Unraveling fine-scale habitat use for secretive species: When and where toads are found when not breeding

Abstract

A good understanding of species-habitat associations, or habitat use, is required to establish conservation strategies for any species. Many amphibian species are elusive and most information concerning amphibian habitat use comes from breeding sites where they are comparatively easy to find and study. Knowledge about retreat sites is extremely limited for most species and for the greater part of the year. For such species, it is especially important to factor in detection probability in habitat analyses, because otherwise distorted views about habitat preferences may result, e.g., when a species is more visible in habitat type B than in A, even though A may be preferred. The South American red-belly toad, Melanophryniscus pachyrhynus, is a range-restricted species from Southern Brazil and Uruguay that inhabits open areas with rocky outcrops and is usually seen only during explosive breeding events. Here we studied the fine-scale habitat use of the red-belly toad outside of the breeding season to identify retreat sites and test for the importance of accounting for species imperfect detection, using Bayesian occupancy models. We identified shrub density and the number of loose rocks as important predictors of occupancy, while detection probability was highest at intermediate temperatures. Considering the harsh (dry and hot) conditions of rocky outcrops, shrubs and loose rocks may both work as important refuges, besides providing food resources and protecting against predation. Rocky outcrops have been suffering changes in habitat configuration and we identify nonbreeding habitat preferences at a fine scale, which may help to promote population persistence, and highlight the importance of accounting for imperfect detection when studying secretive species.

Fine-scale habitat selection of a small mammalian urban adapter: the West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

“…One way to gain insight into how animals use urban spaces is through habitat selection analyses to assess habitat preferences and / or avoidances within the context of landscape-scale distribution or home range utilisation (Saunders et al 1997;Dowding et al 2010a;Thomas et al 2014;Roberts et al 2017;Mueller et al 2018). However, understanding habitat use on a finer scale can yield greater benefits in conservation planning (Gilioli et al 2018), particularly for species that perceive the environment at small spatial scales (Ritchie and Olff 1999), have limited dispersal ability (Gilioli et al 2018) and / or which may be associated with specific habitats or microhabitats (Banks and Skilleter 2007). The way in which such individuals move within and between habitats will be dependent on intra-and inter-specific interactions, environmental conditions and site-based variables such as resource availability and quality (Morris 2003;Roberts et al 2017;Bista et al 2019).…”

The importance of native shrubs on the distribution and diversity of reptiles and amphibians in the central deserts of California

“…A fundamental step in conserving reptile and amphibian biodiversity in deserts is the ability to identify quality habitats needed to sustain populations of speci c target species. The positive in uence of shrub density on reptile and amphibian communities at high-aridity sites may be due to the provision of cover, food, and microclimatic conditions that support their survival and reproduction (Westphal et Whitford, 1976;Gilioli et al, 2018). The presence and duration of temporary water bodies are likely a more important limiting factor to the distribution and community structure of amphibians than shrub density (Dayton and Fitzgerald, 2006), which could explain the low occurrences of amphibians in this study.…”

Fine‐scale habitat associations of Oklahoma's longspurs

“…Donovan et al (2002) recommends the identification and conservation of high quality habitats (i.e., habitats that result in high overwinter survival) among the highest research needs for conserving migratory birds. Identification and management of fine‐scale habitats (i.e., vegetation structure and composition) benefits at‐risk species (Klaus and Buehler 2001, Banks and Skilleter 2007, Gilioli et al 2018) and can be an important part in developing full life‐cycle management of declining migratory grassland birds flagged as research priorities, such as longspur species that winter in the Southern Great Plains (Bleho et al 2020, Briskie 2020, With 2020).…”