Shifts in dragonfly community structure across aquatic ecotones

Dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera) are often used as indicators of habitat type and quality due to their varied use of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Species differ in their preferences for lotic and lentic waters, but community changes across ecotones, or transitional zones between distinct habitats (e.g. lotic and lentic), are not well understood. We quantified dragonfly species richness, abundance, and composition along a gradient of habitat types, including streams, stream mouths (ecotones), and open waters (lakes and ponds). We tested if dragonfly assemblages in aquatic ecotones differ from adjacent stream and open water habitats, and how species respond to riparian forest cover across these habitat types. Adult dragonflies were sampled in all habitat types at four sites in southwest Ohio during the summer of 2016. Riparian canopy cover and relative densities of algal mats and emergent vegetation were recorded. We sampled 157 individuals of 12 dragonfly species and found significant differences in community composition between stream and ecotone habitats, both forming subsets of the open water community. Canopy cover explained 55% and 75% of abundance and species richness variance across habitat types, respectively, but these relationships were strongest at ecotones. Finally, the Odonata Index of Wetland Integrity (OIWI), which uses sensitivities of adult odonates to habitat disturbances to evaluate wetland conditions, showed that species composition at ecotones uniquely represents the ecological integrity of the entire wetland system. Thus, transition zones may provide an effective and more efficient alternative to rapidly assess wetland quality for conservation monitoring than sampling the entire wetland.