Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

15 Jun, 05 AM - 25 Sep, 05 AM

Effect of amphibian declines on alpine lake communities of the Sierra Nevada. Keywords: algae, extinction, food web, invertebrate, Mountain yellow-legged frog, tadpole. Amphibians are declining and disappearing worldwide due to reasons such as habitat degradation and emerging infectious disease. In the Sierra Nevada, degradation of amphibian habitat from the introduction of non-native fish is well documented, as is the emergence of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. This disease has caused dramatic declines in Mountain yellow-legged frog populations throughout the Sierra. The ecological roles of amphibians in alpine lakes are not entirely understood, therefore, the changes in lake community following frog decline are not understood either. Disease outbreaks in Mountain yellow-legged frog populations create natural manipulations of amphibian densities, enabling study of how algal and macro-invertebrate communities respond to reduction of frog and tadpole density. Using small-scale experimental studies in conjunction with large scale range-wide surveys, I anticipate observing increases in the abundance of the benthic algal community and the larval macro-invertebrate community in the absence of frogs and tadpoles, due to decreased grazing, predation, or competition. I also anticipate observing the composition of these communities shifting to favor species which benefit from the release from predation and competition pressures.

Visit #16487 @Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory

Approved

Under Project # 10722 | Research

Effects of mountain yellow-legged frog declines on Sierra Nevada lake communities

research_scientist - University of California, Santa Barbara

Reservation Members(s)

Thomas C. Smith Jun 15 - Sep 25, 2009 (103 days)
Thomas C. Smith Jun 15 - Sep 25, 2009 (103 days)

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Lab 2 4 Jun 15 - Sep 25, 2009
Q8 4 Jun 15 - Sep 25, 2009