Mammalian mesocarnivore visitation at tortoise burrows in a wind farm

Agha, Mickey; Smith, Amanda L.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Delaney, David K.; Ennen, Joshua R.; Briggs, Jessica; Fleckenstein, Leo J.; Tennant, Laura A.; Puffer, Shellie R.; Walde, Andrew D.; Arundel, Terence R.; Price, Steven J.; Todd, Brian D.

doi:10.1002/jwmg.21262

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Furthermore, in this last category we include predators such as feral cats, foxes and dingoes, as they were commonly observed investigating the mouth of burrows. Predators are often observed investigating the burrow of potential prey species (Sillero‐Zubiri & Gottelli, ; Agha et al ., ; Hofstede & Dziminski, ) presumably to concentrate search effort on areas of higher activity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An outback oasis: the ecological importance of bilby burrows

et al. 2019

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Ecosystem engineers are species that have a role in creating and maintaining certain habitat traits that are important for other species. Burrowing species do this by creating subterranean refugia from predation and thermal extremes, but also providing foraging opportunities through soil movement and by increasing local landscape heterogeneity. In this study, we used camera traps to monitor the burrows of greater bilbies (Macrotis lagotis), a vulnerable Australian marsupial, in an area subject to frequent disturbance by fire. We tested the hypothesis that bilby burrows provide refuge for other species and therefore their presence increases biodiversity. In total, 45 taxa – 22 bird, 16 reptile and 7 mammal taxa – were recorded interacting with 127 burrows across 7 sites. Species richness was greater at burrows compared with vegetation away from burrows, while abundance was no different. There was no difference in species assemblage for bilby burrows that were actively maintained by bilbies compared with abandoned burrows, although there was more activity at bilby maintained burrows. A wildfire allowed us to test the ad hoc hypothesis that the use of bilby burrows was greater when vegetation cover was removed by fire. We recorded significant differences in species assemblage interacting with burrows after fire, although overall species richness and abundance did not change. The response of individual species was variable; for example, burrows provide a refuge for smaller species (such as mice and small reptiles), and may therefore protect them from the effects of fire. Where they persist, bilbies provide an important ecosystem engineering service, as their burrows support a broad range of species. Further reduction in the distribution of the bilby is therefore likely to have a flow‐on effect on biodiversity, impacting species that use their burrows for refuge.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An outback oasis: the ecological importance of bilby burrows

et al. 2019

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“…Apart from limiting intra-specific communication, noise disrupts predator-prey interactions, which are largely dependent on acoustic signals used to locate both prey and predator. Noise could reduce hunting efficiency of listening predators (Francis et al 2012b; Mason et al 2016; Senzaki et al 2016; Agha et al 2017) and impair the anti-predatory behaviors of listening prey (Shannon et al 2016; Petrelli et al 2017). This could force predators to change foraging techniques (Mason et al 2016) and/or avoid habitats under high noise levels (Fröhlich and Ciach 2017, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nocturnal noise and habitat homogeneity limit species richness of owls in an urban environment

Fröhlich

Ciach

2019

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Habitat loss and fragmentation are listed among the most significant effects of urbanization, which is regarded as an important threat to wildlife. Owls are the top predators in most terrestrial habitats, and their presence is a reliable indicator of ecosystem quality and complexity. However, influence of urbanization on owl communities, anthropogenic noise in particular, has not been investigated so far. The aim of this study was to identify the role of noise and landcover heterogeneity in the species richness of owl assemblage in the urban ecosystem. Owls were surveyed in the city of Kraków (southern Poland) on 65 randomly selected sample plots (1 km 2 ). The area of main landcover types, landcover diversity index, mean size of landcover patch, and nocturnal noise level were defined within the sample plots and correlated with owl species richness. Five owl species were recorded in the study area with forests as the dominant landcover type for Tawny and Ural owls, grasslands for Long-eared and Barn owls, and gardens for Little owls. In total, 52% of sample plots were occupied by at least one species (1–3 species per plot). The number of owl species was positively correlated with landcover diversity index and negatively correlated with nocturnal noise emission. This study demonstrates that species richness of owls in urban areas may be shaped by landcover heterogeneity and limited by noise intensity. This indicates that noise changes top predator assemblage, which in consequence may disturb predator-prey interactions within human-transformed habitats.

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“…Additionally, roads often have more severe effects on species with certain ecological and life history traits, such as those with large home ranges, low reproductive rates, and otherwise high adult survival (Carr and Fahrig, 2001;Waller and Servheen, 2005). In contrast, some taxa, such as carnivores, carrion-feeding birds, and small mammals, may occasionally benefit from roads (e.g., Agha et al, 2017), which can increase access to resources, such as prey or carrion, and act as movement corridors (Whittington et al, 2011;Abrahms et al, 2016;Dickie et al, 2016). Current research on the negative effects of roads often focuses on quantifying the extent of habitat lost near roads, the numbers of animals killed on roads, and potential mitigation strategies to limit or reverse road effects (Forman and Deblinger, 2000;van Langevelde et al, 2009;Peaden et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of roads and roadside fencing on movements, space use, and carapace temperatures of a threatened tortoise

Peaden

Nowakowski

Tuberville

et al. 2017

Biological Conservation

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A B S T R A C TRoads are widespread features of many landscapes that can negatively affect wildlife, most notably through animal-vehicle collisions. Roadside fencing has increasingly been installed to help eliminate this source of mortality. While fencing may reduce road mortality, other types of wildlife responses to this novel barrier are not well understood. Here, we examined the movement behavior, space use, and carapace temperatures of Mojave Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) as they interacted with a roadside fence and an unfenced road. Using GPS loggers, we tracked tortoise movements for two years at 15-min intervals. We found that carapace temperatures were greater near structures (fence or unfenced road) than away from structures; tortoises near the unfenced road had higher mean carapace temperatures, but tortoises along the fence experienced more extreme upper temperatures that approached the species' thermal limit. Movement speeds were also higher along the structures than away from them. Tortoise home range sizes decreased with proximity to the fence or road; fragmentation of home ranges and road-crossing avoidance may have contributed to smaller home ranges along the fenced and unfenced road, respectively. While tortoises crossed the road significantly less than expected by chance, they did so primarily in May and July and in areas with washes, indicating that placement of roadside fencing and animal underpasses could be optimized by targeting areas where roads intersect washes. Taken together, our results suggest that roadside fencing can affect behavior, space use, and thermal ecology of tortoises, which may require refinements to future conservation strategies involving roadside fencing.

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Mammalian mesocarnivore visitation at tortoise burrows in a wind farm

Cited by 25 publications

References 60 publications

An outback oasis: the ecological importance of bilby burrows

An outback oasis: the ecological importance of bilby burrows

Nocturnal noise and habitat homogeneity limit species richness of owls in an urban environment

Effects of roads and roadside fencing on movements, space use, and carapace temperatures of a threatened tortoise

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