A Portrait of Changing Community Composition in Urban Wetlands of the Salt River, Phoenix AZ USA

A Portrait of Changing Community Composition in Urban Wetlands of the Salt River, Phoenix AZ USA | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Portrait of Changing Community Composition in Urban Wetlands of the Salt River, Phoenix AZ USA Luke Ramsey-Wiegmann, Heather L Bateman, Daniel L Childers, Heather Green, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Human activities in Phoenix, Arizona, have left the Salt River dammed, diverted, restored, and ignored. Urban wetlands are vital for many species, offering insight into how ecological communities and management are co-produced within social-ecological systems. Which organisms are most impacted by urban management choices? We analyzed long-term surveys (2012-2022) of birds, herpetofauna, and plants across three urban wetlands: a recreation area, an unmanaged accidental wetland, and a restored wetland. We assessed species richness, abundance, and diversity. In collaboration with land managers, we removed vegetation from the restored site and harvested biomass from three abundant marsh plants (Arundo donax, Schoenoplectus californicus, and Typha latifolia). Using Hollander beaters, we pulped the biomass to make paper and visualized plant community changes on it, displaying these artworks in community centers to engage local audiences. Our results show herpetofauna declined in abundance and diversity, while bird populations remained stable. Vegetation abundance increased, and despite invasive species removal efforts, urban plant communities became more cosmopolitan. The unmanaged wetland hosted the highest number of both introduced and rare plant species, along with an increase in culturally significant plants for local Indigenous groups. This study shows urban wetlands in arid regions support surprising species diversity, and accidental wetlands can complement costly restoration efforts, which are more effective for birds than herpetofauna. Introduced plants do not always threaten native or culturally important species, so the rationale for removal should be considered before implementing management plans. Practical biomass uses, like paper-making, can also foster community engagement with research and stewardship. Urban ecology interdisciplinary science plant ecology biodiversity habitat restoration accidental wetland Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6002212","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":454400616,"identity":"14a21f9e-a98b-483d-9093-e625bd264b11","order_by":0,"name":"Luke Ramsey-Wiegmann","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAu0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPoYEMC3HD+EzE9bCBtViLNlAqpbEDQeI1sKe+/DTjT82jJuPH38mwVBhndhAUAvPc2Pp3LY0ZrMzOWYSDGfSidAikcYgndtwmM3sQA6bBGPbYaK0MP/O+fOfx7j/+TMJxn/EaWGTzmE7IGEgkWAmwdhAjBaeZ2zWuW3JBhI33hhbJBxLNyaohZ89jfl2zh+7+v7+9Ic3PtRYyxLUggoSSFM+CkbBKBgFowAXAACmNTiiyD3QhAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1221-3398","institution":"Arizona State University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luke","middleName":"","lastName":"Ramsey-Wiegmann","suffix":""},{"id":454400617,"identity":"d1b69f6c-6c34-4261-9168-4c7fc3a7ed99","order_by":1,"name":"Heather L Bateman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arizona State University - Polytechnic Campus","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heather","middleName":"L","lastName":"Bateman","suffix":""},{"id":454400618,"identity":"0bb1e788-c615-4e33-a387-bf456af945ba","order_by":2,"name":"Daniel L Childers","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arizona State University School of Sustainability","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Daniel","middleName":"L","lastName":"Childers","suffix":""},{"id":454400619,"identity":"56deedcb-63bc-40ca-80d5-85c4bafbb12a","order_by":3,"name":"Heather Green","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arizona State University - Tempe Campus: Arizona State University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heather","middleName":"","lastName":"Green","suffix":""},{"id":454400620,"identity":"2eb90af7-d514-46d7-926c-28e552b0ab39","order_by":4,"name":"Elizabeth Makings","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Arizona State University School of Life Sciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Elizabeth","middleName":"","lastName":"Makings","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-10 21:50:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83679580,"identity":"feddaa52-787d-4cdd-958e-760fd78863e5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-30 15:45:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2838392,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"PortraitofChangingCommunityCompositioninUrbanWetlands.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6002212/v1_covered_0a0ac106-28f0-4acc-b76f-fef83cb6b14b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"A Portrait of Changing Community Composition in Urban Wetlands of the Salt River, Phoenix AZ USA","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Urban ecology, interdisciplinary science, plant ecology, biodiversity, habitat restoration, accidental wetland","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eHuman activities in Phoenix, Arizona, have left the Salt River dammed, diverted, restored, and ignored. Urban wetlands are vital for many species, offering insight into how ecological communities and management are co-produced within social-ecological systems. Which organisms are most impacted by urban management choices?\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe analyzed long-term surveys (2012-2022) of\u0026nbsp;birds, herpetofauna, and plants across three urban wetlands: a recreation area, an unmanaged accidental wetland, and a restored wetland. We assessed species richness, abundance, and diversity. In collaboration with land managers, we removed vegetation from the restored site and harvested biomass from three abundant marsh plants (Arundo donax, Schoenoplectus californicus, and Typha latifolia). Using Hollander beaters, we pulped the biomass to make paper and visualized plant community changes on it, displaying these artworks in community centers to engage local audiences.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur results show herpetofauna declined in abundance and diversity, while bird populations remained stable. Vegetation abundance increased, and despite invasive species removal efforts, urban plant communities became more cosmopolitan. The unmanaged wetland hosted the highest number of both introduced and rare plant species, along with an increase in culturally significant plants for local Indigenous groups.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study shows urban wetlands in arid regions support surprising species diversity, and accidental wetlands can complement costly restoration efforts, which are more effective for birds than herpetofauna. Introduced plants do not always threaten native or culturally important species, so the rationale for removal should be considered before implementing management plans. Practical biomass uses, like paper-making, can also foster community engagement with research and stewardship.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"A Portrait of Changing Community Composition in Urban Wetlands of the Salt River, Phoenix AZ USA","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-14 05:21:55","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6002212/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"feaf8a38-53a6-41e9-aefe-b3c14da0b7e5","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 14th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-05-30T15:37:36+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-14 05:21:55","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6002212","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6002212","identity":"rs-6002212","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}