Does management affect biodiversity in three wildlife areas in southwestern Ohio

The environmental community assumes that the size of a wildlife area as well as the human activity within the area will influence biodiversity. This study compared the biodiversity of three managed wildlife areas in southwestern Ohio to ascertain the effect of active management on biodiversity. To determine this effect, each subject area was surveyed using three groups: trees, wildflowers, and anurans. Management techniques and policies were similar but varied in intensity and application, appropriate to the purpose of the area being managed.;The three wildlife areas, located in different counties in southwestern Ohio, had different acreage. The smallest area, Greenacres Foundation is a private organization with 630 acres (255 hectares), half in sustainable agriculture and half used for conservation and outdoor education. Stonelick Lake State Park, a multipurpose recreational area, has 1050 acres (428 hectares) and Indian Creek Wildlife Area, hunting and fishing area, has 1799 acres (728 hectares). Data were collected over two summers on trees, wildflowers, birds and frogs and toads for statistical testing.;A variety of statistical tests were used to compare biodiversity of the three areas: the one-way analysis of variance, with the Tukey Test when appropriate. The Simpson's Diversity Index and the Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index were used to determine biodiversity.;The null hypothesis states that no significant difference in biodiversity would be found in the three areas. The one-way ANOVA test results indicated little evidence against the Null Hypothesis except for the total number of trees per plot, which indicated strong evidence against the Null Hypothesis. The Tukey Test also results in a significant difference between total numbers of trees per plot. Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index shows a high level of diversity in wildflowers, and frogs and toads in each wildlife area. Simpson's Diversity Index indicates little significant difference in trees and frogs and toads and some difference in wildflowers and birds.;Although results indicated some differences, there was little significant evidence to indicate that one wildlife area was more diverse than another. Each wildlife area is managed to maintain biodiversity, and it appears that management has resulted in similar levels of biodiversity for each area. Policies and procedures used by managers are protecting the environment and preserving the biodiversity of the areas. It was concluded that management techniques and policies were more critical to maintaining biodiversity than was the size of the wildlife area.;Key Words: biodiversity, wildlife areas, management techniques...