Poster Details
AGRICULTURAL IMPACTS ON ALGAL AND MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES IN VERNAL POOLS IN WEST-CENTRAL OHIO
Limited research has been conducted on lower trophic levels in vernal pools despite their significant contributions to food web dynamics and rapid responses to changes in environmental conditions. In 2013, two vernal pools located in two different habitats (prairie and woodland) were sampled at the Ohio Northern University Tidd-Oakes Farm in Hardin County, Ohio, USA, to determine the vascular plant, algal, macroinvertebrate and amphibian community composition and their corresponding physicochemical conditions. Initial results indicated that the prairie pool was characterized by different dominant taxa and higher taxa richness for a variety of aquatic or semi-aquatic organismal groups (macrophytes, macroalgae, macroinvertebrates and amphibians) likely related to increased light availability. Additional samples from these habitats, collected in the spring of 2017, will be used to determine if extensive drainage tile installation (summer of 2016) on the agricultural field adjacent to both of the vernal pools has influenced the makeup and the environmental state of these temporary aquatic habitats.
Olivia Keserich (Primary Presenter/Author), Ohio Northern University, o-keserich@onu.edu;
Kelsey Weidner ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, k-weidner@onu.edu;
Leslie Riley ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, l-riley.1@onu.edu;
Robert Verb ( Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ohio Northern University, r-verb@onu.edu;