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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Athens, Georgia, 2003
in Community Ecology II
An inventory of the order Ephemeroptera in Panthertown Valley, Jackson County, North Carolina.
M.W. Swaim. Department of Biology, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Using standardized methods establish by NCDEM, for collection of aquatic invertebrates, a study was conducted over an annual cycle in Panthertown Valley, Jackson County, North Carolina. The study added to the species list (Ephemeroptera) for this unique area. Also, habitat preferences, species abundance and composition were statically analyzed to see if they differed significantly between lower and higher gradients. Employing various collection methods, five different microhabitats (gravel-cobble, sand, leaf packs, rock/wood, and undercut banks/large boulder/logs), were sampled from five high and five low gradient sites on a seasonal basis. Also four auxiliary sites that differed in macrohabitat (a beaver pond, two bogs and a relatively high elevation site) were sampled once each for additional species. A total of 3290 specimens were collected from the 10 sites. Low gradients produced almost twice the density (2188 to 1102) of the high gradient sites. Diversity was similar in number between gradients though both produced species not found in the other. The number of species totaled 45. Groupings of species were found to differ significantly from the general population in seasonal, gradient and/or microhabitat preference. Winter and cobble/gravel and leaf pack microhabitats were found to be the most important factors in species distribution.
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