The Ephemeroptera of North Carolina Is Not Intended As an Exhaustive Resource of Mayflies Occurring Within North Carolina
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The of North Carolina Baetisca becki A Biologist’s Handbook with Standard Taxonomic Effort Levels North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Water Quality Biological Assessment Unit Baetisca becki Cover: Wilson Creek, near Edgemont, Caldwell County, NC Version 4.11 21 October 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Families and Genera of Ephemeroptera known or suspected to occur in North Carolina INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. ii How to Use this Manual........................................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................... vii TAXONOMIC ENTRIES Family AMELETIDAE Family EPHEMERELLIDAE Ameletus ............................................................ 1 Attenella ........................................................... 45 Family SIPHLONURIDAE Dannella ........................................................... 46 Siphlonurus ........................................................ 4 Drunella ........................................................... 47 Family METRETOPODIDAE Ephemerella ..................................................... 51 Siphloplecton ..................................................... 5 Eurylophella ..................................................... 56 Family BAETIDAE Penelomax ....................................................... 60 Acentrella ........................................................... 6 Serratella .......................................................... 61 Acerpenna .......................................................... 8 Teloganopsis .................................................... 63 Apobaetis ........................................................... 9 Tsalia ................................................................ 64 Baetis ................................................................ 10 Family LEPTOHYPHIDAE Baetopus........................................................... 12 Asioplax ........................................................... 66 Barbaetis ........................................................... 12 Tricorythodes .................................................. 66 Callibaetis ........................................................ 13 Family NEOEPHEMERIDAE (Camelobaetidius) ............................................ 14 Neoephemera .................................................. 68 Centroptilum .................................................... 14 Family CAENIDAE Diphetor ........................................................... 15 Amercaenis ...................................................... 69 Heterocloeon ................................................... 16 Brachycercus .................................................... 69 Iswaeon............................................................. 17 Caenis ............................................................... 70 Labiobaetis ....................................................... 19 Cercobrachys ................................................... 71 Paracloeodes .................................................... 21 Sparbarus ......................................................... 72 Plauditus ........................................................... 22 Family BAETISCIDAE Procloeon ......................................................... 24 Baetisca ............................................................ 73 Pseudocentroptiloides ..................................... 24 Family LEPTOPHLEBIIDAE Waynokiops* ................................................... 25 Choroterpes ..................................................... 76 Family OLIGONEURIIDAE Habrophlebia ................................................... 76 Homoeoneuria................................................. 26 Habrophlebiodes ............................................. 77 Family ISONYCHIIDAE Leptophlebia .................................................... 78 Isonychia .......................................................... 27 Paraleptophlebia .............................................. 79 Family PSEUDIRONIDAE Family (BEHNINGIIDAE) Pseudiron ......................................................... 28 (Dolania) .......................................................... 81 Family HEPTAGENIIDAE Family POTAMANTHIDAE Cinygmula ........................................................ 29 Anthopotamus ................................................. 82 Epeorus ............................................................ 29 Family EPHEMERIDAE Heptagenia ....................................................... 32 Ephemera ........................................................ 84 Leucrocuta ....................................................... 33 Hexagenia ........................................................ 85 Maccaffertium .................................................. 34 Litobrancha ...................................................... 85 Macdunnoa ..................................................... 40 Family POLYMITARCYIDAE Nixe .................................................................. 40 Ephoron ........................................................... 87 Rhithrogena ..................................................... 41 Tortopsis .......................................................... 87 Stenacron ........................................................ 42 Stenonema ....................................................... 44 APPENDICES Literature ............................................................................................................................................................... 89 Table of Confirmed Species ................................................................................................................................ 91 i Introduction North Carolina has one of the richest Ephemeroptera faunas in the eastern United States with at least 60 genera and over 200 species. This abundance of mayfly species can be attributed, in part, to the presence of multiple physiographic ecoregions (4 Level III ecoregions and 29 level IV ecoregions) spanning the width of the state along with a temperate, seasonal climate. The immature stages of mayflies, or nymphs, occur in almost all waters of the state and are an important link in trophic interactions by providing food for other macroinvertebrates, fish, and waterfowl. In addition, nymphal mayflies, as a group, are typically intolerant to both natural and anthropogenic stress. Some types of stressors to which mayflies are subjected include, but are not limited to, waterborne pollutants (i.e. metals, pesticides, and sediments), temperatures changes, and disturbances to flow regimes. However, it must be noted that not all perturbations affect mayflies equally. For example, one species may be tolerant to metals but functionally intolerant to changes in temperature or dissolved oxygen concentrations whereas another species may tolerate drought but not sedimentation. This “pollution” sensitivity facilitates the use of the mayfly nymphs as biological indicators of water quality, often in conjunction with other sensitive benthic macroinvertebrates such as Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (caddisflies). North Carolina’s Division of Water Quality’s Biological Assessment Unit (BAU) has over 30 years of long-term macroinvertebrate data on many North Carolina water bodies. Most large rivers and streams have been sampled extensively over this 30-year period, with many small headwater streams inventoried as well, resulting in over 6700 collection records at 3100 unique sites. This has yielded the discovery of several new mayfly species from within the state, many of which are endemic to North Carolina. A few of these recently discovered species are named in honor of BAU biologists. As the population of North Carolina continues to grow, it is our hope that careful management of our state’s waters will facilitate the discovery of even more species, help associate life stages of existing species, and protect those species which are vulnerable to habitat loss and water quality degradation. This document was created to help State of North Carolina biologists as well as biologists in independent laboratories and outside agencies identify the mayfly taxa present in local North Carolina waters and to stay current on recent taxonomic changes and research (e.g. synonymies or new species). It should also help to maintain a consistent level of taxonomic resolution between these organizations, which is an important criterion for rigorous and defensible data sets. The “taxonomic effort levels” suggested in this manual are based on many factors including the number of known associated species within a genus, availability of identification keys, difficulty of the keys and time utilized in the identification process. For additional information on North Carolina’s aquatic biomonitoring program including macroinvertebrate sampling methods, biological metrics, macroinvertebrate tolerance values, and stream habitat evaluations please visit North Carolina Division of Water Quality, Biological Assessment Unit’s webpage at: http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/wq/ess/bau. ii How to Use this Manual The target users of this manual are taxonomic