Legacy of road salt: Apparent positive larval effects counteracted by negative postmetamorphic effects in wood frogs

Dananay, Kacey L.; Krynak, Katherine L.; Krynak, Timothy J.; Benard, Michael F.

doi:10.1002/etc.3082

Cited by 54 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…, Dananay et al. ). However, the novel takeaway message is that increases in nutrients and salts appear to affect phytoplankton and periphyton abundance additively and not synergistically.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Salty fertile lakes: how salinization and eutrophication alter the structure of freshwater communities

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The quality of freshwater ecosystems is decreasing worldwide because of anthropogenic activities. For example, nutrient over‐enrichment associated with agricultural, urban, and industrial development has led to an acceleration of primary production, or eutrophication. Additionally, in northern areas, deicing salts that are an evolutionary novel stressor to freshwater ecosystems have caused chloride levels of many freshwaters to exceed thresholds established for environmental protection. Even if excess nutrients and road deicing salts often contaminate freshwaters at the same time, the combined effects of eutrophication and salinization on freshwater communities are unknown. Thus by using outdoor mesocosms, we investigated the potentially interactive effects of nutrient additions and road salt (NaCl) on experimental lake communities containing phytoplankton, periphyton, filamentous algae, zooplankton, two snail species (Physa acuta and Viviparus georgianus), and macrophytes (Nitella spp.). We exposed communities to a factorial combination of environmentally relevant concentrations of road salt (15, 250, and 1000 mg Cl−/L), nutrient additions (oligotrophic, eutrophic), and sunlight (low, medium, and high) for 80 d. We manipulated light intensity to parse out the direct effects of road salts or nutrients from the indirect effects via algal blooms that reduce light levels. We observed numerous direct and indirect effects of salt, nutrients, and light as well as interactive effects. Added nutrients caused increases in most producers and consumers. Increased salt (1000 mg Cl−/L) initially caused a decline in cladoceran and copepod abundance, leading to an increase in phytoplankton. Increased salt also reduced the biomass and chl a content of Nitella and reduced the abundance of filamentous algae. Added salt had no effect on the abundance of pond snails, but it caused a decline in banded mystery snails, which led to an increase in periphyton. Low light negatively affected all taxa (except Nitella) and light levels exhibited multiple interactions with road salt, but the combined effects of nutrients and salt were always additive. Collectively, our results indicate that eutrophication and salinization both have major effects on aquatic ecosystems and their combined effects (through different mechanisms) are expected to promote large blooms of phytoplankton and periphyton while causing declines in many species of invertebrates and macrophytes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased chloride concentrations have also been linked to algal blooms, which can reduce light availability and alter food‐web structure in freshwater ecosystems (Dananay et al. , Cañedo‐Argüelles et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salty fertile lakes: how salinization and eutrophication alter the structure of freshwater communities

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…As with lake communities, road salt in experimental wetland and stormwater pond communities can trigger cascading effects by killing zooplankton, which leads to elevated phytoplankton abundance due to reduced zooplankton grazing (Dananay, Krynak, Krynak, & Benard, 2015;Jones et al, 2017;Van Meter & Swan, 2014;Van Meter et al, 2011). This can occur at similar Cl − concentrations in lakes.…”

Section: Wetland Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of the species, community, and ecosystem impacts of road salt salinisation in fresh waters

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Freshwater ecosystems worldwide are threatened by salinisation caused by human activities. Scientific attention on the ecological impacts of salinisation from road deicing salts is increasing exponentially. Spanning multiple trophic levels and ecosystem types, we review and synthesise the ecological impacts of road salt in freshwater ecosystems to understand species‐, community‐, and ecosystem‐level responses. In our review, we identify knowledge gaps that we hope will motivate future research directions. We found that road salts negatively affect species at all trophic levels, from biofilms to fish. The concentration at which road salt triggered an effect varied considerably. Species‐level impacts were generally sub‐lethal, leading to reductions in growth and reproduction, which can be magnified by natural stressors such as predation. Community‐level impacts including reductions of biodiversity were common, leading to communities of salt‐tolerant species, which may have implications for disease transmission from enhanced recruitment of salt‐tolerant host species such as mosquitoes. At the ecosystem level, road salts alter nutrient and energy flow. Contaminated wetlands could see greater export of greenhouse gases, streams will probably export more nitrogen and carbon, and lakes will encounter altered hydrology and oxygen dynamics, leading to greater phosphorus release from sediments. While it is necessary to keep roads safe for humans, the costs to freshwater ecosystems may be severe if actions are not taken to mitigate road salt salinisation. Cooperation among policy makers, environmental managers, transportation professionals, scientists, and the public will be crucial to prevent a loss of ecosystem services including water clarity, drinkable water, recreation venues, and fisheries.

show abstract

“…The latter studies all demonstrated that amphibian larval survival was reduced by increases in salinity [78][79][80][81]. In fact, one study showed that for Rana temporaria, even the smallest increase in the salt concentration (500 mg/L) could cause tadpole mortality [81].…”

Section: Indirect Impacts Of Roads On Wildlifementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Bennett

2017

Curr Landscape Ecol Rep

137

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The development and presence of roads can reduce landscape permeability, lead to habitat loss, and increase habitat fragmentation. It is these fundamental changes in landscape structure that can have both direct and indirect impacts on the conservation of species and biodiversity. In this review, I examine 215 research studies conducted between 2011 and 2015 that explore the impacts of roads and road networks on a wide range of species. I divided these studies into four main categories: 1) the direct effects of roads on wildlife, 2) the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, 3) the consequences of road networks on wildlife populations, and 4) survey design and mitigation including both innovations and evaluations. I found that the majority of studies (38%) explored the indirect effects of roads on wildlife, including displacement, fitness consequences, and road crossing ability of wildlife. Nevertheless, despite there being a pressing need to understand how existing road networks impact wildlife and how increasing road density may influence local and regional population persistence, only 10% of the studies considered the implications of road networks on wildlife. However, there is an increasing trend towards the development of predictive models that can be used for a better understanding of road network impacts, assess landscape connectivity, and devise mitigation. This review also highlighted the continued need to devise and evaluate mitigation measures so transportation authorities and conservation practitioners may be better equipped to address the ecological implications of roads and proposed road development.

show abstract

Legacy of road salt: Apparent positive larval effects counteracted by negative postmetamorphic effects in wood frogs

Cited by 54 publications

References 41 publications

Salty fertile lakes: how salinization and eutrophication alter the structure of freshwater communities

Salty fertile lakes: how salinization and eutrophication alter the structure of freshwater communities

A review of the species, community, and ecosystem impacts of road salt salinisation in fresh waters

Effects of Road Density and Pattern on the Conservation of Species and Biodiversity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About