Grantee Research Project Results
1998 Progress Report: The role of ecosystem processes in restoring local and regional species diversity in Coastal Plain wetlands
EPA Grant Number: R825795Title: The role of ecosystem processes in restoring local and regional species diversity in Coastal Plain wetlands
Investigators: Resetarits Jr., William J.
Current Investigators: Resetarits Jr., William J. , Fauth, John E.
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Current Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign , College of Charleston
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: September 1, 1997 through August 31, 2000
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 1997 through August 31, 1998
Project Amount: $527,032
RFA: Ecosystem Restoration (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Land and Waste Management , Aquatic Ecosystems
Objective:
The purpose of this project is to determine the impact of variation in hydroperiod on the success of wetlands restoration efforts. Pond drying is a form of disturbance that at intermediate levels should increase species diversity by preventing elimination of species through competition and by preventing colonization of wetlands by predatory fishes. It also prevents the accumulation of other predators such as larval insects with long larval stages. Thus, maintaining a mosaic of pond hydroperiods may be critical to maintaining regional (watershed level) species diversity. The long-term goal of this project is to identify and test hydroperiod manipulations that bring the amphibian faunas of artificially created wetland ponds closer to those of their natural counterparts. Amphibians are sentinel species that are good indicators of ecosystem health, thus successful mitigation for frogs and salamanders should indicate restoration of ecosystem function affecting a broad range of organisms. In order to rigorously address the role of hydroperiod variation in the maintenance of species diversity, this project will utilize both comparative and experimental approaches. The project will compare amphibian diversity in a series of man-made wetland ponds in the Francis Marion National Forest (SC) with an equal number of their natural counterparts to examine issues of local species diversity, and compare the collective diversity of the entire group of man -made ponds with the entire sample of natural ponds to examine issues of regional species diversity. The project will examine the success of the manufactured habitats in supporting amphibian diversity, and identify the factors responsible for differences between natural and man-made ponds. the two pond types. The success of our proposed restoration strategies will be rigorously evaluated with a large-scale experimental test in man-made ponds. Hydroperiod will be manipulated at several levels (very temporary through permanent) and the changes in amphibian species diversity will be monitored. On average, man-made ponds are expected to have lower species diversity than their natural counterparts (lower local diversity), and exhibit far less variation in species composition than among natural ponds, resulting in much lower cumulative species diversity (lower regional diversity). This is caused primarily by the lack of variation in hydroperiod within and among these manufactured ponds. Experimentally manipulating hydroperiod should restore the range of natural ecosystem function to the man-made ponds, thereby demonstrating a practical application of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis to aquatic habitats. Wetlands restoration and creation is costly; if simply varying hydroperiod in existing man-made ponds enhances local and regional species diversity, such manipulations would constitute an inexpensive tool to help restore and enhance aquatic biodiversity on a national scale. This project will greatly increase our understanding of the ecological processes responsible for maintaining local and regional species diversity in natural aquatic systems, and identify the steps necessary to reestablish and maintain diversity in restored and man-made systems.Progress Summary:
In the first year of the project we have successfully competed all of the tasks we expected in the first year, including:
- Establishing an excellent working relationship with FMNF staff, including initiation of a memorandum of understanding that emphasizes their desire to provide cooperative support for this project.
- Establishing the infrastructure necessary for the project, including topo maps and aerial photos of the study areas, field equipment, etc. We also identified and randomly selected our natural ponds and borrow pit ponds from aerial photographs and ground truthed the selected ponds.
- Locating all thirty wildlife pit ponds ("frog ponds") using aerial surveys and ground truthing, and selecting the ponds for inclusion in the study.
- Measuring standard environmental, limnological, and biological variables, including pond size, depth, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen content, and tree composition and density on the study ponds.
- Establishing the monitoring protocol for the amphibian fauna of each pond using standard methods, including minnow trapping and censuses of calling amphibians, plus the design and construction of prototype "frog loggers" that will eventually be implemented for continuous monitoring at each study pond. Training of project personnel in appropriate methods.
- Initiation of amphibian diversity monitoring to provide the necessary baseline data to begin the hydroperiod manipulations in year 2 of the project.
Future Activities:
As indicated in our original proposal, the next activity involves beginning the manipulation of hydroperiod in the study ponds. We will continue to monitor amphibians species richness and diversity (as well as that of other taxa) in the study ponds via calling surveys and the other methods until environmental conditions are right to allow us to drain all the required ponds. We will then initiate implementation of our experimental drying regimes and continue monitoring the species composition of the ponds for the remainder of the grant. In order to ascertain how hydroperiod combines with species interactions to determine diversity and richness in wetland habitats, we will continue to do parallel observations and experiments both in natural and model systems in order to further our understanding of the processes affecting communities in seasonal wetland habitatsJournal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 44 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
Southeast, ecology, South Carolina, community ecology, experiment, species interactions, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water & Watershed, Midwest, Restoration, State, Monitoring/Modeling, Environmental Monitoring, Biology, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Watersheds, wetlands, Iowa, diversity, wildlife, regional species diversity, frogs, biodiversity, environmental assets, amphibians, coastal environments, salamanders, species interactions, ecological recovery, aquatic ecosystems, IAProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.