Linkages between Land Use, Invasive Fishes, and Prairie Pothole Wetland Condition

Sundberg, Michael D.; Baldwin, Ryan C.; Stewart, Timothy W.; Weber, Michael J.

doi:10.1007/s13157-016-0827-7

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…A study of larger, more permanently ponded wetlands in North Dakota similarly determined that fish presence structured aquatic macroinvertebrate communities and lowered taxa richness (McLean, Mushet, Renton, & Stockwell, 2016). Beyond acting as predators, fishes may affect the macroinvertebrate community indirectly by increasing turbidity and decreasing vegetation density (Sundberg, Baldwin, Stewart, & Weber, 2016). Fishes may serve as a primary driver of macroinvertebrate community structure in some wetlands, but most prairie-pothole wetlands in Alberta do not support fish populations or large predaceous amphibians that might fill a similar ecological role (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

Pond permanence is a key determinant of aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure in wetlands

Gleason

Rooney

2017

Freshwater Biology

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Globally, many aquatic ecosystems experience periodic desiccation that imposes stress on biota. The Northern Prairie Pothole Region (NPPR) in Alberta, Canada, contains abundant wetlands that fill with spring snowmelt and then draw down throughout the summer. They are often assigned a pond‐permanence class based on the duration of ponded water. These dynamic wetlands are home to diverse and productive communities of macroinvertebrates. We expected that pond permanence structures macroinvertebrate communities in NPPR wetlands. In addition to exploring the taxonomic composition of macroinvertebrate communities, we aimed to characterise these communities by functional groups to test for associations between pond permanence and desiccation strategies, feeding groups or behavioural guilds. We sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates from 87 wetlands in the NPPR that spanned a range of pond‐permanence classes. We identified macroinvertebrates to the lowest practical taxonomic level, usually family. We then performed multivariate analyses (multiresponse permutation procedures, non‐metric multidimensional scaling) to identify differences in community composition and functional groups among permanence classes. Community composition of macroinvertebrates was statistically distinct among pond‐permanence classes, with the extremes of temporarily‐ and permanently‐ ponded wetlands differing most. Notably, macroinvertebrates in temporarily‐ ponded wetlands were not unique taxa specially adapted to low‐permanence wetlands, but rather a subset of the community found in more permanent wetlands. In other words, macroinvertebrates at the family level exhibit a nested pattern of diversity best predicted by the permanence of ponded water in wetlands.

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confidence: 99%

Pond permanence is a key determinant of aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure in wetlands

Gleason

Rooney

2017

Freshwater Biology

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“…1; Cowardin et al 1979) in the Prairie Pothole region of north-central Iowa. Wetlands were selected by Sundberg et al (2016) using previously collected biophysical data (e.g., fish presence and chloride concentration), site visits, and assessment of orthophotos to ensure broad variation in landscape and wetland characteristics across study sites. Wetlands were owned privately (n ¼ 4), by TABLE 1.-Hypotheses of covariate effects on probability of amphibian occupancy and detection in Iowa.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental Data Collection Environmental variables (Table 1) were collected in 2015 as part of another study (Sundberg et al 2016). Fish and salamander presence and abundance (n) were measured once in each wetland using three fyke nets and three mini fyke nets spaced evenly and oriented perpendicular to the wetland edge for 24 h. We did not scale abundance of fish or salamanders by wetland size for analysis because of the variability of water volume at our sites (i.e., sites with similar areas but different depths could have different densities).…”

Section: Occupancymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variables were assigned to one of three categories: land cover descriptions, physical metrics, and biological metrics. Each category was given a rating and the total WCI score was calculated by averaging ratings from all three categories (Stewart et al 2016;Sundberg et al 2016). Air temperature (8C) was recorded at the end of each anuran survey along the wetland edge.…”

Section: Occupancymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We developed hypotheses about the effect of environmental covariates that are likely to affect the occupancy of anurans on this landscape: fish abundance, abundance of Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum), aquatic vegetation cover, aquatic macroinvertebrate density, wetland area, dissolved atrazine concentration, and cropland cover within 500 m radius of the wetland (Table 1). We also investigated whether an overall wetland condition index (WCI), developed using our focal covariates plus other environmental characteristics, could predict anuran presence (Sundberg et al 2016). We hypothesized that the probability of detection depends on time, and was influenced by survey-specific air temperatures and the amount of aquatic vegetation cover (Table 1).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Factors Influencing Anuran Wetland Occupancy in an Agricultural Landscape

et al. 2019

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Habitat disturbance is an important cause of global amphibian declines, with especially strong effects in areas of high agricultural use. Determining the influence of site characteristics on amphibian presence and success is vital to developing effective conservation strategies. We used occupancy analysis to estimate presence of four anuran species at wetlands in northern Iowa as a function of eight environmental covariates hypothesized to affect occupancy: fish and salamander abundance, invertebrate density, aquatic vegetative cover, wetland area, atrazine concentration in water, surrounding agricultural land use, and an overall wetland health score (wetland condition index [WCI]). We surveyed 27 wetlands multiple times in 2015 and 2016. Leopard Frogs (Lithobates pipiens) and American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus) were observed at 100% of the sites, Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata) at 96%, and Gray Treefrogs (Hyla spp.) at 81%. Wetland site occupancy for all species in our study ranged from 0.23 (Hyla spp. tadpoles) to 0.95 (L. pipiens adults), indicating that agricultural wetlands can provide refuge or habitat for amphibians. Fish abundance, percentage of cropland cover within 500 m of the wetland, and salamander abundance were among the variables best supported by our models although their estimated effects were weak. Wetland area, atrazine concentration, vegetative cover, and WCI also influenced occupancy probability, but for only a small number of species and life stages. The direction of predicted effects varied by species and life stage. Despite only weak evidence that the environmental factors we measured influenced anuran occupancy, our results provide insights for managers seeking to understand how amphibians use landscapes modified by agriculture.

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Influence of Sieve Mesh Size on Relationships between Macroinvertebrate Assemblage and Environmental Variables in Wetlands

et al. 2018

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Linkages between Land Use, Invasive Fishes, and Prairie Pothole Wetland Condition

Cited by 13 publications

References 55 publications

Pond permanence is a key determinant of aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure in wetlands

Pond permanence is a key determinant of aquatic macroinvertebrate community structure in wetlands

Factors Influencing Anuran Wetland Occupancy in an Agricultural Landscape

Influence of Sieve Mesh Size on Relationships between Macroinvertebrate Assemblage and Environmental Variables in Wetlands

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