D3296: Can stormwater ponds provide quality habitat for aquatic insects in urban areas?

Urbanization threatens aquatic life by eliminating habitats and increasing stormwater runoff and pollution in natural waterbodies. However, urban areas also provide novel habitats for aquatic organisms through the construction of stormwater ponds. Stormwater ponds are designed to collect runoff from impervious surfaces to prevent flooding and improve water quality in downstream bodies of water. Therefore, these ponds are usually highly polluted by urban contaminants, such as road salts, sediment, and fertilizers. Despite having low water quality, stormwater ponds may be inhabited by aquatic organisms, including insects such as Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). Odonata are key members of both aquatic and terrestrial food webs but are under threat by the expansion of impervious surfaces and the loss of quality habitat in urban areas. To better understand the impacts of urbanization on Odonata, we studied odonate larvae, exuviae (shed skin), and adults in stormwater ponds across an urbanization gradient in Brampton, ON (Toronto suburb). By researching juvenile and adult odonates, we can determine not only which species are present at each pond, but whether species use these ponds as breeding habitat. Additionally, we recorded water and habitat quality to determine which factors are most influential in determining Odonata community diversity, abundance, and composition. Our findings will improve our understanding of Odonata communities in urban areas so we may adopt conservation practices and best management techniques that protect these important insects and improve stormwater pond habitat quality for all aquatic organisms in the face of urban expansion.