Core terrestrial habitat for conservation of local populations of salamanders and wood frogs in agricultural landscapes

Porej, Deni; Micacchion, Mick; Hetherington, Thomas E.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.03.015

Cited by 132 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Although the total amount of forest within 500 and 1000 m of the edge of the survey ponds was uncorrelated with distance to Highway 401, there was a high correlation between the amount of forest within 500 and 1000 m of Highway 401 that could be reached without crossing Highway 401 (accessible forest) (Eigenbrod et al 2008b) and distance to the highway (r = 0.84; P <0.0001 and r = 0.73; P <0.0001, respectively for the two distances). The amount of forest in the landscape is known to be the best single predictor of both spring peeper and wood frog abundance (e.g., Homan et al 2004, Porej et al 2004, Gagné and Fahrig 2007, with both species dependent on forests for foraging and breeding habitat. Because the near-continuous flow of traffic on Highway 401 means that it is likely a near-complete barrier to the movement of anurans, the reduced forest cover available within 500-1000 m of ponds near the highway without crossing the highway likely has led to diminished populations of forest obligate species at these ponds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Road-Effect Zone: Threshold Effects of a Motorway on Anuran Populations in Ontario, Canada

Eigenbrod¹,

Hecnar²,

Fahrig³

2009

E&S

137

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ABSTRACT. The negative effect of roads on wildlife is recognized as a major contributor to the global biodiversity crisis, with anurans being among the most vulnerable groups overall. The "road-effect zone," i.e., the extent of significant ecological effects from the edge of a road (Forman and Alexander 1998), has important management implications, but has never been quantified for anurans. In the first study of its kind, we measured the extent and type of relationship underlying the road-effect zones of a motorway with a high proportion of heavy-truck traffic, particularly at night (Highway 401) for anuran species richness and relative abundance. We surveyed 34 ponds located 68-3262 m from the edge of the motorway, and used piecewise and linear regressions to determine if road-effect zones were clearly delineated by ecological thresholds. We found road-effect zones of 250-1000 m delineated by ecological thresholds for four of seven species and species richness, and road-effect zones of well beyond 1000 m best described by linear regressions for two species. The negative effect of Highway 401 was unexpectedly strong for four of seven species suggest that, in addition to road mortality, very high nighttime truck traffic can actually lead to reduced use of breeding habitat near the motorway either by acting as a barrier to forest habitat on the other side of the highway and/or because of traffic noise. Our results show that most anurans are likely to have reduced abundances near motorways, but that both the extent of the effect of this type of road and the underlying relationship vary considerably between species. Furthermore, the noise and/or barrier effect of very high nighttime traffic volumes can lead to negative effects of motorways even on species that are relatively unaffected by direct road mortality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Road-Effect Zone: Threshold Effects of a Motorway on Anuran Populations in Ontario, Canada

Eigenbrod¹,

Hecnar²,

Fahrig³

2009

E&S

137

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“…Organisms with biphasic natural histories complicate protected area development because they require both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Specifically, core habitats of semi-aquatic species, including many amphibians (Semlitsch 1998;Pope et al, 2000;Porej et al, 2004), snakes (Roe et al, 2003), turtles (Burke and Gibbons, 1995), mammals (Kruchek, 2004), birds (Naugle et al, 1999), and insects (Bried and Ervin, 2006), encompass terrestrial uplands that are critical for conservation measures aimed at maintaining biodiversity (Semlitsch and Jensen, 2001). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrestrial habitat requirements of nesting freshwater turtles

Steen

Gibbs

Buhlmann

et al. 2012

Biological Conservation

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Because particular life history traits affect species vulnerability to development pressures, cross-species summaries of life history traits are useful for generating management guidelines. Conservation of aquatic turtles, many members of which are regionally or globally imperiled, requires knowing the extent of upland habitat used for nesting. Therefore, we compiled distances that nests and gravid females had been observed from wetlands. Based on records of > 8000 nests and gravid female records compiled for 31 species in the United States and Canada, the distances that encompass 95% of nests vary dramatically among genera and populations, from just 8 m forMalaclemys to nearly 1400 m for Trachemys. Widths of core areas to encompass varying fractions of nesting populations (based on mean maxima across all genera) were estimated as: 50% coverage = 93 m, 75% = 154 m, 90% = 198 m, 95% = 232 m, 100% = 942 m. Approximately 6-98 m is required to encompass each consecutive 10% segment of a nesting population up to 90% coverage; thereafter, ca. 424 m is required to encompass the remaining 10%. Many genera require modest terrestrial areas (zones) for 95% nest coverage (Actinemys, Apalone, Chelydra, Chrysemys, Clemmys,Glyptemys, Graptemys, Macrochelys, Malaclemys, Pseudemys, Sternotherus), whereas other genera require larger zones (Deirochelys, Emydoidea, Kinosternon, Trachemys). Our results represent planning targets for conserving sufficient areas of uplands around wetlands to ensure protection of turtle nesting sites, migrating adult female turtles, and dispersing turtle hatchlings. Our results represent planning targets for conserving sufficient areas of uplands around wetlands to ensure protection of turtle nesting sites, migrating adult female turtles, and dispersing turtle hatchlings.

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“…Unfortunately, for some amphibian species, accurate and localized guidelines encompassing the long-term habitat use and survival of all classes of individuals within populations are still needed. Even where upland data are becoming more available, additional solutions for long-term population maintenance are necessary [3,12,14,16,[23][24][25][26][27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Maintaining Upland Forest Habitat Surrounding Salamander Breeding Ponds: Case Study of the Eastern Tiger Salamander in New York, USA

Titus

Madison

Green

2014

Forests

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Most amphibians use both wetland and upland habitats, but the extent of their movement in forested habitats is poorly known. We used radiotelemetry to observe the movements of adult and juvenile eastern tiger salamanders over a 4-year period. Females tended to move farther from the breeding ponds into upland forested habitat than males, while the distance a juvenile moved appeared to be related to body size, with the largest individuals moving as far as the adult females. Individuals chose refugia in native pitch pine-oak forested habitat and avoided open fields, roads, and developed areas. We also observed a difference in potential predation pressures in relation to the distance an individual moved from the edge of the pond. Our results support delineating forested wetland buffer zones on a case-by-case basis to reduce the impacts of concentrated predation, to increase and protect the availability of pitch pine-oak forests near the breeding pond, and to focus primarily on the habitat needs of the adult females and larger juveniles, which in turn will encompass habitat needs of adult males and smaller juveniles.

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Core terrestrial habitat for conservation of local populations of salamanders and wood frogs in agricultural landscapes

Cited by 132 publications

References 38 publications

Quantifying the Road-Effect Zone: Threshold Effects of a Motorway on Anuran Populations in Ontario, Canada

Quantifying the Road-Effect Zone: Threshold Effects of a Motorway on Anuran Populations in Ontario, Canada

Terrestrial habitat requirements of nesting freshwater turtles

The Importance of Maintaining Upland Forest Habitat Surrounding Salamander Breeding Ponds: Case Study of the Eastern Tiger Salamander in New York, USA

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