HR: 1330h
AN: NB33P-10    [Abstracts]
TI: Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Gunnison Basin: A Geographical Study of Current Versus Historical Distributions.
AU: * Wright, J
EM: everscm@aol.com
AF: Western State College of Colorado, Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Gunnison, CO 81231 United States
AU: Townsend, A
EM: andrew.townsend@western.edu
AF: Western State College of Colorado, Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Gunnison, CO 81231 United States
AU: Alexander, K
EM: kalexander@western.edu
AF: Western State College of Colorado, Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Gunnison, CO 81231 United States
AB: We compared the stonefly diversity sampled from 11 selected sites in the Gunnison River Basin over the last three years to the stonefly diversity recorded by Knight (1965) from the same or nearby sites. The 11 sites in this study were chosen from the 22 sites reported by Knight (1965) because they represented mainstem Gunnison River sites that would be predicted to experience the most alteration due to anthropogenic changes such as the construction of impoundments, differences in land use patterns, and effects from the increase in human population of the region. We have been unable to locate ten of the stonefly species that were historically found and we presume that they have gone locally extinct or have become increasingly rare. We have also found six species present today that were not historically reported from Knight (1965). Maps showing current and historical stonefly diversity and distribution have been produced using ArcGIS and analyzed with relevant geographical data to form hypotheses to account for specific changes in the stonefly fauna of the basin.
DE: 9902 NABS Student Award Applied Research
SC: North American Benthological Society [NB]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly