Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
9447404 | Ecological Engineering | 2005 | 15 Pages |
Abstract
We evaluated avian and anuran communities in 11 mitigation and four reference wetlands throughout West Virginia, USA. Avian species richness (P = 0.711), diversity (P = 0.314), and abundance (P = 0.856) (expressed as mean ± S.E. per ha) were similar between mitigation (richness: 11.3 ± 0.40; diversity: 3.1 ± 0.53; abundance: 27.1 ± 2.2) and reference (richness: 11.2 ± 0.62; diversity: 2.8 ± 0.47; abundance: 28.5 ± 4.9) wetlands. Waterbird (P = 0.013) and waterfowl (P = 0.013) abundance were higher in mitigation (waterbird: 5.1 ± 1.5; waterfowl: 4.4 ± 1.4) than reference (waterbird: 0.44 ± 0.23; waterfowl: 0.24 ± 0.21) wetlands. Anuran (frogs and toads) species richness (P = 0.023), Wisconsin index (WI) calling values (P < 0.001), and abundance (P < 0.001) (expressed as mean ± S.E. per survey point) were higher in mitigation (richness: 2.01 ± 0.09; WI: 0.52 ± 0.03; abundance: 4.75 ± 0.66) than reference (richness: 1.47 ± 0.14; WI: 0.40 ± 0.17; abundance: 4.69 ± 1.18) wetlands. Evidence suggests that avian and anuran densities in mitigation wetlands are similar or in some cases higher than in natural (reference) wetlands.
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Authors
Collin K. Balcombe, James T. Anderson, Ronald H. Fortney, Walter S. Kordek,