About This Project

I study vulnerable frog species that inhabit human-constructed wetlands in the Grand River Grasslands of southern Iowa. I want to test whether farm ponds in the region support frog populations and what pond and landscape characteristics are beneficial to these species. I will use an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) to generate high-resolution imagery of the wetland, enabling me to incorporate seasonal vegetation dynamics into habitat models for frogs.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Wetlands are highly dynamic ecosystems that provide habitat for aquatic organisms, including amphibians. The widespread destruction of wetlands in the Midwest has been disastrous for some amphibian populations. Fortunately, humans have also constructed a large number of ponds in the region, which have the potential to support amphibians. I'm studying what factors make human-constructed farm ponds in southern Iowa suitable habitat for frogs. My work complements ongoing efforts to restore terrestrial ecosystems in the region and promote wildlife conservation in a working agricultural landscape.

What is the significance of this project?

In the Central United States, agricultural ponds are abundant and often outnumber natural wetlands. The prevalence of ponds today poses an opportunity to conserve a range of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife that use farm ponds as habitat for reproduction, foraging, and shelter. However, much is still unknown about the characteristics which allow these ponds to support frogs. Tadpole surveys I conducted in 2016 indicate that at least 7 amphibian species inhabit farm ponds in my study region and that wetland vegetation is a critical component of habitat quality. It's still unclear how changes in vegetation and water levels affect frog species in these constructed ponds.

What are the goals of the project?

The goal of this project is to assess the presence of amphibians in human-constructed wetlands in southern Iowa and to link patterns of amphibian occupancy to specific pond and landscape characteristics indicative of habitat quality. I will be surveying each wetland for tadpoles using aquatic funnel traps. Each pond will be sampled four times during the summer of 2017. Concurrent with amphibian trapping, I will use a drone equipped with a high resolution camera to document wetland vegetation and water levels of ponds during each sampling period. Wetland imagery will be processed, orthorectified, and digitized in a geographic information system. Changes in wetland vegetation and water levels will then be linked to tadpole presence through occupancy modeling.