Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2018 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the main Conference website, go to: www.midwestfw.org.
AUTHORS: Abigail P. Blanchard, Northern Michigan University; Amy Schrank, University of Minnesota
ABSTRACT: Great Lakes wetlands are being directly affected by climate change. As temperature, precipitation, and evaporation increase throughout the region, lake levels are likely to experience greater fluctuations. These fluctuations result in an increased susceptibility to invasive species. One invasive cattail, Typha X glauca, has a wide range of tolerance to water level fluctuations allowing it to establish and persist. The objectives of this research were to study if increasing T. X glauca density from channel to interior of marshes affects the abundance and species diversity of larval fish and amphibians, and macroinvertebrates, and if so, whether habitat complexity and chlorophyll a levels differed across increasing T. X glauca densities. Additionally, the directionality of the trap was recorded to test whether there was significant movement in and out of the channel. In order to study the effects of its density on biodiversity, habitat complexity, and water quality of northern Michigan wetlands, larval fish and amphibians, and macroinvertebrates were sampled with light traps from June to August 2017. In addition, habitat complexity, chlorophyll a concentrations, and water quality measurements were obtained. The study indicated that average abundance of taxa decreased across increasing T. X glauca densities whereas species and family diversity was highest where density was highest. Differences between study sites and sampling times as well as habitat complexity contributed to these findings.
