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Breeding Effort and Hydroperiod Indicate Habitat Quality of Small, Isolated Wetlands for Amphibians Under Climate Extremes

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Abstract

The distribution and function of small, temporarily ponded wetlands such as vernal pools are driven by climate variation, especially precipitation. These wetland ecosystems provide important habitat for amphibians, whose breeding effort (egg deposition) is often used to characterize pool habitat quality. However, whether breeding effort consistently predicts larval survival, juvenile production, and overall reproductive output—key indicators of habitat quality for amphibians in a varying environment—remains unclear. We assessed the occurrence of spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae in 71 vernal pools in New York, USA during the spring and summer of 2016 and 2017—the fifth driest and third wettest years in regional history, respectively—to better understand the relationship between breeding effort and metamorph production under environmental extremes. Breeding effort was an important predictor of whether late-stage larvae occurred in pools for both species. However, occurrence of late-stage larvae was substantially lower for both species during 2016, i.e., the drought year, when pools dried rapidly. These outcomes suggest that, in the face of an increasingly variable climate, prioritizing clusters of pools that encompass a range of hydroperiods and include high-productivity pools would help maintain populations of vernal-pool dependent amphibians.

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Acknowledgements

Jonathan Cohen advised on data analysis; Dwight Hospedales, Sahila Kudalkar, Stephen Sussman, Alexandra Mulvihill, Adrian Rouse, Ryan Siless, and Mikayla Warren provided field assistance. This research was supported by a US EPA Wetland Program Development Grant (No. 96284400), an Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation Graduate Internship, a Garden Club of America Restoration Fellowship, a New York State Wetlands Forum student research grant, a research grant from the SUNY-ESF Graduate Student Association, and student research grant from the Society for Wetland Scientists. This study was conducted with the approval of SUNY ESF IACUC (protocol #140201).

Funding

This research was supported by a US EPA Wetland Program Development Grant (No. 96284400), an Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation Graduate Internship, a Garden Club of America Restoration Fellowship, a New York State Wetlands Forum student research grant, a research grant from the SUNY-ESF Graduate Student Association, and student research grant from the Society for Wetland Scientists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY, 13210, USA

    Leah D. Nagel, Stacy A. McNulty, Matthew D. Schlesinger & James P. Gibbs

  2. New York Natural Heritage Program, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY, 12233, USA

    Leah D. Nagel & Matthew D. Schlesinger

Authors
  1. Leah D. Nagel
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  2. Stacy A. McNulty
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  3. Matthew D. Schlesinger
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  4. James P. Gibbs
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Contributions

LDN, SAM, MDS, and JPG contributed to the study design; LDN conducted the field work, analyzed the data, and wrote the first draft supervised by JPG; LDN, SAM, MDS, and JPG contributed to the preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Leah D. Nagel.

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This research was conducted with the approval of SUNY-ESF IACUC (protocol #140201).

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 3 Sampling survey dates for each round of surveys by site and survey year
Full size table
Table 4 Occurrence models estimating spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) larvae (ψ) accounting for imperfect detection (p)
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Table 5 Detection models for spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) and wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) occupancy in a dry year (2016) and a wet year (2017) for vernal pools in Beaver Dams and Tully, New York. Models were ranked by ΔAICc
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Nagel, L.D., McNulty, S.A., Schlesinger, M.D. et al. Breeding Effort and Hydroperiod Indicate Habitat Quality of Small, Isolated Wetlands for Amphibians Under Climate Extremes. Wetlands 41, 22 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-021-01404-x

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