The Setup:

Welcome to the Garcia Wetland Complex. This restored floodplain is located in northwest Louisiana and is home to many species, including songbirds, warm water fishes, and amphibians. This wetland complex provides ample recreation opportunities to the local human population and is a beautiful place to spend time.

The Garcia Wetland Complex is also a great place to harvest dinner. One of the best bullfrog leg recipes comes from this region and large, adult bullfrogs are in high demand. In fact, the American bullfrog population in the Garcia Wetland Complex is in need of management action as local harvesters have reported lower yields the past few years. Your mission is to increase the population growth rate for this important metapopulation by modifying harvest regulations and mitigating the impacts of disturbance events.

As a biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), you have been tasked with altering habitat and bullfrog harvest management guidelines to increase bullfrog population growth rates in the Garcia Wetland Complex.

There are numerous opportunities for increasing population densities in the complex. As the professional in charge of this habitat, you must decide what management actions to take. You will monitor the population growth curve of the bullfrogs to guide your actions and evaluate the long-term impacts after each decision point.

Current Management:

Current American bullfrog harvest regulations in the state of Louisiana are relatively lenient. To harvest bullfrogs:

• A fishing license is required
• Harvest season is closed from April-May
• No bag limit exists
• Bullfrog body size must exceed 5 inches from snout to vent
• No equipment restrictions exist (i.e., fishing, shooting, gigging are all legal)

Important Data to consider for each population and the metapopulation

• r = (b-d)+(i-e) [births minus deaths] plus [immigration #s minus emigration #s]
• K= carrying capacity
• N= number of individuals at a specific time

Each of these population contributes to the larger bullfrog metapopulation within the wetland complex, as indicated by the black line on all population growth rate figures. Each pond within the Garcia Wetland Complex contains a population of bullfrogs. Each of these populations contributes to the larger bullfrog metapopulation within the wetland complex. Each pond has distinct bullfrog population dynamics (r, K, and N) that are dependent on pond size, habitat quality, and distance from other ponds.

Notice that all ponds have population densities (N) that are not close to their carrying capacity (K). All three differ in intrinsic population growth rates (r).

As you move through the simulation and choose the best management action at each decision point, take note of how the population dynamics values change at the population and metapopulation scales.