Bartodziej, William M.

Leslie, Andrew J.

Oliver, J. Douglas

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Liberty UniversityDigitalCommons@LibertyUniversityFaculty Publications and Presentations Department of Biology and Chemistry1991Drop-Box Technique for Quantitative Sampling ofMacrofauna and Aquatic Plants at Restored andNatural WetlandsJ. Douglas OliverLiberty University, doliver@liberty.eduAndrew J. LeslieWilliam M. BartodziejFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/bio_chem_fac_pubsPart of the Biology Commons, and the Chemistry CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology and Chemistry at DigitalCommons@Liberty University. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Liberty University. Formore information, please contact scholarlycommunication@liberty.edu.Recommended CitationOliver, J. Douglas; Leslie, Andrew J.; and Bartodziej, William M., "Drop-Box Technique for Quantitative Sampling of Macrofauna andAquatic Plants at Restored and Natural Wetlands" (1991). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 91.http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/bio_chem_fac_pubs/91149 In the future. I would like to try planting different native species from the area. Based on studies (Amaranthus and Perry 1987. Perry et a/ 1989), which found ti1at in clcarcuts on granitic soils inoc-ulated tree seedlings experience better survival than do uninoculated seedlings, I would also like to inoc-ulate some of the native seedlings with mycorrhyzal fungi to detennine if their survival would improve on this harsh site. References Amaranthus. M. P. and D. A. Perry. 1987. The effect of soil transfers on ectomvcorrhizal fonnation and the survival and growth of conifer seedlings on old, non-reforested clearcuts. Canadian Journal of F orcsr Research 17:944-950. Perrv, D. A., M. P. Amaranthus, and J. G. Borchers. 1989. Boot-strapping in ecosystems. Bioscience 39:230-237. SER 1991 FROM: Abstracts of the 52nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Confer-ence. 149.1 Reclaiming Savanna-Shnlb Openings Utilizing Herbicide Injec-tion in Missouri's Ozark Forest. Paper 231. Jensen. R. G., E. P. Wiggers, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211; and E. Kurzejeski. Tordon 101 R killed 85 percent of the unwanted vegetation in shrub openings, while Roundup eliminated 77 percent. These researchers found both herbicides effective, cost efficient, selec-tive, and useful in areas where cutting or chopping was impractical. 149.2 Effects of Beaver Browsing on Boreal Forest Composition. Paper 179. Johnston, C. A., Natural Resources Research Institute, Uni-versity of Minnesota-Duluth, Duluth, MN 55811: and R. J. Nai-man. Herbivory by beavers (Castor canadensis) decreased the relative importance of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and iT'creased the importance of red-tag alder (Alnus rugosa) and white spruce (Picca glauca). This suggests the effects this animal may have had on the composi tion and successional tendencies of the pre- settlement forests. 150 Selection of Seedlings during Oak Woodland Restoration. 1991 SER Conference. Scott, T. A. and N. L. Pratini, Integrated Hard-wood Range Management Program, Dept. of Earth Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521. This study of two species of western oak-the Engelmann oak (Quercus Engelmanniil and coast live oak (Q. agrifolia)-implies that planting abundant numbers of acorns will overcome seed variability and differing environmental conditions at resto-ration sites and is a more important consideration than the stamina of individual seedlings. 151 FROM: Wiregrass Biology and Management: Maintaining Groundcover Integrity in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems. 151.1 Fire Ecology of Southeastern Longleaf Pine Savannas. Platt, W. J., Dept. of Botany, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. A ten-year study conducted in the xeric sandhi lis and season-ally- f100ded flatwoods of the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge in northern Rorida demonstrated that prescribed bums during the early part of the growing season (April through May) were most beneficial to the f10wering and seed production of grasses and forbs. Pyrogenic grasses, such as wiregrass (Aristida stricta) and little bluestem (Schi:achyrium scoparium), along with longleaf pine (Pintls pailistris) were found to play key roles in maintaining a sav,mna habitat. 