RUI: Spatial and Temporal Subsidies in Seasonal Environments

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Aquatic and terrestrial habitats often have major ecological effects on each other. This important aspect of landscape ecology has mostly been investigated in space, between adjacent habitats that are permanently aquatic or terrestrial. This project will investigate the interaction between aquatic and terrestrial habitats in time, in a type of habitat that cycles seasonally between an aquatic and a terrestrial state. Using remnants of the once extensive system of vernal pools in the Central Valley of California, experiments will test how length of flooding and accumulation of nutrients during the aquatic period in winter influence the diversity of plants found in the terrestrial period in summer, and how the thatch these plants leave affects the diversity of aquatic plants and invertebrates in winter. The broader impacts of this project include training of undergraduate students, outreach to K-12 education, collaboration between institutions, and applications to conservation of biodiversity and endemic species. The project is based at a primarily undergraduate institution that serves underrepresented groups and it will provide research experiences for individual students and material for undergraduate courses. Vernal pools in California are of high conservation priority, and the project will disseminate results to the state and Federal agencies that manage these natural habitats.