A comparison of vascular vegetation and protozoan communities in some freshwater wetlands of Northern Lower Michigan

Abstract

Vascular vegetation and protozoan communities were sampled in seven wetland sites — two bogs, two fens, two marshes, and one ‘swamp’ — in summer 1977. Two similarity indices were used to compare vascular vegetation and Protozoa from each site with all the other sites. Bog sites were the most distinct from other wetland types with respect to chemical and physical characteristics, dominant vascular vegetation, and protozoan species composition. The ‘swamp’ site had the highest similarity to all other sites with respect to both dominant vascular vegetation and protozoan species. Protozoan communities from different wetland types were much more similar than dominant vascular species; however, the pattern of similarity between wetland sites was very similar for both groups (Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient = 0.76).