Big Muddy Speaker Series presents:

The landscape of the Missouri River has changed greatly over the past century from a wide and dynamic river system to a highly altered and controlled water way.   The current state of this mighty river has led to easier navigation and cultivation of bottom land ground. However, this has come at the expense of natural riverine processes such as floodplain connectivity that would produce permanent and seasonal wetlands.

Permanant and temporary wetlands provide crucial habitat for amphibians and reptiles in Missouri River floodplains. photo courtesy of Mo. Dept. of Conservation.

These wetlands were important habitats for various wildlife including amphibians and turtles. So along with other mitigation efforts, federal and state agencies have worked to put a small portion of lost wetlands back on the Missouri River landscape. Starting in 2010, a four year study was conducted to evaluate the amphibian and turtle occupancy of some of these mitigated wetlands. The goal was to identify habitat characteristics necessary for successful reproduction and recruitment of herpetiles and determine if these wetlands were meeting these needs.

With alternating years of unprecendented flooding and severe drought, the four years of sampling proved challenging for not only the researchers but the species being studied. Kasey will discuss some of the amphibian and reptile responses to these extreme weather events.