Amphibians in the climate vise: loss and restoration of resilience of montane wetland ecosystems in the western US

Wetlands in the remote mountains of the western US have undergone two massive ecological "experiments" spanning the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1800s and expanding after World War II, fish and wildlife managers intentionally introduced millions of predatory trout (primarily Oncorhy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 232 - 240
Main Authors: Ryan, Maureen E, Palen, Wendy J, Adams, Michael J, Rochefort, Regina M
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Ecological Society of America 01.05.2014
Subjects:
Anura
Caudata
climate
climate change
ecosystems
fauna
frogs
habitat destruction
habitats
introduced species
invertebrates
lakes
managers
mountains
Oncorhynchus
ponds
predation
predators
risk
salamanders and newts
trout
Western United States
wetlands
wildlife
Western United States
ISSN:1540-9295, 1540-9309
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Wetlands in the remote mountains of the western US have undergone two massive ecological "experiments" spanning the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1800s and expanding after World War II, fish and wildlife managers intentionally introduced millions of predatory trout (primarily Oncorhynchus spp) into fishless mountain ponds and lakes across the western states. These new top predators, which now occupy 95% of large mountain lakes, have limited the habitat distributions of native frogs, salamanders, and wetland invertebrates to smaller, more ephemeral ponds where trout do not survive. Now a second "experiment" - anthropogenic climate change - threatens to eliminate many of these ephemeral habitats and shorten wetland hydroperiods. Caught between climate-induced habitat loss and predation from introduced fish, native mountain lake fauna of the western US - especially amphibians - are at risk of extirpation. Targeted fish removals, guided by models of how wetlands will change under future climate scenarios, provide innovative strategies for restoring resilience of wetland ecosystems to climate change.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/130145
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ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1890/130145