wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
CINCINNATI ENQUIRER (Ohio) 23 September 08 Golfers and frogs might compete for same turf (Peggy O’Farrell)
Miami University researchers think well-groomed suburban golf courses could increase the survival chances for frogs, salamanders and other amphibians.
Michelle Boone, an assistant professor of zoology, and graduate student Holly Puglis are studying how well northern cricket frogs fare over their lifespan at Twin Run Golf Course in Hamilton, Oxford Country Club and Hueston Woods Golf Course.
Many amphibians are decreasing in number because of the loss of habitat caused by development, too little food or too many predators.
Golf courses are great places for wildlife, as anyone who’s ever had a game held up by a flock of geese or a deer knows.
There are few predators, and large portions of most golf courses aren’t used for play. They’re left wild, or “rough,” Boone said.
Those rough areas could provide living space for amphibians and other wildlife displaced by homes and other developments.
“This could be a big payoff to wildlife with minimal distraction to golfers, and it helps put back some of the green space other developments take away,” she said.
Amphibians are great subjects for study because they’re the biggest population in most ecosystems, Puglis said.
“They’re a huge component in the food chain,” she said. Amphibians eat insects, including mosquitoes, and plants, such as algae. They’re also a food source for other animals.
They spend part of their life in water and part on land, so the effects of chemicals, mowing and other factors can be observed at both ends of their lifespan, she said.
Tadpoles are hatching over the next several weeks. Puglis and Boone will monitor how many survive and develop normally by next spring, and compare the golf course frogs to frogs that live on university-owned property.
For the study, Puglis placed tadpoles in the ponds at the golf courses and the university property.
Groundskeepers on the golf courses have stopped cutting grass all the way to the edge of the pond or lake to create a buffer zone. The grassy zone can stop some chemical runoff from pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and provide shelter and food when the tadpoles mature into frogs, she said.
One pond on the university property won’t have the grassy buffer zone, she said.
Boone and Puglis predict the buffers will increase survival among the golf course frogs. That’s what they’ve seen in other studies with different types of amphibians.
Some chemicals used for landscape maintenance kill the insects and algae amphibians eat. Some either kill the amphibians themselves or disrupt their sexual development.
If landscapers use fewer chemicals, the amphibians will eat troublesome insects and algae, Boone said.
Their findings will help the researchers and golf course managers understand the effects of constantly mowing, manicuring and fertilizing the grounds on amphibians and other wildlife, Boone said.
The research is paid for by the National Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Golf Association.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080923/NEWS01/80923008
Paperboy Comment: I'm intrigued by this study. My modest experience with the golf courses in the Ottawa, Ontario region reveals them to be naught but plots of 'sterile ground' ... manicured fields of rolling grass, with the odd small, crystal-clear and lifeless water body scattered about. Snapper and slider eggs in the sand traps are raked mercilessly. And while I'd like to believe that there is some potential for herp-protection within a golf course, methinks the finances of running a high-end course dictate against it. Wes
Miami University researchers think well-groomed suburban golf courses could increase the survival chances for frogs, salamanders and other amphibians.
Michelle Boone, an assistant professor of zoology, and graduate student Holly Puglis are studying how well northern cricket frogs fare over their lifespan at Twin Run Golf Course in Hamilton, Oxford Country Club and Hueston Woods Golf Course.
Many amphibians are decreasing in number because of the loss of habitat caused by development, too little food or too many predators.
Golf courses are great places for wildlife, as anyone who’s ever had a game held up by a flock of geese or a deer knows.
There are few predators, and large portions of most golf courses aren’t used for play. They’re left wild, or “rough,” Boone said.
Those rough areas could provide living space for amphibians and other wildlife displaced by homes and other developments.
“This could be a big payoff to wildlife with minimal distraction to golfers, and it helps put back some of the green space other developments take away,” she said.
Amphibians are great subjects for study because they’re the biggest population in most ecosystems, Puglis said.
“They’re a huge component in the food chain,” she said. Amphibians eat insects, including mosquitoes, and plants, such as algae. They’re also a food source for other animals.
They spend part of their life in water and part on land, so the effects of chemicals, mowing and other factors can be observed at both ends of their lifespan, she said.
Tadpoles are hatching over the next several weeks. Puglis and Boone will monitor how many survive and develop normally by next spring, and compare the golf course frogs to frogs that live on university-owned property.
For the study, Puglis placed tadpoles in the ponds at the golf courses and the university property.
Groundskeepers on the golf courses have stopped cutting grass all the way to the edge of the pond or lake to create a buffer zone. The grassy zone can stop some chemical runoff from pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and provide shelter and food when the tadpoles mature into frogs, she said.
One pond on the university property won’t have the grassy buffer zone, she said.
Boone and Puglis predict the buffers will increase survival among the golf course frogs. That’s what they’ve seen in other studies with different types of amphibians.
Some chemicals used for landscape maintenance kill the insects and algae amphibians eat. Some either kill the amphibians themselves or disrupt their sexual development.
If landscapers use fewer chemicals, the amphibians will eat troublesome insects and algae, Boone said.
Their findings will help the researchers and golf course managers understand the effects of constantly mowing, manicuring and fertilizing the grounds on amphibians and other wildlife, Boone said.
The research is paid for by the National Wildlife Foundation and the U.S. Golf Association.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080923/NEWS01/80923008
Paperboy Comment: I'm intrigued by this study. My modest experience with the golf courses in the Ottawa, Ontario region reveals them to be naught but plots of 'sterile ground' ... manicured fields of rolling grass, with the odd small, crystal-clear and lifeless water body scattered about. Snapper and slider eggs in the sand traps are raked mercilessly. And while I'd like to believe that there is some potential for herp-protection within a golf course, methinks the finances of running a high-end course dictate against it. Wes