Some relationships between wetland characteristics and mammal species richness for wetlands in southern Ontario.

In Southern Ontario, wetlands are becoming increasingly fragmented by human development, intensifying the potential for a decline in species richness. Data was collected from 27 wetlands in Southern Ontario, to assess the effects of wetland area, topographic diversity, diversity and land use of the surrounding matrix, disturbance within the wetland, and isolation of the wetland on mammal species richness. Multiple regression analyses indicated that area is the most significant influence on species richness for the total species complement, wetland specific species only, and non-wetland specific species. Topographic diversity and matrix diversity were found to be significant for the total species complement and wetland specific species, and isolation was found to be significant for wetland specific species. It was also found that a large proportion of built areas in the surrounding matrix results in reduced species richness for the wetland, while a large proportion of agricultural development results in increased wetland specific species richness. Analyses of the residuals showed that wetlands found in the Low Boreal wetland region have greater species richness than wetlands in the Eastern Temperate wetland region. It was concluded that the varying degree of development in these regions was responsible for the regional differences in species richness. Future wetland management must reflect the effects of wetland characteristics and the characteristics of the area in which the wetlands are found in order to preserve maximum species richness.Dept. of Geography. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1994 .G66. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 33-04, page: 1121. Adviser: I. Stebelsky. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1994