Meeting Abstract
Inland salt marshes are a rare habitat in North America, and in the Great Lakes region they are formed from Devonian salt deposits that are close enough to the surface to impact the plant community. However, little is known about the invertebrate community that lives there. To investigate spatial and temporal changes in an inland salt marsh in Maple River, we used transect sampling coupled with COI metabarcoding and morphological identifications in April, July, and October of 2018. Although the effect of space (distance from the salt seep) was important within seasons, there is a stronger seasonal effect. Summer sampling is notably different from spring or autumn, most likely due to the amount of water in the marsh. Diversity metrics change with salinity, but in a way that varies based on season and datatype.
