Integrating Population Genetics With Long-Term Environmental Monitoring to Evaluate and Guide Vernal Pool Creation for Amphibian Conservation.

ABSTRACT: The decline of biodiversity, particularly among amphibians, is strongly associated with habitat loss and fragmentation. Vernal pools are a critical ecosystem for many pool-breeding amphibians, but they are often overlooked in wetland protection guidelines. Mitigation efforts include vernal pool creation and restoration, but these efforts have varying success in replacing lost functions. This study investigates the success of created vernal pools through long-term environmental monitoring of wood frogs and spotted salamanders (2014-2023) and integrates population genetics to assess the local population health of the wood frog. First, we monitored and compared environmental parameters and reproductive success of indicator species between natural and created pools in a Pennsylvania state park

SUBMITTER: Winters DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11489881 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature