation in abundance. Wetland macroinvertebrate communities were relatively homogenous across the Okefenokee Swamp possibly because conditions important to these organisms did not vary dramatically among habitats or seasons. Alternatively, most resident taxa might be ecological generalists able to exploit a broad range of conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature Cited

  • Battle, J. M. and S. W. Golladay. 2001. Water quality and macroinvertebrate assemblages in three types of seasonally inundated limesink wetlands in southwest Georgia. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 16: 189–207.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Battle, J. M. and S. W. Golladay. 2002. Aquatic invertebrates in hardwood depressions of southwest Georgia. Southeastern Naturalist 1: 149–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D. P., S. E. Dietz-Brantley, B. E. Taylor, and A. E. DeBiase. 2005. Evaluating regional differences in macroinvertebrate communities from forested depressional wetlands across eastern and central North America. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 24: 403–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D. P., B. J. Palik, and R. Buech. 2004. Relationships between environmental characteristics and macroinvertebrate communities in seasonal woodland ponds of Minnesota. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 23: 50–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D. P., A. S. Shurtleff, and R. B. Rader. 2001. Sampling invertebrates in wetlands. 339–54. In R. B. Rader, D. P. Batzer, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Bioassessment and Management of North American Freshwater Wetlands. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batzer, D. P. and S. A. Wissinger. 1996. Ecology of insect communities in nontidal wetlands. Annual Review of Entomology 41: 75–100.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Benke, A. C., G. M. Ward, and T. D. Richardson. 1999. Beaverimpounded wetlands of the Southeastern Coastal Plain: habitat-specific composition and dynamics of invertebrates. 217–46. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, L. A. and A. J. Bennett. 1989. Wintering populations of Greater Sandhill Cranes in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Wilson Bulletin 101: 87–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brigham, A. R., W. U. Brigham, and A. Gnilka. 1982. Aquatic Insects and Oligochaetes of North and South Carolina. Midwest Aquatic Enterprises, Mahomet, IL, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheal, F., J. A. Davis, J. E. Growns, J. S. Bradley, and F. H. Whittles. 1993. The influence of sampling method on the classification of wetlands macroinvertebrate communities. Hydrobiologia 257: 47–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, K. R. 1993. Nonparametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology 18: 117–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daigle, J. J. 1991. Florida Damselflies (Zygoptera): A Species Key to the Aquatic Larval Stages. State of Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daigle, J. J. 1992. Florida Dragonflies (Anisoptera): A Species Key to the Aquatic Larval Stages. State of Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • de Szalay, F. A. and V. H. Resh. 1996. Spatial and temporal variability of trophic relationships among aquatic macroinvertebrates in a seasonal marsh. Wetlands 16: 458–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Szalay, F. A. and V. H. Resh. 2000. Factors influencing macroinvertebrate colonization of seasonal wetlands: responses to emergent plant cover. Freshwater Biology 45: 295–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffy, W. G. and D. J. LaBar. 1994. Aquatic invertebrate production in southeastern USA wetlands during winter and spring. Wetlands 14: 88–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Entrekin, S. A., S. W. Golladay, and D. P. Batzer. 2001. The influence of plant community on chironomid secondary production in two wetland types: cypress-gum swamps and grasssedge marshes. Archiv füer Hydrobiologie 152: 369–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epier, J. H. 1996. Identification Manual for the Water Beetles of Florida. State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Tallahassee, FL, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epier, J. H. 2001. Identification Manual for the Larval Chironomidae (Diptera) of North and South Carolina. North Carolina State Department of Environmental Water Quality, Raleigh, NC, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Euliss, N. H., J. W. Labaugh, L. H. Fredrickson, D. M. Mushet, M. K. Laubhan, G. A. Swanson, T. C. Winter, D. O. Rosenberry, and R. D. Nelson. 2004. The wetland continuum: a conceptual framework for interpreting biological studies. Wetlands 24: 448–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, D. L., W. J. Streever, and T. L. Crisman. 1999. Natural and flatwoods marshes and created freshwater marshes of Florida: factors influencing aquatic invertebrate distribution and comparisons between natural and created marsh communities. 81–104. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golladay, S. W., S. Entrekin, and B. W. Taylor. 1999. Forested limesink wetlands of Southwest Georgia: invertebrate habitat and hydrologic variation. 197–216. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, D. B. 1982. Plant succession and the influence of disturbance in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, R. H. and J. J. Ogden. 1991. Selected aspects of the nesting ecology of American Alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp. Journal of Herpetology 25: 448–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jongman, R. H., C. J. F. ter Braak, and O. F. R. Tongeren (eds.). 1995. Data Analysis in Community and Landscape Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, R. S. and C. J. Richardson. 2002. Evaluating subsampling approaches and macroinvertebrate resolution for wetland bioassessment. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 21: 150–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laerm, J. and B. J. Freeman. 1986. Fishes of the Okefenokee Swamp. University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laerm, J., B. J. Freeman, L. J. Vitt, J. M. Meyers, and L. Logan. 1980. Vertebrates of the Okefenokee Swamp. Brimleyana 47: 47–73.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. J., T. L. Crisman, J. P. Prenger, and K. C. Ewel. 1997. Benthic macroinvertebrates of small Florida Pondcypress swamps and the influence of dry periods. Wetlands 17: 447–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leslie, A. J., J. P. Prenger, and T. L. Crisman. 1999. Cypress domes in north Florida: invertebrate ecology and response to human disturbance. 105–19. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loftin, C. S. 1997. Okefenokee swamp hydrology. Proceedings of the 1997 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held 20–22 March 1997, at the University of Georgia, Kathryn J. Hatcher, Editor, Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCune, B. and M. J. Mefford. 1999. PC-ORD. Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data, Version 4. MjM Software Design, Gleneden Beach, OR, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merritt, R. W. and K. W. Cummins. 1996. An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merritt, R. W., M. J. Higgins, K. W. Cummins, and B. Vandeneeden. 1999. The Kissimmee River-riparian marsh ecosystem: seasonal differences in invertebrate feeding group relationships. 55–80. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyers, J. M. 1982. Community structure and habitat associations of breeding birds in the Okefenokee Swamp. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitsch, W. J. and J. G. Gosselink. 2000. Wetlands, third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murkin, H. R. and B. D. J. Batt. 1987. The interactions of vertebrates and invertebrates in peatlands and marshes. p. 15–30. In D. M. Rosenberg and H. V. Danks (eds.) Aquatic Insects of Peatlands and Marshes of Canada. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, 140:1–174.

