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SFWS Seminar Series – Lora Smith

February 13, 2019 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Lora Smith, Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center
Biological Connectivity Among Geographically Isolated Wetlands: Patterns Across Space and Time

Seminar is held at 11 a.m. in Classroom 1221 in the SFWS Building, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL.

  • Faculty, students and the public are invited to attend this free program.
  • Complimentary cookies and coffee will be served.
  • CFEs are available by request.
  • Advanced registration is not required.
  • Parking is available on the 3rd and 4th floors of the South Quad parking deck on Duncan Drive, directly across from the SFWS Building. See Parking Services on Level 2 to obtain a visitor pass.

Abstract:  Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) provide important ecosystem services including water storage, nutrient processing and sequestration, and wildlife habitat. Although there is increasing recognition of these services, many GIWs are not afforded regulatory protection at the state or federal level and it has been estimated that more than 50% of GIWs in the southeastern U.S. have been altered by agricultural and urban land uses. Despite large scale alterations of wetlands and surrounding forests, many GIWs persist within agricultural landscapes and a basic understanding of the role of these wetlands as wildlife habitat is of interest. We have examined the effects of local and landscape scale variables on wetland use and connectivity for a broad suite of fauna (amphibians, reptiles, and wading birds) in southwestern Georgia. Among amphibians species richness, diversity and abundance is highest in GIWs with more surrounding forest and wetland land use. Likewise, genetic data indicate that connectivity among populations of some amphibian species (southern cricket frog and dwarf salamander) is positively related to the amount of forest and wetlands in the surrounding landscape. However, populations of another amphibian species (southern leopard frog) show little genetic differentiation even at large spatial scales (>20 km) and within agricultural landscapes. Freshwater turtles frequently move over land among wetlands. One species, the yellow-bellied slider, moves through natural pine forests more frequently than agricultural land or pine plantations. American alligators use GIWs for nesting and juvenile habitat, whereas adults use perennial streams. Alligators use intervening wetlands as stepping stones for movements among habitats. Wading bird use of GIWs is high in wetlands in agricultural landscapes during breeding season, but increases in GIWs in forested landscapes late in the hydroperiod, when larval amphibians are the most abundant prey. Understanding biological connectivity among these wetlands is critical to ensure that landscapes are protected at appropriate scales to conserve species and ecosystem function.

Biography:  Lora Smith is a research scientist at the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center (Jones Center) in southwestern Georgia. She received a B.S. in Biology from Eckerd College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida. Her M.S. research focused on the ecology of the gopher tortoise in north-central Florida and her Ph.D. research was on the status and ecology of the ploughshare tortoise in northwestern Madagascar. After completing her Ph.D. in 1999 she worked for the U.S. Geological Survey as a research wildlife biologist conducting an amphibian inventory and monitoring project at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. She joined the Jones Center in 2001 and her research program includes a long term study of the effects of predation on the gopher tortoise, ecology of upland snakes, and habitat predictors of pond-breeding amphibians. She is an active member of the Gopher Tortoise Council and The Wildlife Society.

Details

Date:
February 13, 2019
Time:
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Event Categories:
,

Organizer

Dr. Lori Eckhardt
Phone:
334-844-2720
Email:
eckhalg@auburn.edu

Venue

College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment
602 Duncan Drive
Auburn, AL 36849 United States
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Phone:
334-844-4000