Declining
Amphibians- Scientists have documented widespread
declines in amphibians and have identified many suspected
causes such as enhanced UV-B radiation due to ozone
thinning, acid precipitation, environmental toxins,
habitat loss and degradation, and outbreaks of
pathological agents. I am interested in several questions that address declining amphibians in the eastern United States.
Wetlands Restoration- During the last decade I
collaborated with Kevin Moorhead, Kitti Reynolds, and
Irene and Reed Rossell (UNCA Environmental Studies
program) on restoring the Tulula
Wetlands in Graham Co., NC, and monitoring long-term restoration success. The Tulula Wetlands is
being used by NCDOT as a mitigation site for loss of
wetlands due to road construction in western North
Carolina. The site formerly supported one of the largest
intact wetlands complexes in western North Carolina, but
was severely degraded when developers unsuccessfully
attempted to convert the area into a golf course. Although this project was recently completed, I continue to be interested in issues that concern wetlands mitigation, particularly with respect to the creation of seasonal ponds for amphibians.
Seasonal Pond Ecology- I
have been conducting research on the ecology of seasonal
ponds for more than 25 years and am continuing to do
basic research on factors that organize and structure
aquatic amphibian communities along hydrological
gradients. I am particularly interested in predator-prey
interactions between fish, insects, and amphibian larvae
and the role of seasonal hydroperiod in mediating these
interactions. My colleagues and I are using information
from basic research to design high-quality breeding
habitats for amphibians as part of transportation
mitigation projects.
Behavioral and Community
Ecology- I continue to conduct basic research with
UNCA undergraduates that addresses a variety of questions
concerning the behavioral ecology and community ecology
of larval amphibians. I am particularly interested in
examining the direct and indirect effects of predators in
structuring aquatic communities. My primary areas of
study have centered on (1) understanding how prey use
chemical signals to monitor predators in their
environment, (2) determining the significance of adult
choice of oviposition sites in structuring aquatic
communities, and (3) understanding the general
significance of tadpoles as macrophagous predators in
pond communities. My initial interest in amphibian
behavioral ecology stemmed from a discovery that
amphibian larvae use chemical cues to detect predators in
their environment. I have since conducted several studies
to examine the behavioral responses of amphibian larvae to
predator chemicals, particularly those of dragonflies and
fish. Our studies of adult choice have focused on whether
ovipositing insects and amphibians actively avoid ponds
where predation risk to future offspring is high. We have
discovered that many species actively avoid sites with
high densities of predators and that the responses appear
to be chemically mediated. Finally, we recently
demonstrated that ranid tadpoles are important predators
on both soft-bodied benthic macroinvertebrates and
amphibian embryos such as those of the spotted
salamander. We are rethinking the ecological role of
tadpoles in aquatic systems and are conducting
experiments to better understand the significance of
tadpoles as predators (see publications).
Natural History of
Salamanders- My work on salamander
natural history is "Salamanders
of the United States and Canada" which is available
through the Smithsonian Institution Press. This book
provides a summary of the most pertinent literature on
the ecology, natural history, behavior, and systematics
of North America's extraordinary salamander fauna.
Funded Grant
Support:
$128,000 - NSF GRANT BSR-8500329; History,
natural selection, and the traits and distribution of a
salamander (CoPI with Andrew Sih of University of
Kentucky).
$ 52,800 - NSF GRANT BSR-8502461; A Test For
Density-dependent Growth in Natural Communities of Larval
Amphibians.
$ 5,640 - U.S. Forest Service; Survey of Biodiversity
of the Craggy Mountains.
$ 10,900 - U.S. Forest Service Grant; Survey of
Biodiversity of the Grandfather Ranger District.
$ 90,000 - National Park Service; Amphibian monitoring
program for seelcted parks in the SE region.
$ 214,000 Restoring wetlands for a mitigation bank for
surface transportation projects in western North Carolina
(coPIs are Kevin Moorhead, and Irene and Reed Rossell;
funded by the State of North Carolina for May 1994-May
1996).
$ 199,000 - Renewal: Restoring wetlands for a
mitigation bank for surface transportation projects in
western North Carolina (coPIs are Kevin Moorhead, and
Irene and Reed Rossell; funded by the State of North
Carolina for August 1996-May 1998).
$ 75,883 - Ecological Assessment of the Restored
Wetlands of the Tulula Mitigation Bank (coPIs
are Kevin Moorhead, and Irene and Reed Rossell in
Environmental Studies Program; funded through 2000).
$36,056. Monitoring of plants and amphibians in
created wetlands at Cumberland Gap National Historical
Park. (August 2000- December 2004).
$182,686 Ecological Assessment of a Wetlands
Mitigation Bank (coPIs are Kevin Moorhead, and Irene
Rossell in Department of Environmental Studies; funded by
NC Department of Transportation for July 1, 2000-June 30,
2002).
$193,200 Ecological Assessment of a Wetlands
Mitigation Bank: Phase II (coPIs are Kevin Moorhead, and
Irene Rossell in Department of Environmental Studies;
funded by NC Department of Transportation and CTE for
July 1, 2002-June 30, 2004).
$193,369 Ecological Assessment of a Wetlands Mitigation Bank Phase III: assessment of restoration (coPIs are Kevin Moorhead, Kitti Reynolds, Irene Rossell in Department of Environmental Studies). NCDOT for July 1, 2004-June 30, 2006).
