SREL Reprint #3093

Enhancing Amphibian Biodiversity on Golf Courses with Seasonal Wetlands

David E. Scott, Brian S. Metts, and J. Whitfield Gibbons

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Abstract: Ecologists recognize the value of seasonal wetlands, but these wetlands are often ignored in landscape management decisions and practices, including golf course design. We sampled the amphibians and reptiles that use wetland habitats on five golf courses for three years in the sandhills of South Carolina and Georgia, and compared these survey data to concurrent surveys at 11 nearby (off-course) seasonal wetlands. Two of the golf courses sampled had on-course seasonal wetlands, which allowed us to compare amphibian diversity on these courses to the other three golf courses that did not have seasonal wetlands. Permanent wetlands were more numerous than seasonal wetlands on the golf courses we sampled. However, greater amphibian species richness occurred at both off-course and on-course seasonal wetlands compared to golf course permanent lakes and ponds—24 species were sampled at comparison seasonal wetlands, 18 species at the two courses with seasonal wetlands plus permanent aquatic habitats, and 11 species at the three golf courses with only permanent wetlands. Permanent golf course wetlands harbored numerous fish species and contained only the few amphibian species that can tolerate fish. Much of the difference between the species lists for golf courses with and without seasonal wetlands results from the presence of amphibian species that use fish-free wetlands on the golf courses that have seasonal wetlands. Examples include: Ambystoma opacum (Marbled Salamander), Ambystoma maculatum (Spotted Salamander), and Gastrophryne carolinensis (Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad). These results demonstrate that the incorporation of seasonal wetlands into the design of the golf-course landscape would likely enhance amphibian biodiversity. Well-designed and managed golf courses, like other open space habitats, could play a pivotal role in the "new urbanism" (Song and Knapp 2003).

Keywords: Fish-Free Wetlands, Golf Course Design, Hydroperiod, Temporary Ponds, Wildlife Sanctuary

SREL Reprint #3093

Scott, D. E., B. S. Metts, and J. W. Gibbons. 2008. Enhancing Amphibian Biodiversity on Golf Courses with Seasonal Wetlands. In: J. C. Mitchell, R. E. Jung Brown, and B. Bartholomew (Eds.). Urban Herpetology. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Conservation Number 3: 285-292.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).