Monitoring Restoration Success

Southwest Yard & Garden

Guest columnist this week: Alissa Freeman - Senior Program Specialist and Director of the pollinator-friendly NMSU Learning Garden at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas. 

Image of western pondhawk dragonflies at the Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center Pond used with permission from photographer Bosque Bill (http://www.bosquebill.com/odonata/gallery.php).

Dragonflies hovering above the water. Photo credit Alissa Freeman.

Dragonflies hovering above the water. Photo credit Alissa Freeman.

Santa Ana Pueblo bosque restoration site with newly established native
grasses and riparian plants along the banks. Photo credit Alissa Freeman.

QQQQQQQuestion: I volunteered this year and helped plant coyote willow poles for a riparian restoration project. I wanted to follow up and learn about how scientists monitor the health of these wetland ecosystems following restoration.

-          Eric L., Bernalillo

Answer: I recently visited the Pueblo of Santa Ana, about 20 miles north of Albuquerque, and took a tour of these bosque restoration sites with Nathan Schroeder, Restoration Division Manager in the Pueblo of Santa Ana’s Department of Natural Resources, to better answer this question. The Rio Grande flood plain on the Pueblo has changed significantly in the past sixty years due to flood control and channelization projects, many of which have adversely affected the riparian and aquatic communities. Many of their restoration projects focus on restoring the river channel and both the active and historic floodplain. Through these restoration efforts, over 100 acres of riparian wetland habitat were created, six river miles of the Rio Grande were restored, saltcedar and Russian olive thickets were removed and replanted with 1,300 acres of cottonwood, and native wildlife habitat was restored. In particular, wild turkeys were reintroduced to these areas, and populations are going strong and gobbling on!

An NM PBS "NM In Focus" video about the Santa Ana Pueblo bosque restoration work. Source: https://youtu.be/IAFCOVj1qkU

Along with plant surveys and wildlife monitoring, one of the key ways to determine the health of these wetland ecosystems is by observing something you might not expect—dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata). Dragonflies and damselflies serve as an indicator species of the health of these ecosystems because their larvae develop in the water and are sensitive to habitat quality. The absence of dragonfly and damselfly species may indicate water quality issues from pesticides, agricultural runoff, bank erosion, or other water contaminants. Although there are other macroinvertebrates (animals lacking a backbone that is visible to the naked eye) that can be used to indicate the system’s health, sampling and monitoring these other insect invertebrates can be impractical and time-consuming, whereas dragonflies and damselflies are relatively easy to identify by sight.

In addition to being easily observable, Odonata species are sensitive to changes in their breeding sites and adjacent terrestrial habitat, as well as environmental changes. This makes them great indicators of climate change as well. Population increases have occurred during warmer years, and there has been a trend of populations moving to higher altitudes. Additionally, migrations—that are essential to the lifecycle of dragonflies—may be disrupted by climate change. By observing the dragonflies and damselflies in our riparian ecosystems, we can better understand and assess the health of these landscapes and watersheds.

The NMSU Extension Circular 570, “One Hundred Common Insects ofNew Mexico," describes dragonflies as about 3 inches in length with spiny legs, and a spherical head “almost completely covered by compound eyes.” When at rest, the wings are outstretched horizontally. They prey on a variety of insects, including other dragonflies and mosquitos, and are typically considered a beneficial insect. Damselflies are described as “similar to dragonflies, but smaller, with a thinner body and with wings held over the back when at rest.” 

Online Dragonfly Identification Tools for NM: 

• Bosque Bill's NM Odonata Photo Gallery
• Bosque Bill also offers an interactive map of where to find dragonflies in Albuquerque! http://www.bosquebill.com/odonata/odonatamap.html

• https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-type-and-region.asp?thisState=new%20mexico&thisType=Dragonfly%20or%20Damselfly

• https://www.odonatacentral.org/index.php/ChecklistAction.showChecklist/location_id/53

• Dragonfly Sanctuary Pond at the ABQ BioPark

Related Articles:

• "Restoring Endangered Species on the Pueblo of Santa Ana" a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service article coauthored by Nathan Schroeder, Restoration Division Manager, and Catherine Nishida, Wildlife Program Manager at the Pueblo of Santa Ana’s Department of Natural Resources
• Another article by Nathan Schroeder (2012): Reengineering Banklines for Stabilization: A Biological View from the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Reach of the Rio Grande

• "Dragonflies: climate canaries for river management" - Biodiversity Research article by A. Bush et al. 2012

• "Dragonflies Make Epic Migrations, But Climate Change Could Foil Their Itineraries" - On Earth Species Watch article by J. Bittel. 2019  
• "The insects fly up to 1,500 miles over the course of three generations, and all of this activity seems to be governed by temperature."

For more gardening information, including decades of archived Southwest Yard & Garden columns, visit the NMSU Extension Horticulture page (http://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/), follow us on social media (@NMDesertBlooms), or contact your County Extension office (https://aces.nmsu.edu/county).

Guest author Alissa Freeman (Senior Program Specialist and Director of the pollinator-friendly NMSU Learning Garden) and regular author Dr. Marisa Thompson (NMSU Extension Horticulture Specialist) are both based at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas.