Benthic community structure in stands of Typha angustifolia and herbicide-treated and untreated Phragmites australis

Abstract

ABSTRACT We compared benthic community structure among stands of Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaf cattail) and herbicide-treated (Glypro) and untreated Phragmites australis (common reed) over two summers in a Lake Erie coastal wetland (i.e., drowned river mouth). Both macrophytes are invasives, but only Phragmites is currently controlled by herbicides because of its reputed “undesirable” effects on wetland community structure and function. Macroinvertebrate diversity was similar among stand types and relatively high (Shannon-Weaver indices ∼2.6–4.2), probably because of high system primary productivity and a mix of lentic and riverine species. Proportions of macroinvertebrate functional feeding groups were also similar, but Jaccard's similarity indices were relatively low (29%–57%), suggesting macroinvertebrate compositional differences among stand types. Coleopterans particularly affected species presence/absence patterns, but their presence was associated with low water level rather than hydrophyte type ...