Are Microcrustaceans Useful for Assessing Success of Wetland Pond Restoration? (South Carolina)
Barbara E. Taylor and Adrienne E, DeBiase
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, 803/725-9609, Fax: 803/725-3309, taylor@srel,edu, debiase@srel,edu
The numerous Carolina bays and other wetland ponds of the Atlantic Coastal
Plain in the southeastern United States support abundant rriicrocrustaceans
(Taylor and others 1999). Microcrustaceans are important consumers in
these wetlands, and they inturn are consumed by larval salamanders, insects,
and other predators. However, microcrustaceans are rarely considered in
assessment studies because they are perceived to be too patchy to sample,
too small to collect, too numerous to count, and too difficult to identify.
Our data on responses of microcrustaceans to wetland pond restoration
on the 19,344-acre (7 ,690-ha) Savannah River Site (SRS near Aiken, South
Carolina provide some perspective on how they may be useful in assessing
the health and environmental changes in these systems.
SREL Reprint #2822
Taylor, B. E. and A. E. DeBiase. 2005. Are microcrustaceans useful for assessing success of wetland pond restoration? (South Carolina). Ecological Restoration 23:56-57.
