Form Submission: Participation Entry

Research Day Entry

Home is where the Frog is: Transplanting Wood Frog Tadpoles Across a Canopy Cover Gradient

Ella Schmidt
Larval aquatic environment is known to impact growth and survival of developing amphibians. As climate change and human land use patterns alter forest composition, forested ephemeral wetlands will also experience fluctuations in temperature, water quality, and canopy cover. To examine the degree of changing canopy cover’s impact on larval wood frogs, we transplanted tadpoles from ponds with varying canopy cover in Yale Myers Forest to develop in-pond in mesh enclosures. Half of the tadpoles stayed in enclosures in their natal ponds as controls, while the rest were transplanted to a new pond, mimicking the effect of a sudden change in canopy cover. The results of this transplant experiment can inform forest managers about how to best harvest forest products near wetlands while maintaining adequate canopy cover for amphibian development.