Re-Examination of an 85-Year-Old Peat Core from Bacon's Swamp Reveals New Understanding of the Natural History of Indiana's Southernmost “Sphagnum Bog”
{"title":"Re-Examination of an 85-Year-Old Peat Core from Bacon's Swamp Reveals New Understanding of the Natural History of Indiana's Southernmost “Sphagnum Bog”","authors":"A. L. Swinehart, Carlyn M. Hubbard","doi":"10.1656/045.030.0205","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract - Historic Bacon's Swamp in Indianapolis is commonly regarded as the southernmost Sphagnum-dominated peatland in Indiana. Although pollen analyses have been published, no previous macrofossil investigations have been conducted. Recent attempts to retrieve a sediment core to recover macrofossils and study the palaeoecology of historic Bacon's Swamp failed due to the presence of extensive and deep gravel fill overlaying the remaining wetland sediments. Discovery of core samples collected for pollen analysis in 1936, before extensive dredging and filling of the peatland, provided an unusual opportunity to recover macrofossils. Macrofossils were remarkably well-preserved, despite having been dried for nearly 85 years. Those identified in this study indicate that the ecological succession of Bacon's Swamp was markedly different than previously reported. Changes in local or regional hydrology are evident and may have controlled the onset of developmental stages. Contrary to a previous published account, Sphagnum appears to have been a relatively recent pioneer in Bacon's Swamp rather than a long-term component of the flora.","PeriodicalId":49742,"journal":{"name":"Northeastern Naturalist","volume":"30 1","pages":"161 - 185"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Northeastern Naturalist","FirstCategoryId":"93","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1656/045.030.0205","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract - Historic Bacon's Swamp in Indianapolis is commonly regarded as the southernmost Sphagnum-dominated peatland in Indiana. Although pollen analyses have been published, no previous macrofossil investigations have been conducted. Recent attempts to retrieve a sediment core to recover macrofossils and study the palaeoecology of historic Bacon's Swamp failed due to the presence of extensive and deep gravel fill overlaying the remaining wetland sediments. Discovery of core samples collected for pollen analysis in 1936, before extensive dredging and filling of the peatland, provided an unusual opportunity to recover macrofossils. Macrofossils were remarkably well-preserved, despite having been dried for nearly 85 years. Those identified in this study indicate that the ecological succession of Bacon's Swamp was markedly different than previously reported. Changes in local or regional hydrology are evident and may have controlled the onset of developmental stages. Contrary to a previous published account, Sphagnum appears to have been a relatively recent pioneer in Bacon's Swamp rather than a long-term component of the flora.
期刊介绍:
The Northeastern Naturalist covers all aspects of the natural history sciences of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms and the environments of the northeastern portion of North America, roughly bounded from Virginia to Missouri, north to Minnesota and Nunavut, east to Newfoundland, and south back to Virginia. Manuscripts based on field studies outside of this region that provide information on species within this region may be considered at the Editor’s discretion.
The journal welcomes manuscripts based on observations and research focused on the biology of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms and communities as it relates to their life histories and their function within, use of, and adaptation to the environment and the habitats in which they are found, as well as on the ecology and conservation of species and habitats. Such studies may encompass measurements, surveys, and/or experiments in the field, under lab conditions, or utilizing museum and herbarium specimens. Subject areas include, but are not limited to, anatomy, behavior, biogeography, biology, conservation, evolution, ecology, genetics, parasitology, physiology, population biology, and taxonomy. Strict lab, modeling, and simulation studies on natural history aspects of the region, without any field component, will be considered for publication as long as the research has direct and clear significance to field naturalists and the manuscript discusses these implications.