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Presented at the NABS Annual meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, 2004
in Communities 1
Benthic macroinvertebrates of the Sunbeam Hot Springs, Idaho, USA: Community ecology, biogeography, and thermal regime
G.D. DeJong and S.P. Canton. Chadwick Ecological Consultants, Inc.
Although faunal characteristics in thermal springs have been reasonably well studied, that of "absolutely hot springs" (surface water temperatures >40°C) have been studied in only a few locations worldwide. We investigated the macroinvertebrate fauna of the Sunbeam Hot Springs in central Idaho, USA, seasonally from 2000-2002. Macroinvertebrates were collected during each sampling episode, although surface water temperatures ranged from 52-58 °C. Using replicate sampling, a relatively depauperate community was found, with density estimates of only 86-168 organisms/m2, represented by 5-7 taxa per collection date. Coleoptera, Diptera, Hydracarina, and Ostracoda comprised the community. Total densities and densities of individual taxa did not fluctuate greatly between sampling episodes. Biogeographical analysis demonstrated that the fauna of the Sunbeam Hot Springs resembles that reported from hot springs in Washington, Alberta, and British Columbia more than those from Yellowstone National Park. However, the coleopteran Hydroscapha natans LeConte, a southern species not common to either the Pacific Northwest or Yellowstone, was also collected.
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