The significant decline in wetland acreage and quality in North America has stimulated interest in strategies to assess the ecological health of these systems. One approach used to determine wetland condition has been the application of multimetric indices such as the index of biological integrity (IBI). With this approach, attributes of selected assemblages within the wetland, along with chemical and physical characteristics, are compared among sites experiencing varying degrees of disturbance. A scoring system relative to reference condition is developed and assigned to each assemblage attribute (metric). A single value that incorporates the scores for the various metrics is then calculated to provide an overall indication of the condition of the wetland. The data generated from the IBI can then be used to indicate the major stressors acting to cause impairment, to track temporal changes in wetland condition and to prioritize wetlands for restoration efforts. The more common biological assemblages monitored in wetlands include macroinvertebrates, vascular plants, amphibians, algae and birds.

This study represents a collaborative effort between Oklahoma State University and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and is aimed at the development of indices of biotic integrity that can be used to assess the condition of wetlands in north central Oklahoma. The project was comprised of two components. The first compared the similarity in macroinvertebrate, plant and bird assemblages between natural wetlands and created water bodies that had begun to develop a vegetative assemblage similar to that found in a natural wetland. The majority of these created systems were old farm ponds. This comparison is important because farm ponds and similar created systems represent a significant portion of the standing water habitat available across north central Oklahoma , and so could be useful in the development of a wetland IBI by providing additional sites to use for metric evaluations. The second component evaluated how well common metrics that have been used in previously developed IBIs would respond to varying levels of disturbance in wetlands of north central Oklahoma . An additional objective of this work was to provide a qualitative assessment of the relative amount of time, equipment and expertise necessary to evaluate each of the assemblages. Since many of the metrics used in wetland IBIs were initially developed for use in permanent water systems of more northern states, there was a clear need to generate baseline data for assemblages and associated metrics that could be used to develop an IBI for Oklahoma wetlands.

Selected Presentations from the Project: