Flux of energy and nutrients through wetland breeding amphibian communities
Seasonal wetlands occur globally, are often regionally abundant , and contribute disproportionately to the maintenance of biodiversity relative to the area they occupy. Seasonal wetlands support diverse faunal groups (invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles) that vary in their dependence on these temporary habitats. Seasonal wetlands are likely hotspots of biogeochemical transformations that lead to nutrients being moved differentially across the landscape. Wetland-breeding amphibians often move considerable distances (hundreds of meters) between the upland and aquatic habitats; thus, they may generate substantial pulses of nutrients and energy between terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Wetland breeding amphibians are excellent
organisms to study the fluxes
of subsidies across aquatic-terrestrial boundaries, as they spend much of their
life in terrestrial habitats and migrate to wetlands to breed and lay eggs. Amphibian
larval cohorts develop in aquatic habitats and then metamorphose synchronously, causing natural pulses of these consumers into terrestrial environments.
We are sampling the quantity of amphibians and their stoichiometry across various stages of their life histories in SW Georgia.
We are sampling the quantity of amphibians and their stoichiometry across various stages of their life histories in SW Georgia.