Sapelo Research Application Form
Research Application ID: UGAMI-2024-1 (submitted: 11/17/2023, status: approved)
Project Type: Grant-funded Academic Research
Application Title
Saltwater Rising: Understanding how sea level rise affects coastal amphibians
Investigator Information
| Principal Investigator: | Molly Womack | ||
| Home Institution: | Utah State University | ||
| Award Information: | NSF ORCC 2307832 - 399,855.00 | ||
| Mailing Address: | 5305 Old Main Hill | Phone Number: | 18133352863 |
| BNR 117 | E-mail Address: | mollyw88@gmail.com | |
| North Logan, Utah 84322 | |||
| Co-investigators: | Molly Albecker (University of Houston) | ||
Project Abstract
Climate change is increasing the amount of salt of coastal freshwater habitats, driven by sea-level rise and intensified storm surges. Anurans (frogs and toads) play a pivotal role in wetland ecosystems and are presumed to be intolerant of saltwater, but recent syntheses indicate more salt tolerance than previously thought. This project improves our understanding of the limits of salt tolerance in anuran species occupying coastal habitats on two sea level rise fronts (Gulf and Atlantic coasts). The project uses an experimental approach that investigates multiple salinities, species, life stages, and levels of biological organization, providing data that can guide coastal managers and practitioners in improving coastal resilience and preventing biodiversity loss. Specifically, the study will identify life stage-specific mortality from salt stress across species to predict vulnerable life stages and breeding times. This research will determine whether species relatedness and ecological traits can predict salinity vulnerability and characterize the extent that the effects of saltwater at one life stage cascade across life stages. Finally, this study aims to understand how saltwater affects amphibian physiology across species and life stages, focusing on membrane permeability, hormones, and cellular processes. In summary, this research will produce diverse physiological, life history, phylogenetic, and genomic datasets that span across life stages and species to determine the salinity tolerance of anuran species that occupy coastal habitats with the goal of informing conservation actions and predicting climate change impacts. The project will also educate students and the public on various topics such as conservation and physiology.
Methodology specific to the Sapelo research station can be found in the animal collection response.
Project Location
all animals will be collected within 5 miles of the coast and within a two hour drive of Sapelo research station.
GPS Coordinates for Study Sites
I will provide a provisional map and arrange with my sponsor to collect and register GPS coordinates
Expected Start and End Dates of the Project
Start Date: 04/01/2024 End Date: 10/31/2025
Number and Frequency of People Accessing the Site
two people will visit infrequently for just a few weeks ~two times per year and a full time tech will be present to monitor experiments and continue work three full months of the year
Keywords Describing the Project
Equipment Deployed in the Field
We would like to deploy a few dataloggers (less than 10 total, exact amount depends on funding at time of purchase) at select sites we collect animals. We would deploy the loggers in the water for 1-2 week and then return and collect them to get water temp and salinity fluctuations the animals would have experienced.
Plants and Animal Collecting
Yes.
Over the course of two field seasons we will collect animals to perform acute salinity exposure experiments on 10 anuran species with populations within five miles of the coast. These 10 species will provide comparative data that spans >120 million years of anuran evolution. Our sample species vary in evolutionary history, life history (e.g., longevity, clutch size), and morphological traits (e.g., larval body size, adult body size), creating an opportunity to disentangle the influences of evolutionary history and particular phenotypes on salinity exposure survival.
Goal species list: Anaxyrus terrestrial, Gastrophryne carolinensis, Hyla chrysoscelis, Hyla cinerea, Hyla femoralis, Hyla squirella, Osteopilus septentrionalis, Rana catesbeianus, Rana sphenocephala, Scaphiophus holbrookii
For each species of frog we can find in our goal list, we will collect 200 individuals at each of these three developmental time points wherever possible (egg stage, larval stage, juvenile - less than 1 month post metamorphosis) from 3 different clutches populations. All species have large clutch sizes (≥750 eggs per clutch), ensuring our ability to collect samples and limiting impact on the populations. When accounting for all life stage samples, our sampling will essentially remove one clutch (and in many cases far less than on clutch) per species per sampling clutch/population.
Once collected, we will transport clutches collected to rearing tanks at the NSF funded Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) station at Sapelo in ventilated coolers. Upon arriving at each research facility, clutches will be divided into groups for the experiments described below.
Upon arrival, each clutch will be split into groups of 10 individuals per 1.8 liter stand alone tank with water at 0 ppt. After a week of acclimation, three tanks (30 total individuals) from each clutch will be placed in 1.8-liter stand-alone tanks with one of five saltwater concentrations (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 15 ppt) for 24 hours and then returned to 1.8-liter flow through tanks at 0 ppt and observed and photographed daily for survival data for an additional three weeks. Treatments at these developmental time points will add novel salinity mortality data across key life stages that are important for climate change predictions. Saltwater that mimics the chemical composition of seawater will be prepared with InstantOcean® salt. The remaining five tanks (50 individuals) are control treatment tanks that will never be exposed to salt water (remaining at 0 ppt) and will be monitored for survival at the same interval as treatment tanks. For individuals in salinity treatments, we will measure mortality at each stage and calculate survival rates. This will provide experimental salinity tolerance data for all three life stages of 10 species, significantly increasing the number of species in the United States with experimental salinity tolerance data.
Likely Impacts of the Project on the Site
There should be minimal to no impacts. We will do everything on foot and hand collect animals, leaving just footprints. We will be sure to clean boots and equipment between sites to avoid moving microbes and any diseases among sites.
Boardwalk Installation Plans
The project does not include boardwalks but boardwalks could be used to get to collection sites or scope for animals.
Expected persistence of site impacts after the research is concluded?
We anticipate no long term impacts.