Potential Terrestrial Arthropod Indicators for Tallgrass Prairie Restoration in Iowa

Prairie management and restoration have traditionally emphasized plant communities but could benefit from the development of ecological indicators that incorporate animal communities to provide tangible benchmarks of ecosystem function and process (Hodkinson and Jackson 2005). Arthropods are useful bioindicators in terrestrial and aquatic systems because, in addition to being diverse and abundant, they represent key components in food webs, nutrient cycles, plant reproduction, and soil formation (Hodkinson and Jackson 2005, Kremen et al. 1993).