Objectives

Develop species lists of potential Wisconsin prairie macroinvertebrates. Develop lists of species or taxonomic groups that have a high degree of probability of being remnant-restricted specialists. Determine which of the species are truly remnant restricted and how they are affected by remnant size, isolation, and management.

Background

In Wisconsin, the tallgrass prairie ecosystem has been reduced to only 1% or less of its original 2 million acres. Today, prairie in Wisconsin exists as small isolated fragments. It will be difficult to develop protection and management strategies that will perpetuate the remaining biodiversity, much of which is threatened or endangered. As with most ecosystems, invertebrates represent the vast majority of prairie diversity.

Which species constitute the majority of prairie invertebrate communities is unknown, as are their habitat requirements and the effects of common management practices such as fire. This information gap about prairie macroinvertebrate communities across the entire tallgrass prairie range needs to be filled.

This need is especially important in Wisconsin where far more prairie remnants still exist than in neighboring states such as Iowa and Illinois. This information is critical to making land acquisition and management decisions that could maintain the invertebrate portion of an endangered ecosystem.

For more information on this topic please contact:
Richard Henderson (608)221-6347