Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Biological Sciences

First Advisor

Joseph Quattro

Abstract

Soil and leaf-litter invertebrates are important components of terrestrial biodiversity and contribute to key ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil formation. Despite their ecological importance, these communities remain difficult to document because many taxa are small, cryptic, or challenging to identify using morphology alone. This study examined patterns of soil macroinvertebrate biodiversity across habitats within Congaree National Park while also evaluating the usefulness of DNA barcoding for documenting taxonomic diversity. Sampling was conducted at 39 sites between September 2022 and October 2024 across upland, bottomland, and bluff habitats. Macroinvertebrates were collected separately from leaf litter and soil substrates, and environmental variables including soil moisture, organic content, and temperature, were recorded. A total of 765 specimens were processed using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA barcoding, with preliminary morphological sorting used for organization and verification. Most specimens were resolved to relatively fine taxonomic levels, with 68.8% identified to species, 15.4% to genus, and 3.1% to family. An additional 4.2% were categorized as distinct morphotypes, while 8.5% remained unresolved due to sequence quality or database limitations. Overall, the sampling effort documented 130 species-level taxa, 57 genus-level taxa, and 24 family-level taxa. Species richness differed significantly among habitat types and was greater in leaf litter than in soil substrates. Abundance varied significantly among habitats and between substrates, with litter samples consistently supporting more individuals than soil samples. Upland habitats generally showed lower abundances than bluff and bottomland habitats. Temperature showed a significant positive relationship with abundance, while soil moisture and organic content showed limited relationships with biodiversity metrics. These results indicate that substrate type, along with habitat, plays an important role in structuring macroinvertebrate communities within Congaree National Park. This study provides a baseline assessment of soil macroinvertebrate biodiversity and supports the use of integrated molecular and morphological approaches for biodiversity monitoring in protected ecosystems, while highlighting the need for continued expansion of reference databases.

Rights

© 2026, Sharon Ann Kendrick

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