Abstract
Ohio is an eastern USA state that historically was >70% covered in upland and mixed coniferous forest; about 60% of it glaciated by the Wisconsinan glacial episode. Its stonefly fauna has been studied in piecemeal fashion until now. The assemblage of Ohio stoneflies was assessed from over 4,000 records accumulated from 18 institutions, new collections, and trusted literature sources. Species richness totaled 102 with estimators Chao2 and ICE Mean predicting 105.6 and 106.4, respectively. Singletons and doubletons totaled 18 species. All North American families were represented with Perlidae accounted for the highest number of species at 34. The family Peltoperlidae contributed a single species. Most species had univoltine–fast life cycles with the vast majority emerging in summer, although there was a significant component of winter stoneflies. Nine United States Geological Survey hierarchical drainage units level 6 (HUC6) were used to stratify specimen data. Species richness was significantly related to the number of unique HUC6 locations, but there was no relationship with HUC6 drainage area. A nonparametric multidimensional scaling analysis found that larger HUC6s in the western part of the state had similar assemblages with lower species richness that were found to align with more savanna and wetland habitat. Other drainages having richer assemblages were aligned with upland deciduous and mixed coniferous forests of the east and south where slopes were higher. The Ohio assemblage was most similar to the well–studied fauna of Indiana (88 spp.) and Kentucky (108 spp.), two neighboring states. Many rare species and several high quality stream reaches should be considered for greater protection.
Highlights
Regional biodiversity studies are of great importance for setting conservation priorities, in determining conservation status of species, and in examining factors that govern diversity
The stonefly fauna found in the state is a mixture of species requiring cooler waters and deep forest and those that have evolved with warmwater streams and even intermittency of flow
A large dataset from 18 regional museums, new collecting, and trusted literature sources demonstrated that the Plecoptera assemblage of Ohio is rich with at least 102 species
Summary
Regional biodiversity studies are of great importance for setting conservation priorities, in determining conservation status of species, and in examining factors that govern diversity (de Silva and Medellín 2001). The resulting species lists help other professionals to know what species live in the region. This is especially important for ecologists who use species and assemblage characteristics as water quality indicators. Conservation agencies can use these checklists and ecological relationships to help prioritize conservation initiatives, including the rehabilitation of habitat, purchase of land, planning for reintroductions, and establishment of imperilment risk for various taxa. Ohio is an eastern state of the USA with a total area of 105,910 km. Ohio is an eastern state of the USA with a total area of 105,910 km2 It is bound on the south and east by the Ohio River and drained by 10 United States Geological Survey six digit scale Hydrologic Drainage Units (USDA 2009, HUC6s) (Fig. 1). The river and its tributaries have served as conduits for westward and northward migration from Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia after the most recent glacial event
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