Heavy metal pollution negatively correlates with anuran species richness and distribution in south‐eastern <scp>A</scp>ustralia

Ficken, Kristina L. G.; Byrne, Phillip G.

doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2012.02443.x

Cited by 36 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Only a handful of previous studies have linked metal pollution to amphibian population decline, and these studies were limited to frog species richness or occurrence. Frog species richness was negatively correlated with elevated metal concentrations in a river affected by a paper mill (Karasov et al 2005) and in a creek affected by industry/ urban land use (Ficken and Byrne 2013). Previous work in our study region found that the occurrences of four frog species were negatively associated with metal concentrations (Glooschenko et al 1992).…”

Section: Effects Of Metal Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Sasaki

Lesbarrères

Watson

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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Emissions from smelting not only contaminate water and soil with metals, but also induce extensive forest dieback and changes in resource availability and microclimate. The relative effects of such co-occurring stressors are often unknown, but this information is imperative in developing targeted restoration strategies. We assessed the role and relative effects of structural alterations of terrestrial habitat and metal pollution caused by century-long smelting operations on amphibian and reptile communities by collecting environmental and time- and area-standardized multivariate abundance data along three spatially replicated impact gradients. Overall, species richness, diversity, and abundance declined progressively with increasing levels of metals (As, Cu, and Ni) and soil temperature (T(s)) and decreasing canopy cover, amount of coarse woody debris (CWD), and relative humidity (RH). The composite habitat variable (which included canopy cover, CWD, T(s), and RH) was more strongly associated with most response metrics than the composite metal variable (As, Cu, and Ni), and canopy cover alone explained 19-74% of the variance. Moreover, species that use terrestrial habitat for specific behaviors (e.g., hibernation, dispersal), especially forest-dependent species, were more severely affected than largely aquatic species. These results suggest that structural alterations of terrestrial habitat and concomitant changes in the resource availability and microclimate have stronger effects than metal pollution per se. Furthermore, much of the variation in response metrics was explained by the joint action of several environmental variables, implying synergistic effects (e.g., exacerbation of metal toxicity by elevated temperatures in sites with reduced canopy cover). We thus argue that the restoration of terrestrial habitat conditions is a key to successful recovery of herpetofauna communities in smelting-altered landscapes.

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Section: Effects Of Metal Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 55%

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Sasaki

Lesbarrères

Watson

et al. 2015

Ecological Applications

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“…Marsh frogs (Genus Limnodynastes , Fitzinger, 1843) are ground‐dwelling frogs native to Australia, New Guinea, and the Torres Strait Islands. We focused on the spotted marsh frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis (Günther, 1858) and the striped marsh frog Limnodynastes peronii (Duméril and Bibron, 1841), two species common in southeastern Australia that are known to occupy and breed in urban wetlands (Hamer and Parris , Ficken and Byrne ). Nocturnal call surveys confirmed the presence of both species at all study sites.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Sievers

Parris

Swearer

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Around cities, natural wetlands are rapidly being destroyed and replaced with wetlands constructed to treat stormwater. Although the intended purpose of these wetlands is to manage urban stormwater, they are inhabited by wildlife that might be exposed to contaminants. These effects will be exacerbated if animals are unable to differentiate between stormwater treatment wetlands of varying quality and some function as "ecological traps" (i.e., habitats that animals prefer despite fitness being lower than in other habitats). To examine if urban stormwater wetlands can be ecological traps for frogs, we tested if survival, metamorphosis-related measures, and predator avoidance behaviors of frogs differed within mesocosms that simulated stormwater wetlands with different contaminant levels, and paired this with a natural oviposition experiment to assess breeding-site preferences. We provide the first empirical evidence that these wetlands can function as ecological traps for frogs. Tadpoles had lower survival and were less responsive to predator olfactory cues when raised in more polluted stormwater wetlands, but also reached metamorphosis earlier and at a larger size. A greater size at metamorphosis was likely a result of increased per capita food availability due to higher mortality combined with eutrophication, although other compensatory effects such as selective-mortality removing smaller individuals from low-quality mesocosms may also explain these results. Breeding adults laid comparable numbers of eggs across wetlands with high and low contaminant levels, indicating no avoidance of the former. Since stormwater treatment wetlands are often the only available aquatic habitat in urban landscapes we need to better understand how they perform as habitats to guide management decisions that mitigate their potential ecological costs. This may include improving wetland quality so that fitness is no longer compromised, preventing colonization by animals, altering the cues animals use when selecting habitats, pretreating contaminated water prior to release, providing off-line wetlands nearby, or simply not constructing stormwater treatment wetlands in sensitive areas. Our study confirms the potential for urban stormwater treatment wetlands to function as ecological traps and highlights the need for greater awareness of their prevalence and impact at landscape scales.

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“…(). From these data, we calculated a heavy‐metal index based on benchmark values set by The Australian and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council (ANZECC & ARMCANZ ; Ficken & Byrne ). We also compared levels of heavy metals within the sediments of our study wetlands with those from Snodgrass et al () and Sievers et al (), which caused significant mortality of amphibian larvae (Table ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…), predators (Hamer & Parris ), and wetland size (Scheffers & Paszkowski ) influence species richness and occupancy. A recent survey found that amphibian richness and, for some species, occurrence was negatively influenced by the concentration of heavy metals in wetland sediments (Ficken & Byrne ). Contaminants might influence occupancy if frogs avoid poor‐quality habitats or if population persistence is impaired at inappropriate sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frog occupancy of polluted wetlands in urban landscapes

Sievers

Hale

Swearer

et al. 2018

Conservation Biology

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Urban sprawl and the rising popularity of water-sensitive urban design of urban landscapes has led to a global surge in the number of wetlands constructed to collect and treat stormwater runoff in cities. However, contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, in stormwater adversely affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of animals inhabiting these wetlands. A key question is whether wildlife can identify and avoid highly polluted wetlands. We investigated whether pond-breeding frogs are attempting to breed in wetlands that affect the fitness of their offspring across 67 urban wetlands in Melbourne, Australia. Frog species richness and the concentration of contaminants (heavy metals and pesticides) were not significantly related, even in the most polluted wetlands. The proportion of fringing vegetation at a wetland had the greatest positive influence on the number of frog species present and the probability of occurrence of individual species, indicating that frogs inhabited wetlands with abundant vegetation, regardless of their pollution status. These wetlands contained contaminant levels similar to urban wetlands around the world at levels that reduce larval amphibian survival. These results are, thus, likely generalizable to other areas, suggesting that urban managers could inadvertently be creating ecological traps in countless cities. Wetlands are important tools for the management of urban stormwater runoff, but their construction should not facilitate declines in wetland-dependent urban wildlife.

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Heavy metal pollution negatively correlates with anuran species richness and distribution in south‐eastern Australia

Cited by 36 publications

References 39 publications

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Mining‐caused changes to habitat structure affect amphibian and reptile population ecology more than metal pollution

Stormwater wetlands can function as ecological traps for urban frogs

Frog occupancy of polluted wetlands in urban landscapes

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