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Amphibians Among Road-Rut Pools in West Virginia Abby L

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Amphibians Among Road-Rut Pools in West Virginia Abby L Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2018 Amphibians Among Road-Rut Pools in West Virginia Abby L. Sinclair [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, Population Biology Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Sinclair, Abby L., "Amphibians Among Road-Rut Pools in West Virginia" (2018). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 1202. https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/1202 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses, Dissertations and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. AMPHIBIANS AMONG ROAD-RUT POOLS IN WEST VIRGINIA A thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Biological Sciences by Abby L. Sinclair Approved by Dr. Thomas K. Pauley, Committee Chairperson Dr. Jayme L. Waldron Dr. Shane Welch Marshall University December 2018 ii © 2018 Abby L. Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my educators. Dr. Jayme Waldron assisted me with many of my statistics and often let me tag along to new experiences, being an assistant in the herpetology lab and field work in South Carolina. Dr. Shane Welch also guided me during my thesis and encouraged me to think deeper. I would like to thank and give my upmost gratitude to Dr. Thomas Pauley. With the patience of Job, Dr. Pauley always answered my many questions and confusions along the way. When I entered his office with issues whether it was personal or thesis related, I always exited feeling more peaceful and optimistic than when I had entered. Thank you, Dr. Pauley, for being such a kind and knowledgable mentor. The continuous support of my family is immeasurable. No matter how high or low things get, my parents remain unconditionally present and supportive. Extended family and friends have called, texted, and emailed encouragement during my master’s journey. Many other graduate students helped me along the way both in the herpetology lab and outside. Mark DeBlois was an irreplaceable field companion. Ben and Jess Koester and Tim Brust worked hard helping me build my drift fence set up. To my Marshall besties, Marcie Cruz, Kelli Herrick, and Derek Breakfield, your support has meant the world to me. Whether it is finding Indian Pipe with Marcie, running into mountains with Kelli, or glamping with Derek, we always make memorable times together. Everyone continues to encourage me to be my best self and conservationist. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Observing Amphibian Species and Habitat Parameters in Road-rut Pools in West Virginia 1 Introduction 1 Methods 9 Study Sites 9 Collection Methods 10 Morphometrics 13 Results 14 Environmental Data 14 Species Composition 17 Larval Stages 20 Captures by Season 24 Morphometrics 26 Discussion 28 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................................... 31 Capture Success of Rana clamitans with Method as a Predictor Introduction 31 Methods 33 Results 35 Discussion 36 v Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................. 39 Appendix A: IRB Approval Letter ............................................................................................... 46 Appendix B: Species Accounts ..................................................................................................... 47 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Environmental parameters recorded at each road-rut pool study site 15-17 Table 2. Amphibian sex ratios in road-rut pools ........................................................................... 18 Table 3. Species Richness of Road-rut Pools .............................................................................. 18 Table 4. Amphibian species caught at each study site by life cycle stages .................................. 19 Table 5: Descriptive statistics of Rana clamitans morphometrics ........................................... 26-27 Table 6. Solutions for Fixed Effects ............................................................................................. 35 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Figure procured from Gibbons and Semlitsch, 1981 .................................................... 12 Figure 2. Drift fence encircling CCRR1 ....................................................................................... 12 Figure 3. Area of an ellipse = ∏(a)(b ........................................................................................... 13 Figure 4. Average water depths of road-rut pools over time ........................................................ 14 Figure 5. Maximum water depths of road-rut pools over time ..................................................... 15 Figure 6. Histogram of Hyla chrysoscelis Gosner larval stages ................................................... 20 Figure 7. Histogram of Rana sylvatica Gosner larval stages ........................................................ 21 Figure 8. Histogram of Rana clamitans Gosner larval stages ...................................................... 21 Figure 9. Gosner anuran larval stages key ............................................................................... 22-23 Figure 10. Rana clamitans divided by age cohort over time by seasons ...................................... 24 Figure 11. The total number of species found in the road-rut pools over time divided into seasons ....................................................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 12. The total count of species observed (omitting H. chrysoscelis and R. sylvatica) in the road-rut pools over time divided into seasons .............................................................................. 25 viii ABSTRACT As anthropogenic environmental stressors such as urbanization continue to increase, it is necessary to understand their impact on amphibian ecology. Due largely to their biphasic life history amphibians are negatively impacted by the destruction of lotic habitats i.e., wetlands for the creation of roads and urban centers. I examined the effects of three human- made road rut pools on the reproductive success and species richness of amphibians in southwest West Virginia from May to October 2012. I employed three detection techniques: drift fence pitfall trap arrays, funnel traps and dipnet sampling. Additionally, habitat covariates were taken (i.e., water depth) at each sampling. A total of nine species were detected at various life stages (Larval, Juvenile, and Adult). Larvae were the most commonly detected stage. All larvae were aged according to the Gosner and Harrison staging charts. While the objectives of this study were addressed, there was not enough data to make any statistically significant conclusions. However, this study does allow for several anecdotal observations to be made which are important for future studies. ix CHAPTER 1 OBSERVING AMPHIBIAN SPECIES AND HABITAT PARAMETERS IN ROAD-RUT POOLS IN WEST VIRGINIA INTRODUCTION There is an urgency to effectively understand the ecology of amphibian taxa due to rapid decline worldwide (Alford and Richards, 1999) as urbanization is increasing. Urbanization is the growth in population of humans in an area. Urban sprawl encroaches on natural habitat and affects the natural biota. Before considering the issue of how to manage human activity with wildlife activity, it is important to understand the interaction between the two. Urban environments influence reptiles and amphibians in various ways. Amphibians are negatively affected by introduced chemicals, habitat alteration, and roads (Mitchell et al., 2008; Knutson et al., 1999; Price et al., 2006; Semlitsch and Bodie, 2003). Roads disturb amphibians in direct and indirect ways. When habitat is altered, important features such as hydroperiod and species composition are changed. Amphibians are also bioindicators, making them excellent monitors of ecosystem health due to their permeable skin and in many cases, biphasic life cycle. More studies are being conducted in order to understand the relationship between urbanization and the effect to natural areas vital to amphibians such as forests and wetlands. As urbanization increases, some amphibians could adapt to the environmental changes and it is imperative to understand these changing, new relationships. Some species thrive in urban environments while others find it hard to survive (Rodda and Tyrrell, 2008). Some native species are considered invasive because they outcompete other natives when
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