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Links between two interacting factors, novel habitats and non-native predators, and aquatic invertebrate communities in a dryland environment

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Abstract

In dryland regions, increased demand for water has led to the reduction of natural aquatic habitats and threatens persisting aquatic habitats. In the Madrean Sky Islands (MSI), water demands have also resulted in the creation of novel aquatic habitats, including stock ponds. Stock ponds are important surrogate habitat for native species, yet little is known about the aquatic invertebrates utilizing these habitats. Additionally, stock ponds support non-native vertebrate predators including American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana) and Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), and the effects of these predators on invertebrate communities in stock ponds are unknown. We explored similarities in invertebrate communities in stream pools and stock ponds and compared aquatic invertebrate community composition, abundance, and richness in stock ponds with and without non-native predators. We found that despite considerable functional (trait-based) overlap in aquatic invertebrate communities, a large majority (81%) of taxa were exclusive to either stock ponds or stream pools. Additionally, we observed few differences in aquatic invertebrate community composition, abundance, and richness in stock ponds with and without non-native predators. We discuss ecological implications of our observations, limitations of our approach, and the importance of future work in determining the role of stock ponds in conservation of the region’s aquatic invertebrates.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous reviewers for providing comments that greatly improved the final manuscript. We acknowledge Matt Braun, Kurt Bahti, and Tom Jones (Arizona Game and Fish Department), Glenn Frederick (Coronado National Forest), and Scott Kerr (Parker Canyon Lake Store) for their assistance in sampling site selection and for providing information on bullfrog removal efforts. Scott Kerr, Matt Braun, and Miguel Cañedo-Argüelles provided assistance in the field. We gratefully acknowledge Brooke Gebow (The Nature Conservancy) and Sheridan Stone (US Army Garrison, Fort Huachuca) for use of facilities and equipment. This project was funded by the Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (RC-1724). Additional funding support was provided by the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (University of Washington) to JRH and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (Grant No. DGE-0,718,124) to MCM.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, Seattle, WA, 98195-5020, USA

    Jessica R. Hale, Meryl C. Mims & Julian D. Olden

  2. Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, 140 Mulford Hall #3114,, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3114, USA

    Michael T. Bogan

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  1. Jessica R. Hale
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Correspondence to Jessica R. Hale.

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Guest editors: Sidinei M. Thomaz, Katya E. Kovalenko, John E. Havel & Lee B. Kats / Aquatic Invasive Species

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Hale, J.R., Mims, M.C., Bogan, M.T. et al. Links between two interacting factors, novel habitats and non-native predators, and aquatic invertebrate communities in a dryland environment. Hydrobiologia 746, 313–326 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2024-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2024-0

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