DISPERSAL CAPABILITIES OF TWO PLECOPTERAN SPECIES AND MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY FROM FOUR WATERSHEDS IN NORTHEAST OHIO. ALISON L. YASICK Bachelor of Science in Biology Indiana University of Pennsylvania May 1999 Masters of Science in Biology Indiana University of Pennsylvania May 2001 Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN REGULATORY BIOLOGY at the CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY August 2014 We hereby approve this dissertation For Alison L. Yasick Candidate for the Doctoral Degree in Regulatory Biology for the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences and Cleveland State University College of Graduate studies by: _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. Julie Wolin, BGES/CSU Chairperson _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. Robert Krebs, BGES/CSU Committee Member _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. B. Mike Walton, BGES/CSU Committee Member _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. Joe Kieper, Director of Virginia Museum of Natural History Committee Member _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. Wentworth Clapham, BGES/CSU Internal Examiner _______________________________________________Date:____________________ Dr. Karen Munroe, Department of Biology and Geology, Baldwin Wallace University External Examiner April 18 2014 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost The Road Not Taken, 1920 ACKNOWLEDGMENT Over the past twelve years I have received support and encouragement from a great number of individuals. First, I would like to thank my dissertation advisory committee of Drs. Julie Wolin (CSU), Robert Krebs (CSU), Joe Keiper (VMNH), and Mike Walton (CSU) who helped me as I moved from the idea of stonefly natural history to a complete dissertation. I would also like to thank Dr. Pete Clapham (CSU) for taking on the role as the internal examiner and Dr. Karen Munroe (BWU) who took the position of the external examiner. I thank the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland Metroparks, and Holden Arboretum for permission to use their land as sampling sites. Financial support to conduct laboratory work was provided by the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, the College of Science and Health Careers Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, Cleveland Natural History Museum, the Shoemaker Foundation, and research funds of Julie Wolin and Robert Krebs. Insect collecting equipment was largely provided by Michael Yasick. I would also like to thank my family and extended families as my main support structure of this program. To Michael and Carol Yasick, you are everything to me, I will never be able to give back a gram of your support, from constant encouragement, financial support, and providing a place to run and hide when it got too much. But most of all both of you provided me with love, wisdom, guidance, and inner strength that gave me the determination and endurance to keep moving forward. I thank Michelle Yasick- Craft for always being there and listening to me; your advice has helped more than you know. I thank David Cronin, my soul mate for helping me find light at the end of the tunnel. Without his devotion, encouragement, and excellent editing skills, I would have never finished. You are and always will be the positive reaction to my negative action. To my friends who helped me along the way, especially Kristen Hopson. Although we had a few close calls when I almost lost you in snow piles and fast moving water, you always agreed to go back out. Finally I want to thank my silent partners: Fidget, Beauregard, and Tesse and to those I lost along the way: Chester, Buster, and Shiloh. DISPERSAL CAPABILITIES OF TWO PLECOPTERAN SPECIES AND MACROINVERTEBRATE COMMUNITY FROM FOUR WATERSHEDS IN NORTHEAST OHIO. ALISON L. YASICK ABSTRACT This dissertation focused on the insect order Plecoptera, and hypothesized that Allocapnia recta populations would have lower genetic diversity than Leuctra tenuis between adjacent Chagrin and Grand Rivers due to wing structure and season of terrestrial adult emergence. Genetic variations within the 16s rRNA region of mtDNA in A. recta , a winter emerging adult with rudimentary wing structure, and L. tenuis , a summer emerging adult with fully developed wings, were compared and revealed significant genetic variability between A. recta samples from the two rivers (F ST = 0.20) but not between L. tenuis samples (F ST = 0.07). Further genetic variation investigation used A. recta , populations, within and between the Chagrin River and Grand River, hypothesized that differences in populations is a function of distance, and that greater distance leads to greater genetic variability. To strengthen the robustness of this work, samples were collected from two additional watersheds, the Rocky and Cuyahoga Rivers. Genetic variation of A. recta populations differed significantly across all four watersheds, especially between the Cuyahoga and Grand Rivers (G´ ST = 1), Rarity of movement regardless of distance suggests that other factors have a more profound effect than previously thought – factors that include human influences. The unresolved genetic variation of A. recta and potential human influence resulted in a holistic examination of macroinvertebrate community structure and ecology within the four watersheds. Both legacy land use and anthropogenic disturbance effects on seasonal variation vi were examined and it was hypothesized that: (1) greatest species diversity and richness among stoneflies and other macroinvertebrates will occur during the summer months, when weather conditions in Ohio are more conducive. (2) The greatest species diversity and richness among stoneflies and other macroinvertebrates will occur where the landscape has been historically less disturbed. The results revealed inconsistencies in seasonal diversity between sites; regardless of legacy land-use and anthropogenic influence. Results of this research show the significance of examining both aquatic and terrestrial stages in order to collect accurate and robust data on macroinvertebrate community structure. Furthermore, year-long macroinvertebrate sampling must be conducted even during extreme events in order to construct a better understanding of macroinvertebrate communities. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Biomonitoring as an Index of Stream Health ......................................... 5 1.1.1 Brief History of Aquatic Entomology..............................................5 1.1.2 Modern Perspectives ........................................................................6 1.1.3 Macroinvertebrates in Context ........................................................ 8 1.2 Paradigmatic Evolution in Systems Studies ......................................... 9 1.2.1 Land Use Dynamics: An Introduction to Historical Processes ..... 10 1.2.2 The Changing Landscape: Land use and Macroinvertebrate Communities. ....................................................................................................... 12 1.3. Empirical Focus ....................................................................................... 15 1.4. Plecopteran Community........................................................................... 15 1.4.1 Dispersal 16 1.4.2 Study Organisms 19 1.5. General Aquatic Quality .......................................................................... 20 1.6. Specific Aquatic Quality .......................................................................... 22 1.6.1 Biodiversity of Macroinvertebrate Communities 24 1.6.2 Spatial Perspective 25 1.6.3 Research an Organism Perspective 27 1.6.4 Temporal Perspective 28 viii 1.6.4.1 Seasonal Weather/Storms ................................................. 29 1.6.4.2 Food Availability .............................................................. 29 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER II: THE EFFECTS OF DISPERSAL ABILITY IN WINTER AND SUMMER STONEFLIES ON THEIR GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION 2.1. ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... 43 2.2 Introduction ............................................................................................ 45 2.3. Materials and Methods