Effects of pH, Dissolved O2 and Temperature of Pond Water on the Richness of Odonates at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Type of Presentation
Poster Session
Start Date
4-12-2019 11:15 AM
End Date
4-12-2019 12:15 PM
Abstract
Odonates are valuable indicators for assessingimpacts of human activities on aquatic habitats.The few studies that have examined the relationship between water quality and Odonate diversity have demonstrated a positive linear relationship between richness and the three water quality parameters: pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Previous research has mostly excluded the Odonate nymphs, which according to our hypothesis should be impacted the most by the water quality. To conduct this survey, DNA barcoding and sequence alignments were used to identify samples of nymph and adult Odonates from six different ponds at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. After the samples were identified, the total species richness for each location was correlated with three water quality parameters, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Out of the 48 nymph samples identified, there were 16 unique species. The preliminary results show a positive linear relationship between pH, temperature, dissolved O2and adult richness, but no significant relationships have been found between any of these water quality variables and nymph richness.The sample size was small for the nymphs compared to the adults because only half of the nymph samples of that year have been identified so far. If further laboratory analysis demonstrates that there is a relationship between nymph richness and the water quality measures above, species indices could provide a more efficient means to determine the presence of particular species as well as overall species richness. This information could then be used to assess the overall health of aquatic habitats.
Identify Grant
LSAMP Scholar Award
Faculty / Staff Sponsor
Dr. Erin Grey-Avis
Effects of pH, Dissolved O2 and Temperature of Pond Water on the Richness of Odonates at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Odonates are valuable indicators for assessingimpacts of human activities on aquatic habitats.The few studies that have examined the relationship between water quality and Odonate diversity have demonstrated a positive linear relationship between richness and the three water quality parameters: pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Previous research has mostly excluded the Odonate nymphs, which according to our hypothesis should be impacted the most by the water quality. To conduct this survey, DNA barcoding and sequence alignments were used to identify samples of nymph and adult Odonates from six different ponds at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. After the samples were identified, the total species richness for each location was correlated with three water quality parameters, pH, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Out of the 48 nymph samples identified, there were 16 unique species. The preliminary results show a positive linear relationship between pH, temperature, dissolved O2and adult richness, but no significant relationships have been found between any of these water quality variables and nymph richness.The sample size was small for the nymphs compared to the adults because only half of the nymph samples of that year have been identified so far. If further laboratory analysis demonstrates that there is a relationship between nymph richness and the water quality measures above, species indices could provide a more efficient means to determine the presence of particular species as well as overall species richness. This information could then be used to assess the overall health of aquatic habitats.