Display Full Text | Download Full Text
585.45 kB PDF file

Degree

Master of Science, Miami University, Zoology, 2010.

Abstract

A major cause of amphibian declines worldwide is habitat destruction or alteration. Public green spaces, such as golf courses and parks, could serve as safe havens to curb the effects of habitat loss if managed in ways to bolster amphibian communities. In a series of experiments, I examined how terrestrial buffer zones affect the larvae of Blanchard’s cricket frogs and green frogs as well as juvenile and adult Blanchard’s cricket frogs. Larval survival of both species was affected by the presence of a buffer zone, with increased survival with buffer zones for cricket frogs and decreased survival for green frogs when reared in ponds with buffer zones compared to that reared in ponds without buffer zones. When given a choice, juvenile cricket frogs generally preferred unmown grass versus mown grass. My results suggest that small changes in land management could have large impacts for some amphibians.

Subject Headings

Ecology

Keywords

amphibian metamorphosis; buffer zone; golf course ponds; habitat choice

Committee / Advisors

Michelle Boone, PhD (Advisor)
Thomas Crist, PhD (Committee Member)
Maria Gonzalez, PhD (Committee Member)

Pages

32p.

Document number: miami1280773926
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1280773926

This ETD has been downloaded 72 times (through March 2013)