The effects of forest cover and road density on wetland insect species richness in eastern Ontario.

摘要

In this study, the anthropogenic effects of surrounding forest cover and road density on wetland insect species richness were investigated. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relationships between species richness and wetland area, forest cover, and road density. There was no significant relationship between species richness of all aquatic insects and wetland area in this study. Species richness of all aquatic insects increased with increasing road density at a distance of 100 meters from the wetland boundaries, while no significant effect was produced for forest cover. However, when the same analysis was performed on dragonfly species richness and wetland area a significant positive effect was determined. Dragonfly species richness was positively affected by both gravel road density (1750 meters) and forest cover (100 meters). The increase in species richness with the presence of these anthropogenic effects is initially counterintuitive, however possible explanations are made.