“Island” Attributes and Benthic Macroinvertebrates of Seasonal Forest Pools

Abstract Seasonal forest pools (SFPs), also known as woodland vernal pools or simply vernal pools, are common throughout the forests of the northeastern United States. SFPs are inundated during all or part of the period between late fall of one year and late spring to mid-summer of the subsequent year. The pools dry every year or at sufficient frequency to preclude the establishment of fish populations, are preferred breeding habitat for a number of amphibian species, and support a rich, diverse, and abundant macroinvertebrate community. These pools exist as aquatic “islands” in a “sea” of forest, and occur over a range of sizes, degrees of isolation, and hydroperiod lengths. As islands, pool area and isolation should affect the composition of biotic communities. The hydroperiod of ephemeral wetlands has been considered a third “island” attribute and is also known to affect biotic composition. We surveyed aquatic, benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs) for two years using leaf-packs in 24 SFPs, representing a ...