User talk:Foresttoprairiekaren/Pond

First, thank you to the writer for their time and knowledge in improving this article on Wikipedia! In general, this is a nice start to an important section for the Pond article. The writer has provided many interesting facts. However, the structure of the writing needs some work to improve the clarity of this section. I provide some recommendations below.

I assume there will be a section header once this section is published.

Re: "Pond-breeding amphibians use a variety of habitats throughout their life cycle, increasing the risk of habitat degradation impacting their successful reproduction and survival." This sentence might be more clearly read as "Pond-breeding amphibians use a variety of habitats throughout their life cycle, increasing the risk that habitat degradation will impact their reproduction and survival." However, my expectation when reading this sentence was that because amphibians use a variety of habitats, not just a single one (as the first half of your sentence suggests), habitat degradation, if it were to disproportionately impact one habitat type, wouldn't have as great of an effect on amphibian reproduction and lifestyle. But maybe you're trying to say that amphibians are virtually anywhere there is water; thus, some of them are likely to encounter habitat degradation? Maybe clarify what you're trying to say for this first sentence.

Re: "Their life cycle, or metamorphosis, begins when clutches of eggs are laid in the water." Metamorphosis is only one phase of their life cycle. As such, it would be more accurate to say: Reproduction begins when clutches of legs are laid in the water. That said, reproduction probably begins with courtship and mating, not egg laying. Maybe rethink what you are trying to say with this sentence, especially because doesn't quite seem to fit between the previous and next sentences.

Re: "Decline in amphibian populations is partially attributed to habitat loss and degradation." I might consider beginning the paragraph with this sentence.

Re: "Wood frogs and spotted salamanders are two types of amphibian that utilizes vernal or ephemeral pools to breed." Might better read as: "Wood frogs and spotted salamanders are two types of amphibians that utilize vernal or ephemeral pools to breed." Also, I would choose either vernal or ephemeral when describing the temporary pools. Because there is a Wiki article about vernal pools, I might use vernal and link to that article instead of linking ephemeral to emphemerality.

Re: "Both climate and landscape changes make vernal pools highly vulnerable." Again, the structure of your paragraph is a little confusing. This sentence doesn't seem to fit between the previous and next sentences. Consider revising the structure of this paragraph in general. Your instructor likely could provide more specific feedback.

Re: "Habitat fragmentation caused by agriculture and development has caused aquatic habitats to be increasingly cut off or detached from other habitats." This sentence is a little confusing. Habitat fragmentation doesn't cause the habitats to be broken up; the break up of habitats IS habitat fragmentation. This topic sentence might more accurately read: "Land conversions, such as for agriculture and road construction, lead to fragmentation of aquatic habitats for amphibians." It seems like each paragraph after the first is trying to discuss one type of threat to amphibian habitat, i.e., global warming and warming surface waters for the 2nd paragraph and land use change or conversion causing habitat fragmentation. Maybe make each topic sentence reflect this. For example for the second paragraph you could say something like: "Climate change is causing surface waters to warm, which can impact amphibian reproduction." The second paragraph might start with the land conversion sentence I suggested previously and then include the following. First write a sentence to clarify why fragmentation is bad for amphibs, such as: Habitat fragmentation can limit or prevent juvenile amphibians from dispersing, a process important to their survival and which can enhance the genetic diversity of their populations (source). Then provide a sentence to link to possible solutions to the problem, such as: The impact of land conversion on aquatic habitats can be lowered by reducing the amount of impervious cover and protecting or increasing the area of forest adjacent to a breeding pond. Further, developers can create more habitat for amphibians in urban areas by installing storm water ponds.

You might want to begin the last paragraph with the topic sentence of: Climate change also impacts wetting and drying cycles of aquatic habitats by affecting precipitation regimes (e.g., the amount and timing of snow or rain) and evaporation rates of surface waters.

Dr.dwk (talk) 20:03, 12 April 2021 (UTC)