Stoneflies (Plecoptera) of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, USA: distribution and zoogeographic affinities

The Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming are an insular mountain range completely surrounded by the Great Plains. The stonefly (Plecoptera) fauna of the Black Hills was surveyed and zoogeographic affinities examined. Twenty-seven species representing 22 genera and 6 families were found. Fifteen new state records for South Dakota and 2 for Wyoming are presented. Two species are removed from the South Dakota list. An analysis of the North American distribution of each species showed a strong relationship between the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains, with much weaker relationships between the Black Hills and eastern and northern regions. Results of a logistic regression analysis comparing factors contributing to long-distance dispersal ability against presence/absence in the Black Hills were inconclusive. However, other evidence suggests that the Black Hills fauna is a result of expansion and subsequent vicariance of stonefly populations during Pleistocene climatic oscillations.