Bison Act as Habitat Engineers for Large Branchiopod Crustaceans in the Great Plains

Abstract

Large branchiopods are a group of aquatic crustaceans known for possessing hardy resting eggs capable of dispersal between temporary wetland habitats by wind and animal vectors. In this study, we rehydrated dry sediments from bison wallows to assess large branchiopod use of these habitats and potentially the capacity of bison to act as dispersal vectors of cysts. We observed one clam shrimp genus and one tadpole shrimp species in our rehydrated samples, providing strong evidence of large branchiopod establishment in bison-created habitats. We failed to see a relationship between spatial arrangement, bison utilization, and large branchiopod abundance, so future studies are encouraged to assess dispersal capability by bison.