Who s where: modeling the abiotic and biotic factors contributing to community assembly in wetlands

Ecology

Courtney Davis, Penn State

April 30, 2014 @ 01:45 pm to 02:10 pm

104 Forest Resources Building

Historically, the development and management of wetlands in the United States has been regulated primarily by size. This strategy assumes that small wetlands support few species, are inundated with water for short periods, and support a composition of species also found in wetlands of larger size. However, studies have indicated there is no biologically meaningful relationship between amphibian species richness and wetland size. Other wetland attributes, particularly hydroperiod, appear to be far more important predictors of amphibian assemblages and, as such, should be strongly considered in management strategies. Given that species occurrence is restricted along a hydroperiod gradient, community structure along this gradient can be predicted by studying the interaction between abiotic constraints of hydroperiod length and characteristics of predation life history for individual species. With the aide of dynamic occupancy and structural equation models, we hope to tease apart the biotic and abiotic factors (i.e. species interactions, habitat dynamics, wetland characteristics, etc.) that contribute to community assembly in wetlands, in order to understand how changes in climate and management actions can affect species occurrence and distribution. This is particularly important in the face of global amphibian decline- thoroughly examining this system can hopefully provide sufficient insight to inform management and conservation strategies for similar wetland ecosystems.