Christine McLauchlan - 412320

OUTLINE OF PROPOSED RESEARCH Wetlands are key sites of conservation efforts due to the disproportionate level of water management and ecological service they provide in comparison to their small areal extent [1], paired with the fact that these habitats are being lost at alarming rates [2]. Considerable research and management efforts have been directed at managing wetlands and developing artificial wetlands, both for urban applications as well as for conserving biodiversity on the landscape [3,4]. Due to their importance in providing feeding, breeding and staging areas for a variety of wildlife species, better knowledge of the use and function of artificial wetlands through the year will help maximize their utility as mitigation or restoration measures for conservation. In Atlantic Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has been the leading organization actively managing and creating wetlands for several decades. A unique aspect of this region is that many freshwater wetlands lie in close proximity to marine coastal areas, including brackish coastal wetlands and saltmarshes. Consequently, a great variety of wetlands (differing in chemistry, vegetation, tidal influence and invertebrate biota) can be found in a small geographic area. Birds and other wildlife using these sites therefore have choices on which wetlands to use as foraging and breeding habitat, which may be dictated largely by the spatial and temporal distribution of invertebrate food supplies in these sites [5]. However, simultaneous examination of food supplies and avian use in wetlands spanning this sort of ecological gradient, and the consequences for biodiversity and productivity have rarely been examined causing an information gap [6,7]. I propose to study the spatial and temporal diversity and abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrates using both saltwater and freshwater constructed wetlands in the Missaguash Marsh region around the Nova Scotia / New Brunswick border near Aulac, New Brunswick (NB), Canada. Eleven wetlands, constructed and managed by DUC, will be the focus of the work (I will work with the local DUC office in Amherst, NS, on this project). I will use five different sampling techniques to quantify aquatic invertebrate abundance and diversity in these sites biweekly from April through October (based on [5]), and simultaneously record use of and behaviours by birds at these sites over this time. My project hypothesis is that aquatic macroinvertebrate abundance influences wetland use by birds, and thus I predict: a) birds will be most abundant on the wetlands with the greatest abundance of foods; b) aquatic invertebrates will be less diverse but more abundant in brackish wetlands than freshwater wetlands; c) birds will be more abundant when aquatic invertebrate abundance peaks, which should coincide with the brood-rearing period; and d) birds using wetlands with abundant food supplies will spend less time foraging and more time in social interactions (e.g. defending feeding territories). The results of this work will provide two important scientific deliverables: 1) it will demonstrate the relative value of different wetland types for conservation efforts, which will help guide DUCs future construction and acquisition plans in Maritime Canada, and 2) it will establish a baseline temporal phenology of aquatic invertebrate abundance against which future monitoring efforts (e.g. effects of climate change on mismatching of invertebrate abundance - bird reproduction; [8]) can be based. 1 - Constanza R. et al. 1997. Nature 387: 253-260; 2 - Schummer ML et al. 2012. Wetlands 32: 45-953; 3 - Hansson, L-A et al. 2005. Freshwater Biology 50: 705-714; 4 - Batzer DP, Sharitz RR. 2006. Ecology of freshwater and estuarine wetlands. University of California Press, Los Angeles, California; 5 - Mallory ML et al. 1994. Hydrobiologia 279/280: 345-351; 6 Stevens CE et al. 2003. Restoration Ecology 11: 3-12; 7 - Waterkeyn A et al. 2008. Freshwater Biology 53: 1808-1822; 8 - Visser ME et al. 2012. Journal of Ornithology 153: 75-84

Christine McLauchlan - 412320

BENEFITS TO SPONSORING ORGANIZATION The relationship between this project and the DUC organization is one of mutual gain. DUC is a major contributor for the Beaubassin Field Research Station in Aulac, NB, where my research is based. This field station provides accommodations and a lab space that is fully equipped to meet my needs. Their significant presence and interest in my work is hugely valuable to my education and networking skills. I have access to the expertise of organization staff and all DUC-related literature. Staff at the Amherst Branch played an active role in study site selection and provided relevant background information (e.g. dates of wetland construction and maps). Nic McLellan, Conservation Programs Specialist for the DUC Amherst Branch, is a collaborator in this project and is one of four acting committee members for my thesis. The results from this project will have a direct application to DUCs primary interest: creating optimally productive and biologically diverse wetlands. Large portions of habitat in the Maritimes are influenced by coastal processes, and the effect on wetlands has not yet been studied in Eastern Canada. This research will begin filling in these gaps of knowledge by addressing questions concerning invertebrate food production and bird use patterns across a landscape of constructed wetlands. My work will provide conservation managers with substantial insights into how they approach the wetland creation process in the future.