School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
J Environ Manage. 2019 Mar 1;233:302-307. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.064. Epub 2018 Dec 21.
Wetlands are increasingly being constructed to mitigate the effects of urban stormwater, such as altered hydrological regimes and reduced water quality, on downstream aquatic ecosystems. While the primary purpose of these wetlands is to manage stormwater, they also attract animals whose growth, survival and breeding (i.e. 'fitness') may be compromised. Such deleterious effects will be exacerbated if animals are caught in 'ecological traps', mistakenly preferring wetlands with unsuitable environmental conditions. Alternatively, wetlands that offer suitable habitat conditions for animals could be beneficial, especially in fragmented urban landscapes. Consequently, a thorough understanding of the potential ecological impacts of stormwater treatment wetlands is critical for managing unintended consequences to urban biodiversity. To help facilitate this understanding, we draw upon findings from a four-year research program conducted in the city of Melbourne in south-eastern Australia as a case study. First, we summarise our research demonstrating that some stormwater wetlands can be ecological traps for native frogs and fish in the study region, whilst others likely provide important habitat in areas where few natural waterbodies remain. We use our work to highlight that while stormwater wetlands can be ecological traps, their effects can be properly managed. We propose the need for a better understanding of the ecological consequences of changes to wetland quality and their population-level impacts across the landscape. We hope that this study will generate discussions about how to most effectively manage constructed wetlands in urban landscapes and more research for a better understanding of the issues and opportunities regarding potential ecological traps.
湿地越来越多地被建造，以减轻城市雨水对下游水生生态系统的影响，如改变水文状况和降低水质。虽然这些湿地的主要目的是管理雨水，但它们也吸引了动物，这些动物的生长、生存和繁殖（即“适应性”）可能会受到影响。如果动物陷入“生态陷阱”，错误地偏爱环境条件不合适的湿地，那么这些有害影响将加剧。或者，为动物提供合适栖息地条件的湿地可能是有益的，特别是在城市景观破碎化的情况下。因此，深入了解雨水处理湿地的潜在生态影响对于管理城市生物多样性的意外后果至关重要。为了帮助理解这一点，我们以澳大利亚东南部墨尔本市的四年研究项目为例，借鉴研究结果。首先，我们总结了我们的研究结果，表明在研究区域内，一些雨水湿地可能是本地青蛙和鱼类的生态陷阱，而另一些湿地可能在自然水体较少的地区提供重要的栖息地。我们利用我们的工作来强调，虽然雨水湿地可能是生态陷阱，但它们的影响可以得到妥善管理。我们提出需要更好地了解湿地质量变化及其对景观中种群水平的影响的生态后果。我们希望这项研究将引发关于如何在城市景观中最有效地管理人工湿地的讨论，并进行更多的研究，以更好地了解潜在生态陷阱的问题和机遇。
