Dr. Michael Benard
Michael Benard's research investigates how species adapt to changing environments. He combines laboratory and field studies with ecological modeling to predict how different types of environmental change are expected to influence extinction risk. At the farm, he is focusing his research on the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), a frog that lives as a tadpole in small temporary ponds (i.e., vernal pools), and as a terrestrial adult lives in forests.
Once geographically widespread, wood frogs are becoming increasingly threatened as formerly continuous forests are fragmented by urbanization. Wood frog populations in fragmented habitat become smaller and less genetically diverse than wood frog populations in continuous habitat. Thus, wood frogs are an ideal model system to use to test the predictive power of different modeling techniques that use habitat characteristics, population modeling, and information on genetic diversity to estimate extinction risk. Ultimately, Dr. Benards research on wood frog populations will provide insight into not only protecting wood frogs, but also into developing general techniques that can be applied to assessing extinction risk and developing conservation plans for a wide range of animal and plant species.
The University Farm is an ideal site for much of Dr. Benards research. In a protected area at the farm, Dr. Benard and his colleagues have set up one hundred artificial ponds, each of which holds up to 300 gallons of water. These artificial ponds allow Dr. Benard and his colleagues to experimentally manipulate specific characteristics of natural ponds like the genetic diversity within wood frog populations or the presence or absence of predatory insects, while holding other environmental characteristics constant. The data gathered from these experiments can then be incorporated into population models to predict how changes in environmental conditions like reduced genetic diversity and increased predation risk affect overall population extinction risk.
The laboratory facilities at the farm provide an important place for Dr. Benard and his colleagues to sort, measure and preserve samples taken from the artificial ponds. The University Farm also provides another benefit to Dr. Benards research: the wooded areas and vernal pond on the University Farm are home to a population of wood frogs. By taking data on the number of wood frogs living on the University Farm, and comparing it to similar population-size estimates from other sites in Ohio, Dr. Benard is able to test the predictions generated by his artificial pond and modeling studies.