Dragonfly Succession in Ponds Following Disturbance by Drying and Refilling

Gober, Charlie

Publication

Dragonfly Succession in Ponds Following Disturbance by Drying and Refilling

Gober, Charlie

Date

2015

Additional date(s)

5/1/2015

Abstract

Disturbance is an environmental factor that determines ecological community structure. For insect communities in small ponds, the primary disturbance factor is pond drying. Larval insects cannot survive pond drying, but they recolonize ponds after ponds refill. Little is known about dragonfly recolonization rates once ponds refill after a drying event. The purpose of this study was to determine recolonization rates for two dragonfly families after pond refilling. Over the summer of 2014, 10 experimental ponds were studied at the Eagle Mountain Hatchery in Fort Worth, Texas. Five of the 10 experimental ponds were drained and dried for one month to simulate a natural drying disturbance. The other five ponds were not dried and contained fish. Dip net samples were collected every one to two weeks over a 10-week period. The dragonflies from each sample were identified and counted in order to track temporal changes within the dragonfly community. This study suggests that there are significant differences in recolonization rates for different families of dragonflies.