The H-02 constructed wetlands were built in 2007. This image shows the basic arrangement. The water from the industrial facility first enters the retention pond then it goes to one of the two cells--the actual constructed wetlands that take the metals out of the water. In this view the water enters the right end of the cells and exits the left side. One of the major goals we have is determining if the wetlands may be "ecological traps" or "population sinks" for amphibians. The concern is that adults would be attracted to the wetlands to breed--because they offer permanent water without fish--but then b/c of the high metal concentration the habitat may actually not be suitable for eggs and/or larvae to develop. If that is the case reproductive success would be lowered and they would be considered a trap or sink and could have a negative effect on populations. To start to look at this one of the first things SREL did was put in a partial drift fence in the woods just beyond the wetlands. Just like the other drift fences we talk about with pitfall traps on both sides. With the drift fence we can see what species of amphibians colonize the wetlands and then also see what metamorphs leave the wetland. So far we've already seen 13 species come into the wetland! We'll introduce those in the next entry.
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