DNS Project!
In this project we went to the Durango Nature Studies property to do field work on the invasive spices that live around the area. Look below to see what I found!
Amphibian population estimates and ecosystem assessment on the Durango Nature Studies property
By Heidi Williams
Introduction:
Durango Nature Studies is a nature education program for the four corners community since 1994, it brings a hands on experience to students of all ages by a wide variety of habitats including meadows, riparian, oak woodlands, piñon-juniper forests, and desert arroyos. Durango Nature Studies is located 12 miles from Farmington Hill right at the base of Bondad Hill.
In recent years, bullfrogs have been spotted on the Durango Nature Studies property. Bullfrogs are an invasive species in Colorado. An invasive specie is an organism or plant that is introduced into a new environment, where it is not native. Invasive species are capable of out-competing native plants and animals for resources, reducing biodiversity, and altering habitats. In the presence of bluegill, which have been stocked in the DNS pond, bullfrogs are an even greater threat to native amphibian populations. Bullfrogs push other amphibians out of the covered habitat surrounding the water, which forces them into open water, where they can easily be preyed upon by the bluegill. Because of the bullfrogs invasion, habitat loss, and environmental degradation the leopard frog is a state species of special concern.
Natural History:
Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens):
Typical habitats for the Leopard Frog include wet meadows and the banks and shallows of marshes, ponds, glacial kettle ponds, beaver ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, and irrigation ditches. Each female Leopard Frog can lay as many as 5,000 eggs, the eggs clump together and attach to some sort of floating matter such as plants or sticks. The eggs hatch in 5 to 7 days. The tadpoles may change into froglets by late July or early August, after about 60 days as tadpoles. The froglets then change into adult frogs.
Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana):
The bullfrog is highly aquatic, remaining in or near a permanent water source. It will enter marshes, ponds, lakes and streams in habitats ranging from desert oases to pine forests. It is usually found where there is quiet water with thick growth of cattails or other aquatic vegetation. In the western United States, bullfrogs breed from February through July. Spawning occurs in standing water, mostly during the night. There are 4,000 to 20,000 eggs deposited in water approximately 1.5 to 5 feet deep. Bullfrogs reach sexual maturity about one to three years after metamorphosis from the tadpole stage.
Methods & Materials:
In order to estimate amphibian populations three field techniques were used; pitfall traps mark-recapture, and visual encounter surveys. Four five-gallon pitfall traps were set up and checked daily. Visual encounter surveys were conducted around the pond each day for four days. One sixty-minute mark session was conducted where captured frogs were marked using pink elastomer. One sixty-minute recapture session was conducted. Water chemistry tests were conducted in order to gauge water quality that consisted of nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen, & pH. Macroinvertebrates were collected in the river using a kick method, and in the pond using a dip net. Macroinvertebrates were collected to agglomerate data on the water quality in the Florida River.
Conclusion & Discussion:
Declines in amphibian populations is not just a problem in Colorado, population crashes have been increasing from locations all over the world. These declines are perceived as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity, and several causes are believed to be involved, including disease, habitat destruction and modification of non-native invasive spices, pollution, pesticide use, and human involvement. Declines in amphibian populations show a poor ecosystem. Amphibians are important indicators of water quality, and are considered a sentinel species, meaning what affects amphibians presently may affect other animal species (and possibly humans) in the future.
New paragraph:
Ecosystem stability is an important element of sustainability and can be measure through biodiversity. Based on the Shannon-Weiner index, the biodiversity of the pond can be considered adequate. Water quality includes the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water needed for ecosystems to thrive. It is a measurement of the quality of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species. Based on water chemistry and macroinvertebrates found it can be concluded that both he pond and the river contain low levels of pollution. Sources for the high levels of nitrates and phosphates could be the fertilizer run off or animal waste. These high nitrate levels in the DNS pond can lead to an algal bloom. An algal bloom can be prevented by aquatic plants such as anacharis, these plants will take up many of the nutrients in the pond, cutting the food supply to algae and preventing blooms from forming. Another approach to preventing an algal bloom is attempting to potentially cut the flow nitrates and phosphates into the body of water.
New paragraph:
In terms of collecting data on the DNS property more time to collect information would be beneficial to the process in accumulating amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Receiving more time to do the experiment would not only allow more collection of data, but also allow a better job to be done on the collecting. Ways that the Durango Nature Studies pond can be better managed for the leopard frogs could be perhaps stalking the pond with less Bluegill and more fish spices like Carp and other herbivorous fish that will not prey on the leopard frogs. Because Carp and other fish are herbivorous the presents of the new fish in the Durango Nature Studies pond will also keep an algal bloom at bay.
