RUI: Testing metacommunity models in forested vernal wetlands using a multi-taxa, multi-year approach

University Of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie WI

Investigators

Abstract

Many natural areas persist as habitat patches within a larger developed landscape. Species communities in these patches fluctuate over time as a consequence of local extinction, dispersal between patches, and interactions between species. Metacommunity theory is an organizing framework for understanding how networks of communities assemble and change, and can help resource managers make decisions about habitat and species conservation. There is a strong need to test metacommunity theory, though, at field scales relevant to conservation questions. This project examines forested vernal wetlands, which provide ideal systems for testing metacommunity theory. Vernal wetlands may flood in the spring and dry completely each year and frequently contain species adapted to these unique environmental conditions. They tend to be small and difficult to detect on the landscape, but they provide critical breeding habitat for amphibians and aquatic insects. Insects, amphibians, plants, and water chemistry will be studied in sixty wetlands within Wisconsin's Chippewa Moraine region over five years in order to capture the effects of environmental variability on community structure. The role of more permanent wetlands as sources of organisms for vernal wetland communities will also be evaluated. Finally, field experiments will provide insight into how community history affects species presence and abundance. These studies will help determine the relative contributions of environmental variation, species interactions, community history, and landscape position on community composition. Conserving forested vernal wetlands is a priority in efforts to protect aquatic biodiversity, and understanding how metacommunities function in these unique systems is critical to protecting them. Research findings from this project will be incorporated into ecological landscape management plans for use by forest managers. The project will involve numerous undergraduates in research experiences and will increase the number of under-represented groups and first-generation college students pursuing STEM fields.