Vol. 1 1 1. No. 3. May & June. 2000 215 AN ANNOTATED LIST OF TRICHOPTERA IN THE BLACK BELT PRAIRIE REGION OF WEST CENTRAL ALABAMA 1 M. B. Hicks 2 , C. G. Haynes^ ABSTRACT: Distributional records for 72 species of caddisflies from 15 sites located in the Black Prairie Region of West-Central Alabama are presented, along with information on sea-sonal occurrence, habitat and relative abundance. Leptoceridae is best represented (22 spe-cies), followed by Hydropsychidae (17 species), Hydroptilidae (17 species), Polycentropodidae (6 species), Philopotamidae (5 species), Limnephilidae (2 species), Phryganeidae (2 species), and Molannidae (1 species). Of the species reported, 12 are new records for this area. The Black Belt Prairie Region or Black Belt is a Physiographic Subdistrict of the East Gulf Coastal Plain that is geologically and biologically distinctive among physiographic regions of the Coastal Plain. The Black Belt is a cres-cent shaped region of approximately 8,000 square miles that extends south-ward from West Tennessee into Northeastern Mississippi and eastward into West-Central Alabama. This region is characterized by deeply weathered un-dulating plains of relatively low relief, that are developed on chalk and marl of the Selma Group (Copeland 1968). The Selma Chalk is composed of concen-trations of fossiliferous, soft, white-gray limestone (chalk) that weathers into a fertile black soil. The soil of this region is particularly noted for baking hard and dry in the summer and becoming highly adhesive when wet (Doster and Weaver 1987). Many of the chalk beds of this region contain more than 75 percent calcium carbonate (Szabo and Beg 1977). Because of the thin soils and the impermeable nature of the chalk bedrock, the Black Belt represents a unique and clearly defined hydrologic region in the Coastal Plain. The streams of this region are noted for high turbidity, high rates of runoff, and great variability in flow (Harper 1943, Harris et al.1991). During the dry seasons the smaller streams go dry and the larger streams are significantly reduced in flow. Harper (1943) noted that this was the driest re-gion of the state, and that prairie grasslands once covered up to 10% of the area. Because of its harsh hydrologic characteristics, this region has a negative impact on the distributions of many aquatic organisms. Many species of fish, mollusks, and aquatic insects that are common throughout the Coastal Plain are rare or absent within the Black Belt. An extensive survey of the fishes of Alabama (Mettee et al. 1989) has shown that 16 species of fishes common to the Coastal Plain are absent or rarely encountered in the Black Belt. Prelimi-1 Received December 20, 1998. Accepted December 27. 1999. 2 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, 2142 Jackson Ave. West, Oxford, MS 38655. 3 Department of Biology, Shelton State Community College, Cottondale, AL 35405. ENT. NEWS 1 1 1(3): 215-222, May & June 2000
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