PROJECT SUMMARY

EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE POPULATIONS

Michael E. Dorcas

            The goal of the proposed research is to build on the foundation provided by previous NSF support to develop an extensive and vibrant research-teaching program at Davidson College examining the effects of human development on amphibians and reptiles.  Davidson College is a top-ten liberal arts college that highly values close interactions between undergraduate students and faculty.  This CAREER proposal combines a strong research program with the PI’s teaching responsibilities through close interactions with students.  Specifically, the PI will develop a program based on undergraduate research to examine the effects of urbanization (i.e., human development) on populations of stream salamanders and pond-dwelling turtles.  In conjunction with this teaching-research program, the PI will expand an already successful outreach program aimed at the local community and local schools. 

         Intellectual Merit: The major threat facing most animal populations is habitat destruction due to urbanization.  Urbanization may be especially destructive to populations of amphibians and reptiles, which are declining precipitously in many regions.  Due to high rates of urban development and a high diversity of amphibians and reptiles, the Charlotte-Metro area surrounding

Davidson College provides an ideal opportunity to examine the impacts urbanization has on populations of amphibians and reptiles.  The PI and his students will build on previous NSF-supported research to 1) determine proximate causes of the negative relationship we have already established between human development of watersheds and the abundance of stream salamanders, 2) further test this negative relationship between watershed development and stream salamanders by examining stream salamander populations before, during, and after development of watersheds, and 3) examine the impacts of human development on populations of pond-dwelling turtles.  A geographical information system (GIS) will be used to select study sites that will serve as control sites and those that will soon be undergoing development.  Salamander and turtle populations will be systematically sampled using standardized techniques before, during, and after development while simultaneously monitoring habitat quality.  The GIS will be used to calculate the amount of development within the watersheds of all study streams and ponds.  Additionally, laboratory experiments will be conducted to examine the effects of water quality in our study streams on the growth of salamander larvae.  The combination of landscape level-field research and complementary laboratory studies will provide particularly effective mechanisms by which the impacts of urbanization on amphibian and reptile populations can be more clearly understood.

            Broader Impacts:  The proposed research will provide valuable information to policy makers considering the conservation implications of human development.  Many undergraduate students, both research students and those in my formal courses, will be presented with a wide variety of opportunities to participate in high-quality research, including international research in a tropical rainforest.  Finally, the outreach program to the local community and to local schools will intimately involve community members in our research and will increase appreciation of amphibians and reptiles as important parts of our natural heritage.

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