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Identifying the function of restored urban green space in sustainable environmental management: the ecological response, service, and function of amphibians
Citation:
MILANOVICH, J. R. AND M. HOPTON. Identifying the function of restored urban green space in sustainable environmental management: the ecological response, service, and function of amphibians. Presented at Wright State University, Biological Sciences Seminar Series, Dayton, OH, January 09, 2012.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform EPA
Description:
Over one-half of the United States population resides in urban areas and many of these areas are experiencing growth. Nevertheless, human land-use patterns are dynamic, and some locations within urban areas are experiencing declining populations and land abandonment. These abandoned lands provide an opportunity to replace developed habitat with green space, thereby restoring and/or maintaining ecosystem functions and services previously lost from urban systems. If we are to maximize the benefit from these green spaces, we must understand better the biotic and abiotic responses to habitat restoration, management, and conservation decisions for such areas. The goal of our research is to quantify the ecosystem function of amphibians and the resultant services provided by urban green space. To improve our understanding, we modeled how amphibian communities respond to different types of urban and non-urban green space in order to determine if amphibian richness and community structure can be predicted using landscape variables. Our ongoing work includes developing an understanding of isotopic and stoichiometric (nutrient) processes for food webs in headwater streams and identifying the impact pond-breeding amphibians have on larval mosquito populations--potential vectors of disease. This information will provide a foundation to understand nutrient cycling and energy flow in urban systems and assist ecologists, stakeholders, and decision makers to understand the implications of losing or gaining amphibians in urban ecosystems, and help determine best land use practices.