![]() ![]() This study investigated seasonal changes in Common Mudpuppy diets and body condition across western New York (USA) over a 2-yr period by using rock turning (RT) and trapping (TR) collection methods. A lack of understanding about its distribution at a finer scale or whether diet and body condition exhibit seasonal patterns limits our ability to develop a conservation management plan. Although its range is large, recent observations suggest its population is dwindling in the Great Lakes region. The Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus (Rafinesque, 1818)) is found in many watersheds from eastern Canada to the southeastern United States. Our results indicate that recovery of threatened biodiversity could be promoted through forest restoration, particularly active restoration, and highlight the essential role of mature forest in the maintenance and recovery of amphibian communities. Proximity to water bodies, as well as high canopy and leaf litter cover, had a strong positive influence on amphibian recovery. Responses to forest restoration differed among taxa recovery of salamanders was lower than that of anurans. Abundance of VU and CR species was higher in A23 than in P13 and P23, but that of CR species was highest in cloud forest. All forests under restoration recovered amphibian species richness and composition, including that of the threatened species, but abundance differed among restoration strategies. We found a total of 13 amphibian species, of which 23% are in the Vulnerable (VU) category of the IUCN Red List and 15% are Critically Endangered (CR). We sampled amphibians in 45 plots and measured landscape and habitat variables to assess their influence on amphibian recovery. We compared different measures of species diversity in cattle pasture, 13-year-old forest under passive restoration (P13), 23-year-old forest under passive restoration (P23), 23-year-old forest under active restoration (A23) and mature cloud forest in Mexico. Our goal was to assess the recovery of amphibians, a highly threatened biological group, in three cloud forests under different restoration strategies. However, the response of biodiversity to forest restoration is likely to vary depending on the restoration strategy used and taxa considered. eschscholtzii proved to be viable metrics of advancing succession with their numbers and body condition providing readily quantifiable measures of ecosystem recovery at Mill Creek.įorest restoration may support recovery and conservation of biodiversity. The counts and body condition in two of three species when taken together suggested that the increased structuralĬomplexity in late-seral forest stands supported larger populations that appeared to be competing for limited resources and, thus, likely have greater population fitness than those in younger forests. We modeled surface counts and body condition along environmental gradients associated with succession. Coastal proximity increased mean body condition in E. Means and variances in body condition of these two species were lower in older stands for the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus) only the means were lower. Both geography and succession increased counts of California Slender Salamanders(Batrachoseps attenuatus) advancing succession alone indicated increased counts of Ensatina (EnsatinaĮschscholtzii ). We distinguished the effects of geography and succession using ANCOVA with a PCA-derived landscape covariate. Increased available moisture younger sites were further inland at higher elevations where fog was reduced. Later seral sites were closer to the coast where fog This study evaluated woodland salamanders as metrics of seral recovery at Mill Creek.Surface counts and body condition were examined in four sets of stands, two early seral, one mature, andone of primary forest (never harvested old-growth). Km2 commercially logged redwood forest watershed acquired as parkland where original primary forest isbeing restored. Their extreme niche conservatism and low vagility offer furtheradvantages to the use of these salamanders as metrics of forest ecosystem condition. Their high numbersand trophic role as predators on shredder and decomposer arthropods influence nutrient and carbonpathways at the leaf litter/soil interface. Woodland (Plethodontid) salamanders occur in huge numbers in healthy forests in NorthĪmerica where the abundances of many species vary along successional gradients. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |