Date of Award:

5-2014

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Committee Chair(s)

James P. Pitts

Committee

James P. Pitts

Committee

Theresa L. Pitts-Singer

Committee

Barbara Bentz

Abstract

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (AMNWR) supports nearly 30 organisms found nowhere else in the world. Most of these species are aquatic, dwelling in more than 50 seeps and springs within the over 24,000 acres of the refuge. Much of the research at AMNWR has centered on these unique and abundant springfed pools across the desert landscape. Many of the terrestrial habitats and species at the refuge have not been as well studied. In 2008, Bio-West, Inc. in Logan, Utah was contracted to inventory the terrestrial organisms present on the refuge. To investigate the terrestrial invertebrate fauna, with special interest for pollinators, Bio-West, Inc. recruited graduate students in the Department of Biology at Utah State University.

The goals of the refuge for the inventory of terrestrial insects included identifying pollinators for ten of their endemic and endangered plant species, obtaining basic inventories of terrestrial invertebrates, and understanding habitat use by the terrestrial invertebrates that occur at AMNWR. To contribute to the goals of the refuge, this thesis provides inventories of multiple insect groups and compares the distributions of those groups between desert habitats. These inventories will not only contribute to the goals of the refuge, but will also contribute to the basic knowledge needed for most terrestrial insect groups in all desert environments. Velvet ants are investigated in detail because their impact within a community is poorly understood. Velvet ants are very abundant in some desert habitats and some species are known to prey upon pollinators. Hence, their impact on pollinator abundance could potentially be very important.

Checksum

396cae148e0e73a2d78230f978a4740b

Included in

Biology Commons

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