The objective of this study was to determine if pond permanence and ve
rtebrate predation (by fish and waterfowl) affect invertebrate communi
ty structure in the mudflat habitat of floodplain ponds. Invertebrate
communities were studied for 1 year in four Mississippi River floodpla
in ponds with different hydroperiods. Pond 1 experienced five dry peri
ods, pond 2 experienced four, pond 3 dried once, and standing water re
mained in pond 4 for the entire year. Vertebrate predator exclusion tr
eatments (all access, no access, small-fish access and cage controls)
were placed in all ponds. As pond duration increased, predatory invert
ebrate richness and abundance increased while overall invertebrate ric
hness and abundance decreased. With the exception of the cladoceran Di
aphanosoma, all commonly encountered taxa were strongly affected by po
nd permanence in terms of abundance, biomass and, generally, individua
l biomass. Taxa were nearly early divided between those that were more
abundant in less permanent ponds and those that were more abundant in
longer-duration ponds. Invertebrate taxa richness, abundance, and tot
al biomass were lower in the ah-access treatment than in the treatment
s that restricted predator access, and these effects were stronger in
the more permanent ponds. In general, there were no significant differ
ences in responses to the treatments with small-fish access and no acc
ess. These results support models that predict relatively weak effects
of predation in frequently disturbed habitats.