Distribution and Development of Immature Salt Marsh Tabanidae (Diptera)

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Abstract
A 54,000-m2 study plot was systematically sampled to determine the distribution of Chrysops fuliginosus, C. atlanticus, and Tabanus nigrovittatus larvae in a regularly flooded Spartina alterniflora salt marsh. Soil samples were analyzed for salinity, percentage organic content, and pH. Distances of soil samples from the nearest drainage ditch were recorded. Of the 96 samples washed, 64.5% contained C. fuliginosus larvae, while only 14.6% and 17.7% yielded C. atlanticus and T. nigrovittatus, respectively. C. fuliginosus had a highly contagious distribution and coexisted with C. atlanticus and T. nigrovittatus in 11 samples. A significant negative correlation was computed for numbers of C. fuliginosus larvae collected and distances from drainage ditches. C. atlanticus larval occurrence was significantly correlated with salinity and percentage organic matter. C. atlanticus immatures were collected from very wet depression areas that bordered drainage ditches. T. nigrovittatus immatures were abundant throughout the open marsh in surface sediments that contained accumulations of very wet matted vegetation, but larval distribution was not correlated with salinity, percentage organic content, pH, or distance from drainage ditches. Small and large C. fuliginosus and T. nigrovittatus larvae were present in the marsh throughout all seasons; results suggest that some larvae of these speciesneed 2 years or more to mature.

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