  • Murkin, H. R. and L. C. M. Ross. 1999. Northern prairie marshes (Delta Marsh, Manitoba): macroinvertebrate responses to a simulated wet/dry cycle. 543–601. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olson, E. J., E. S. Engstrom, M. R. Doeringsfeld, and R. Bellig. 1995. Abundance and distribution of macroinvertebrates in relation to macrophyte communities in a prairie marsh, Swan Lake, Minnesota. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 10: 325–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patten, B. C. 1994. Systems ecology of the Okefenokee Swamp (USA). In B. C. Patten (ed.) Wetlands and Shallow Continental Water Bodies. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennak, R. W. 1989. Freshwater Invertebrates of the United States, third edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter, K. G., A. Bergstedt, and M. C. Freeman. 1999. The Okefenokee Swamp: invertebrate communities and foodwebs. 121–135. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rader, R. B. 1994. The macroinvertebrates of the northern Evergaldes: species composition and trophic structure. Florida Scientist 57: 134–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rader, R. B. 1999. The Florida Everglades: natural variability, invertebrate diversity, and foodweb stability. 25–54. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rader, R. B., D. P. Batzer, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.). 2000. Bioassessment and Management of North American Freshwater Wetlands. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rykiel, E. J. 1977. The Okefenokee Swamp watershed: water balance and nutrient budgets. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute Inc. 1989. SAS/STAT User’s Guide, Version 6, Fourth Edition, Volume 2. The GLM Procedure. Chapter 24. Cary, NC, USA.

  • Sharitz, R. R. and D. P. Batzer. 1999. An introduction to freshwater wetlands in North America and their invertebrates. 1–22. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sklar, F. H. 1985. Seasonality and community structure of the backswamp invertebrates in a Louisiana cypress-tupelo wetland. Wetlands 5: 69–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stagliano, D. M., A. C. Benke, and D. H. Anderson. 1998. Emergence of aquatic insects from 2 habitats in a small wetland of the southeastern USA: temporal patterns of numbers and biomass. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 17: 37–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tangen, B. A., M. G. Butler, and M. J. Ell. 2003. Weak correspondence between macroinvertebrates assemblages and land use in prairie pothole region wetlands, USA. Wetlands 23: 104–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, B. E., D. A. Leeper, M. A. McClure, and A. E. DeBiase. 1999. Carolina Bays: ecology of aquatic invertebrates and perspectives on conservation. 167–96. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorp, J. H. and A. P. Covich (eds.). 1991. Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. Academic Press, San Diego, CA, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, A. M. and J. C. Trexler. 1997. Sampling aquatic invertebrates from marshes: evaluating the options. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 16: 694–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voigts, D. K. 1976. Aquatic invertebrate abundance in relation to changing marsh vegetation. American Midland Naturalist 95: 313–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiggins, G. B. 1996. Larvae of the North American Caddisfly Genera (Trichoptera), second edition. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wissinger, S. A. 1999. Ecology of wetland invertebrates: synthesis and applications for conservation and management. 1043–86. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrubleski, D. A. 1999. Northern Prairie Marshes (Delta Marsh, Manitoba) II. Chironomidae (Diptera) responses to changing plant communities in newly flooded habitats. 571–601. In D. P. Batzer, R. B. Rader, and S. A. Wissinger (eds.) Invertebrates in Freshwater Wetlands of North America: Ecology and Management. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, USA.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Erika B. Kratzer

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 24061, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Erika B. Kratzer & Darold P. Batzer

Authors
  1. Erika B. Kratzer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Darold P. Batzer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erika B. Kratzer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kratzer, E.B., Batzer, D.P. Spatial and temporal variation in aquatic macroinvertebrates in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, USA. Wetlands 27, 127–140 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[127:SATVIA]2.0.CO;2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2007)27[127:SATVIA]2.0.CO;2

Key Words

Search

Navigation