PARENT SESSION
Symposium #10: Every Last Drop: Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of North American Springs Ecosystems.
Organized by: LE Stevens and VJ Meretsky
Tuesday, August 6. 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM. Turquoise Ballroom, TCC.
Invertebrate Diversity at North American Springs: Biogeography and Conservation Status.
North, Eric*,1, Baumann, Richard2, Herschler, Robert3, Kingsley, Ken4, Kondratieff, Boris5, Nekola, Jeffrey6, Stevens, Lawrence7, 1 Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI2 290 MLBM, Provo, UT3 Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC4 SWCA, Inc., Tuscon, AZ5 Department of Agricultural and Pest Management, Fort Collins, CO6 Department of Natural and Applied Science, Green Bay, WI7 Stevens Ecological Consulting, Flagstaff, AZ
ABSTRACT- The importance of springs ecosystems as habitat for endemic invertebrates is understood for few taxa. We examined the biogeography of North American aquatic and land snails, and that of selected Arthropoda, Coleoptera, and Plecoptera through literature reviews, our own collections, and conversations with other experts. Patterns of endemism are related to several factors, including patch size, degree of isolation from similar habitats, geomorphology, the steepness of the ecological gradients surrounding the spring, and disturbance history. Springs invertebrate diversity is negatively related to elevation in the intermountain West. Configuration of habitat adjacent to, and facilitated by the springs, changes relatively slowly across elevation in comparison to that of the surrounding uplands. This often allows taxa normally found at higher elevations or latitudes to persist at desert springs. Unlike amphibians, extreme but consistent discharge and water chemistry appears to facilitate rather than limit invertebrate endemism. Human impacts to springs have decimated many populations, and conservation and restoration priorities should focus on the most isolated springs first, where morphological and cryptogenetic endemism is most likely to occur. We also discuss protection strategies and efforts for springs invertebrates, particularly Pyrgulopsis and Oxyloma snails and naucorid water bugs at western springs.
KEY WORDS: springs, biogeography, conservation