Journal article
Frog occupancy of polluted wetlands in urban landscapes
M Sievers, R Hale, SE Swearer, KM Parris
Conservation Biology | WILEY | Published : 2019
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13210
Abstract
Urban sprawl and the rising popularity of water-sensitive urban design of urban landscapes has led to a global surge in the number of wetlands constructed to collect and treat stormwater runoff in cities. However, contaminants, such as heavy metals and pesticides, in stormwater adversely affect the survival, growth, and reproduction of animals inhabiting these wetlands. A key question is whether wildlife can identify and avoid highly polluted wetlands. We investigated whether pond-breeding frogs are attempting to breed in wetlands that affect the fitness of their offspring across 67 urban wetlands in Melbourne, Australia. Frog species richness and the concentration of contaminants (heavy met..
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Grants
Awarded by Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
Funding Acknowledgements
We thank M. Ioannides, D. Lenga, L. Myers, and J. Rodriguez for assisting with fieldwork and R. Coleman, M. Burgman, and 2 anonymous reviewers for helpful feedback on the manuscript. We also thank the Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM) for access to their databases. Research was funded by the Australian Research Council (LP140100343), the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Melbourne Water, the Nature Conservancy, and was supported in part by the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub of the Australian Government's National Environmental Science Program.