Date: 3/30/99

Time: 11:15

Type: Symposium

Number: 110

Rapid assessment of prairie quality: Identifying insect indicators

*E.W. Sechrist , Department of Biological Sciences , University of Wisconsin- Stout, Menomonie, WI 54751 and C.R. Bomar, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Stout, Menomonie, WI 54751
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Numerous prairies were sampled to determine a method for classifying prairie quality using insect diversity. Insect populations were surveyed on remnant, restored, and reconstructed prairies from Barron, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Pierce, and St. Croix counties in western Wisconsin. Prairies ranged from mesic to xeric. Species diversity, evenness, and richness were calculated for each site, and the prairie was ranked according to these values. An additional objective of sampling the insect community was to determine what orders appeared to be most abundant or most important within each prairie community. Not suprising, the three most abundant orders were Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, and with further analysis within these three orders, we hope to be able to quantify the different stages of evolution of western Wisconsin prairies.

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