152 FROM: The Oak Resource in the Upper Midwest: Implications for Management. 116 152.1 Role of Fire in Maintaining Oaks in \1esic Oak-Maple Forests. pp. 27-33. Will-Wolf, S., Dept. of Botany, Birge Hall. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1\1adison, WI 53706-1381. Results of this experiment carried out in Baxter Hollow, a I 5 (X) hectare valley in the Baraboo Hills in south-central Wiscon-sin, indicate that prcscribed burns alone will not promote oak regeneration in a mesic o~Jk-tnaple f~res~. However, when CO:r1-bined with othcr techniques, such as glrdlmg of unwanted speCies ano planting of oaks, fire can aid oak regeneration. 152.2 The Quality of Oak Seedlings Needed for Successful Artificial Regeneration in the Central States. pp. 180-186. Schultz, R.C. and J. R. 111Ompson, Dept. of Forestry, Iowa State Umverslly, Ames, IA 50011. 153 Tests conducted by the Hardwood Nursery Cooperative indi· cate that one-year old seedlings of red oak (Quercus rllhra) should be nearly 35 cm tall. with a root collar diameter of six mm and, most importantly, six or more permanent first-order lateral roots in order to ensure survival after outplanting. Nurseries should reduce bed density to 60 seediings per square meter and undercut seedlings before lifting them in order to increase the number of pennanent first-order root laterals. FROM: Endangered Plant Communities of Southern California. 153.1 The Status of Walnut Forests and Woodlands (Juglans californica) in Southem Califomia. pp. 42-54. Quinn, R. D., Dept. of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic Uni-versity, Pomona, CA 9176~. 154 Quinn describes the distribution, composition, phenology, fire ecology, and animal communities of California walnut wood-lands, a rapidly disappearing community type. While infornlation about the management of this community is limited, the author points out that management will be a moot point unless these woodlands are protected from urbanization. Prescription for Dogwoods. Anon. 1991. The Amnt Gardcner 23(9):1. Cooperative studies by the U. S. Forest Service, the Univer-sity of Georgia, and the University of Tennessee indicate that dogwood anthracnose, which has devastated many flowering dogwoods (Cornusjlorida) in the higher elevations of the South-east. can be abated by mulching, removing dead twigs and water sprouts, and pruning surrounding trees to allow more light to reach the dogwoods. Wetlands 155 Drop-box Technique for Quantitative Sampling of Macrofauna and Aquatic Plants in Restored and Natural Wetlands (Florida) J. Douglas Oliver, Andrew J, Leslie and William M, Bartodziej, Bureau of Aquatic Plant Management, Florida Department of Natural Resources. Tallahassee, FL 32399 (904) 487-2600 FAX 488-1254 Metlrods used to assess the success of restored wetlands are often qualitative and without statistical rigor. We recommend that more research studies include quantitative estimates of macrofauna and aquatic plants per unit area of wetland, and suggest a possible method for such studies, Adopted from previous work on Okefenokee Swamp on the Georgia- Florida border (Freeman et a/., 1984; Greening and Gerritsen 1987; Oliver and Schoenberg 1989), the method we outline here re-quires two workers to carry a onc m2 stainless steel box. which is open at the top and bottom, through the marsh in a random direction for a random dis-tance whereupon they drop it into the herbaceous Restoration & Management Notes 9:2 , r f f l, Wetland researchers drop the on(' m' stainless steel box ill the wetland and prepare to sample l'{'getation and macrofauna. Photo by Douglas Olil'er vegetation as shown in Figure I. They then uproot all aquatic plants within the box, and shake them inside the sampler to remove attached macroinvertebrates. They place the plants in plastic bags on ice for later identification and weight measurements. If standing water is present, workers sweep the inside of the sampler with a hand-held 1.5 mm mesh net until 10 consecutive passes capture no verte-brates or macroinvertebrates. Any fish or macroinvertebrates are then collected and preserved in formalin for later identification and weighing. The netting also collects suspended detritus and uprooted vegetation, which are preserved in forma-lin and stained with Rose Bengal. Laboratory work-ers later pick the stained macrofauna out of these additional samples. An advantage of such sampling is that the sampled fish and/or