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Communication at the NABS Annual meeting, Keystone, 2000
(210) EFFECTS OF THE DOME WILDFIRE ON STREAM INVERTEBRATE COMMUNITIES AND RECOLONIZATION DYNAMICS IN BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT, NM.
N.K. MacRury and W.H. Clements. Department of Fishery and Wildlife Biology, Colorado State Univeristy, Fort Collins, CO 80523
Ecological effects of wildfires on stream biota are still poorly understood. Recent wildfires in north central New Mexico presented an unprecedented opportunity to examine fire disturbance in high desert streams. We employed a BACI design to investigate the impacts of a large-scale wildfire, the 1996 Dome Fire in Bandelier National Monument, on benthic invertebrate taxa richness, overall abundance, and relative abundance. Fortuitously, three surber samples were collected from three reaches each (n=9) in a burned and an unburned stream for two years before the fire. Both taxa richness and densities were similar across streams in pre-fire years (p>0.5). The Dome Fire resulted in catastrophic flash floods in 1996, which extirpated all fish species and resulted in nearly a 100% decrease in invertebrates. Only a few Optioservus beetles were found in samples. Taxa richness and densities were significantly lower compared to reference streams (p<0.05). Rapid colonization of simulids and baetids returned densities to reference levels after one year. However, taxa richness still remains significantly lower. Stoneflies colonized after one year, but were not successfully established until three years post-fire. Current research is being conducted to explain patterns of recolonization and genetic implications for Baetis tricaudatus mayfly populations.
Presented at 9:45 AM on Wednesday, May 31, 2000 in Effects of Deforestation and Fire
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