Biodiversity of invertebrates in Sonoran Desert wildlife waters

Background/Question/Methods

Desert wildlife waters are important tools that help wildlife managers supply water to target wildlife populations in times of water scarcity.  We surveyed desert wildlife waters of the Sonoran Desert during the summers of 2010 and 2012 to evaluate the different types of waters, man-made catchments and natural rock bottom tinajas, for their ability to support invertebrate biodiversity during the hot summer months.  We surveyed using dip net sweeps and collected the captured invertebrates.  These samples were taken back to the lab and sorted to the lowest taxonomic group, often to order.

Results/Conclusions

There were 6 taxa only found in tinajas: Clodocera, Branchiopoda, , Hydracarina, , and Tricoptera.  Additionally, Tiplulidae and Dyticidae tended to be present more often in the tinajas.  Tipulidae were significantly more common in tinajas than catchments.  Conversely the Oligochaetae were only found in the catchments.  And Physidae were significantly more common in catchments. Species Richness tended to be higher in the tinajas.  The Notonectidae were common in all water types.   Overall the two types of wildlife waters provide slightly different invertebrate communities with the natural tinajas being slightly more diverse.