Kansas Project
Network analyses of inland, depressional wetlands of the Great Plains
June 2014 - May 2019
Personnel
Participating Agencies
- Macrosystems
Isolated, depressional freshwater wetlands are rapidly declining in the Great Plains. Connectivity among wetlands is critical to support biodiversity. Establishing connectivity patterns and predicting the influence of future conditions on wetland connectivity will aid in developing conservation strategies and determining species distributions. This research is a collaborative effort funded by the National Science Foundation among the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Playa Lakes Joint Venture, and Rainwater Basin Joint Venture. Wetlands critical to the connectivity of the wetland system were identified in the playas and Rainwater Basins. Both systems are nearly at the threshold for system collapse with continued loss of wetlands.
| Research Publications | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| Verheijen, B.H.F., D.M. Varner, and D.A. Haukos. 2020. Future losses of playa wetlands decrease network structure and connectivity of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Landscape Ecology 35:453–467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00958-w | January 2020 |
| Verheijen, B.H.F., D.M. Varner, and D.A. Haukos. 2018. Effects of large-scale wetland loss on network connectivity of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. Submitted to Landscape Ecology | October 2018 |
| Albanese, G., and D.A. Haukos. 2017. A network model framework for prioritizing wetland conservation in the Great Plains. Landscape Ecology 32:115-130. | January 2017 |
| Albanese, G., and D. Haukos. 2019. Toward a theory of connectivity among depressional wetlands of the Great Plains: resiliency to natural and anthropogenic disturbance within a wetland network. Pages 159-176 in E. Beever, S. Prange, and J. Franklin (editors). Disturbance Ecology and Biological Diversity: Context, Nature, and Scale. CRC Press/Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. | September 2019 |
| Presentations | Presentation Date |
|---|---|
| Verheijen, B.H.F., D.M. Varner, and D.A. Haukos. 2020. Effects of future wetland losses on network connectivity of the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska. 25th Annual Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Information Seminar, Great Bend, Nebraska. | February 2020 |