Chemical and biological characteristics of desert rock pools in intermittent streams of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Baron JS, Lafrancois T, Kondratieff B. 1997. Chemical and biological characteristics of desert rock pools in intermittent streams of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah. Colorado State University. Fort Collins, Colorado
Chemical variability and biological communities of rock pools found in small desert drainage basins of Capitol Reef National Park were characterized over eight months in 1994. Neither flooding, drying, nor the presence or absence of surrounding vegetated wetlands had significant effect on chemical composition, which was very dilute and fluctuated in response to rain events. neither flooding nor drying affected the biological communities in the pools. Close spatial associate of the rock pools, and high numbers of predators in small systems dampened the community structure expected to result from abiotic factors or competition. Summer storms affected only a few drainages at a time, and only a few study pools of significant volume dried completely during the hot and dry summer. This suggests only a portion of the Waterpocket Fold aquatic community is ever disturbed at a time, leaving undisturbed areas as a source of recovery. Pools that were bordered by vegetated wetlands supported greater numbers of species throughout the year than those bordered only by bedrock, but all pools appeared to benefit from these refugia. The rock pools we studied in Capitol Reef national Park appear to be resilient to climatic variability, and this resilience may also transfer to protection against some other disturbances, including atmospheric deposition of strong acid anions.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Baron, Jill; Lafrancois, Toben; Kondratieff, Boris
- Date of Issue
- 1997-04
- Publisher
- Colorado State University
- Units
- ARD , CARE
- Keywords
- AIRBIB, aquatic chemistry, Aquatic Invertebrates, desert rock pools, Disturbance, NCPN springs literature 2003