Macroinvertebrate responses to wetland restoration in northern New York

Wetlands are being restored throughout the United States in an effort to replace habitat functions lost following drainage. We studied the macroinvertebrate communities that developed in wetlands restored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and compared them to those occurring at natural wetlands in the same area. During the 3 yr of the study, most taxa found at the natural sites could also be found in similar numbers at the restored sites. Insects with aerial dispersal capability rapidly colonized the restored habitats, but some less mobile forms (non-insects and some hemipterans) either colonized more slowly or not at all. We analyzed the effects of experimental techniques for site preparation that were applied before restoration of hydrology to determine if they influenced macroinvertebrate recolonization. Transplantation of remnant wetland soil, which resulted in faster and more prolific plant growth, significantly increased overall macroinvertebrate numbers, and significantly increased the abundance of 10 specific taxonomic groups. The use of this technique, along with possible inoculation of some less mobile taxa, could improve efforts to reestablish natural macroinvertebrate communities to newly restored wetland habitats.