macroinvertebrates come from the same square-meter areas as the veg-etation, making it possible to determine ecosystem-level associations among biotic (and physico-chemical) clements. Results from marsh sites in Okefenokee Swamp indicated that performing about eight replicate sam-ples provided enough data to obtain statistically significant differences in fish densities at otherwise apparently similar sites (Oliver and Schoenberg, 1989). On the other hand, we needed oniy three samples to establish significant statistical differ-ences in plant densities. Sampling fish and plants in this manner required about 12 hours in the field, and about 38 hours of laboratory analysis per site. We have applied this method to restored and natural wetlands in the phosphate-mining district of central Florida. Our assessments there include two fonner mine sites that were planted with aquatic plants in the spring of 1990. The first site, to which marsh muck was added (HM), is situated less than one km away from the unmucked site (HU). Restoration & Management Notes 9:2 To check the merit of our sampling method for restoration studies, we used it to compare densities of small marsh fishes at HM and at HU in January, 199 I. We found that there were higher total numbers of fish in HM than in HU (Mann-Whitney U = 64, nl = n2 = 8, P < 0.(01). We also compared the total dry biomass of live plants at the two sites during the same period of time. Contrary to our expectations, HM had less vegetation than HU at that date (tdail, 4 df = 4.12, P < 0.01). However this ditlerence occurred because two exotic species were abundant at HU but absent at HM. Thus the box sampler works well for statistical comparison of densities of macrofauna and macroflora in shallow herbaceous wetlands, includ-ing restored wetlands. However, the method is very time-consuming and may be too much work and therefore too expensive for routine evaluations of wetlands by either regulators or environmental con-sultants. Instead, we use and recommend such sam-pling only for in-depth investigations of herbaceous restored and reference marshes. For general evalua-tion of restoration success, we are looking for a parameter that correlates well enough with the highly replicated sampling described above. We have not tested this method at saltwater or estuarine restoration sites. We suspect, however, that it should work on such sites if the sampled area is reasonably flat, soft-bottomed and dominated by herbaceous vegetation. References Freeman. R.l., H.S. Greening, and J.D. Oliver. 1984. Comparison of three methods for sampling fishes and macroinvertebrates in a vegetated freshwater wetland. Journal 0/ Freshwater Ecology 2.603- 609. Greening, ILS .. and J. Gerritsen. 1987. Changes in macrophyte community structure following drought in the Okefenokee Swamp. Georgia. USA. Aquatic Botany 28:113-128. Oliver. J.D. and S.A. Schoenberg. 1989. Residual influence of macronutrient enrichment on the aquatic food web of an Okefe-nokee Swamp abandoned bird rookery. Oikos 55: 175-182. SER 1991 156 FROM: Abstracts of the 52nd Midwest Fish and Wildlife Confer-ence. 156.1 A Comparison of Bird-Use and Aquatic Invertebrate Communi-ties Between Restored and Natural Prairie Wetlands in Northem Iowa. Paper 309. Delphey. P. J. and 1. J. Dinsmore, Dept. of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 500 II. After studying nine restored and five natural wetlands in 1989. and 12 restored and eight natural wetlands in 1990, Delphey and Dinsmore concluded that natural wetlands contained signif-icantly more invertebrates than did restored wetlands. The rela-tively simple vegetative structure of restored wetlands made them less attractive to a wide diversity of birds, although waterfowl and migrating shorebirds were found throughout restored sites. 156.2 Marsh Bird Responses to Restored Wetlands. Paper 254. Hcmesath, L. M. and J. J. Dimmore, Dept. of Animal Ecology, Iowa State University, Ames. IA 50011. A stud\, of wetlands restored under the Conservation Reserve Progral'l (evealed that a number of rnarsh bird species quickly colonize these lIew hahitats. It appears. however. that some specics including the Black Tern (Childollias nigra) and the Virginia Rail (Ralills linricola), only inhabit larger resloration sites. 117 

Drop-Box Technique for Quantitative Sampling of Macrofauna and Aquatic Plants at Restored and Natural Wetlands

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