Reecer Creek Insects

We measured insect species diversity within different sub-ecosystems of the Reecer Creek Floodplain Restoration Project, Ellensburg, WA. We hope to understand how diversity changes throughout the seasons in three areas: river, ground, and trees. We captured insects using sweep nets at 3 different plots for each area in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. We found that the river area (Shannon Index 1.47) had higher species diversity compared to the ground (Shannon Index 1.33) and trees (Shannon Index 1.04). Out of the three areas, Chironomidae were the most common insect, most likely due to their ability to live in diverse habitats. Aphidoidea and Araneae were also extremely common. Extending insect population studies to other seasons will yield a more complete understanding of insect diversity at Reecer Creek