By Heidi Williams
Introduction:
Durango Nature Studies is a nature education program for the four corners community since 1994, it brings a hands on experience to students of all ages by a wide variety of habitats including meadows, riparian, oak woodlands, piñon-juniper forests, and desert arroyos. Durango Nature Studies is located 12 miles from Farmington Hill right at the base of Bondad Hill.
In recent years, bullfrogs have been spotted on the Durango Nature Studies property. Bullfrogs are an invasive species in Colorado. An invasive specie is an organism or plant that is introduced into a new environment, where it is not native. Invasive species are capable of out-competing native plants and animals for resources, reducing biodiversity, and altering habitats. In the presence of bluegill, which have been stocked in the DNS pond, bullfrogs are an even greater threat to native amphibian populations. Bullfrogs push other amphibians out of the covered habitat surrounding the water, which forces them into open water, where they can easily be preyed upon by the bluegill. Because of the bullfrogs invasion, habitat loss, and environmental degradation the leopard frog is a state species of special concern.
Natural History:
Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens):
Typical habitats for the Leopard Frog include wet meadows and the banks and shallows of marshes, ponds, glacial kettle ponds, beaver ponds, lakes, reservoirs, streams, and irrigation ditches. Each female Leopard Frog can lay as many as 5,000 eggs, the eggs clump together and attach to some sort of floating matter such as plants or sticks. The eggs hatch in 5 to 7 days. The tadpoles may change into froglets by late July or early August, after about 60 days as tadpoles. The froglets then change into adult frogs.
Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana):
The bullfrog is highly aquatic, remaining in or near a permanent water source. It will enter marshes, ponds, lakes and streams in habitats ranging from desert oases to pine forests. It is usually found where there is quiet water with thick growth of cattails or other aquatic vegetation. In the western United States, bullfrogs breed from February through July. Spawning occurs in standing water, mostly during the night. There are 4,000 to 20,000 eggs deposited in water approximately 1.5 to 5 feet deep. Bullfrogs reach sexual maturity about one to three years after metamorphosis from the tadpole stage.
Methods & Materials:
In order to estimate amphibian populations three field techniques were used; pitfall traps mark-recapture, and visual encounter surveys. Four five-gallon pitfall traps were set up and checked daily. Visual encounter surveys were conducted around the pond each day for four days. One sixty-minute mark session was conducted where captured frogs were marked using pink elastomer. One sixty-minute recapture session was conducted. Water chemistry tests were conducted in order to gauge water quality that consisted of nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen, & pH. Macroinvertebrates were collected in the river using a kick method, and in the pond using a dip net. Macroinvertebrates were collected to agglomerate data on the water quality in the Florida River.
Conclusion & Discussion:
Declines in amphibian populations is not just a problem in Colorado, population crashes have been increasing from locations all over the world. These declines are perceived as one of the most critical threats to global biodiversity, and several causes are believed to be involved, including disease, habitat destruction and modification of non-native invasive spices, pollution, pesticide use, and human involvement. Declines in amphibian populations show a poor ecosystem. Amphibians are important indicators of water quality, and are considered a sentinel species, meaning what affects amphibians presently may affect other animal species (and possibly humans) in the future.
New paragraph:
Ecosystem stability is an important element of sustainability and can be measure through biodiversity. Based on the Shannon-Weiner index, the biodiversity of the pond can be considered adequate. Water quality includes the chemical, physical and biological characteristics of water needed for ecosystems to thrive. It is a measurement of the quality of water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species. Based on water chemistry and macroinvertebrates found it can be concluded that both he pond and the river contain low levels of pollution. Sources for the high levels of nitrates and phosphates could be the fertilizer run off or animal waste. These high nitrate levels in the DNS pond can lead to an algal bloom. An algal bloom can be prevented by aquatic plants such as anacharis, these plants will take up many of the nutrients in the pond, cutting the food supply to algae and preventing blooms from forming. Another approach to preventing an algal bloom is attempting to potentially cut the flow nitrates and phosphates into the body of water.
New paragraph:
In terms of collecting data on the DNS property more time to collect information would be beneficial to the process in accumulating amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Receiving more time to do the experiment would not only allow more collection of data, but also allow a better job to be done on the collecting. Ways that the Durango Nature Studies pond can be better managed for the leopard frogs could be perhaps stalking the pond with less Bluegill and more fish spices like Carp and other herbivorous fish that will not prey on the leopard frogs. Because Carp and other fish are herbivorous the presents of the new fish in the Durango Nature Studies pond will also keep an algal bloom at bay.