Effects of Stormwater Ponds on Calling Amphibian Communities in Monroe County, NY

75 Pages·2014·1.37 MB·English

by  John Arthur Bateman

The College at Brockport: State University of New York
Digital Commons @Brockport
Environmental Science and Ecology Theses Environmental Science and Ecology
9-11-2014
Effects of Stormwater Ponds on Calling Amphibian
Communities in Monroe County, NY
John Arthur Bateman
The College at Brockport, [email protected]
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Repository Citation
Bateman, John Arthur, "Effects of Stormwater Ponds on Calling Amphibian Communities in Monroe County, NY" (2014).
Environmental Science and Ecology Theses. 91.
http://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/env_theses/91
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Effects of stormwater ponds on calling amphibian communities in Monroe County,
NY

By
John Arthur Bateman

A thesis submitted to the Department of Environmental Science and Biology of
the College at Brockport State University of New York in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of Master of Environmental Science and Biology
September 11, 2014
Effects of stormwater ponds on calling amphibian communities in Monroe
County, NY
By John A. Bateman

APPROVED BY:

_________________________ ______________
Advisor Date

_________________________ ______________
Reader Date

_________________________ ______________
Reader Date

_________________________ ______________
Chair, Graduate Committee Date
i

Dedication:

I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my Grandmothers.

Selma A. Henchen
(8/11/1917 – 7/22/2006)
&
Dora M. Jones
(5/12/14 – 12/31/12)
ii
Acknowledgements:
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Christopher
Norment, for his willingness to take on a non-traditional master’s student, having the
patience to work around everything that comes with that, and for shaping me into the
field biologist I’ve become. I also thank Dr. Douglas Wilcox, to whom I am grateful
for easing my financial burden by taking me on as a research assistant and for helping
me realize the potential I have as a scientist. I thank Dr. James Zollweg for always
opening his door to assist me with GIS problems and for encouraging me to think
outside the box when it came to answering questions with ArcMap.
I am grateful to the Distinguished Professors Award committee for their
generous funding during the second year of my study. I also thank those who assisted
me during my research: Alex Novarro, Conie Munio, Greg Lawrence, Andie Graham,
John T. Bateman, and Connor Bateman.
This research project would not have been possible without the love and
support of my family. I thank my parents, Noel and Sally, for understanding and
supporting my decision to pursue an advanced degree and encouraging me to be the
best I can be, even into my 30’s. I am also grateful for my other parents, Tom and
Joanne Moore, for helping to take care of my kids while I was in the field. A special
thanks to my children, Owen, Drew, Connor, and John, for understanding I could not
make every baseball game or golf practice during the summer. Lastly, I am eternally
grateful to my wife, Amy, for her unending support throughout the last few years. I
cannot thank you enough for managing the house and kids while I was out of town,
all of the proofreading you did for me, and encouraging me to achieve my dreams.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Dedication…………………………………….……..…………………………………i
Acknowledgements.………………………….………………………………………..ii
List of Tables.…………………………………………………………………………v
List of Figures……..………………………………………………………………….vi
Abstract……………………………….……………………………………………….1
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3
Methods……..…………………………………………………………………………4
Site Selection………………………………………………………………..…4
Amphibian Sampling…..…………………………………...………………….5
Aquatic Habitat Measurements…………………….………………................6
Landscape Analyses…..……………………………….………………………7
Statistical Analyses……………………………………………………………8
Results…………………………….………………………………………………….11
General Observations…………………………………….………………….11
Amphibian Presence and Relative Abundance………………………………12
Breeding…………………………………………...........................................15
Species Richness…………………………………….……………………….15
iv
Discussion………………………...………………………………………………….16
Amphibian Presence and Relative Abundance…………………………..…..16
Breeding………………………………….……..............................................20
Species Richness…………………………..………………………………….21
Conservation and Management Implications……………………….…….…22
Tables…………………………………..………….....................................................28
Figures………………………………………………………………………………..36
Literature Cited………...…………………...………………………………………..53
Appendices………………………………………………………….………………..61
v
List of Tables:
1) Relative scores assigned to land uses for cost distance analysis………….....28
2) Anuran species list for 2011 and 2012…………………………………….....29
3) Rotated component analysis for landscape variables………………………...30
4) Site occupancy by calling amphibians in 2011 and 2012………………..…..31
5) Spring peeper calling intensity habitat models………………………………32
6) Green frog and bullfrog calling intensity habitat models………………...….33
7) Green frog abundance habitat models..……………………………................34
8) Breeding and species richness habitat models……………………………….35
vi
List of Figures:

1) Breeding periods for calling amphibians……………………………...…..…36
2) Green frog presence and noise pollution relationship……………………..…37
3) Green frog presence and impervious surface relationship…………………...38
4) Green frog calling intensity and impervious surface relationship…………...39
5) Gray treefrog presence and noise pollution relationship…..………...………40
6) Gray treefrog presence and impervious surface relationship………………...41
7) Gray treefrog presence and emergent vegetation relationship….…………....42
8) Spring peeper presence and PC 1 relationship……………………………….43
9) Green frog presence and emergent vegetation relationship………………….44
10) Green frog calling intensity and emergent vegetation relationship………….45
11) Gray treefrog presence and emergent vegetation relationship……….………46
12) Gray treefrog calling intensity and emergent vegetation relationship……….47
13) Breeding and noise pollution relationship…………………………………...48
14) Breeding and impervious surface relationship……………………………….49
15) Breeding and PC 1 relationship……………………………………………...50
16a) Species richness and fish presence relationship……………………………...51
vii
16b) Amphibian species richness and fish presence boxplot……………………...52
17) Amphibian species richness and fish presence relationship…………………53