Bused on common use in wildlife managemeng we hypothesized that human-constructed water sources influence faunal communities detectably compared to similar habitats that lack water. We examined 20 wildlife water units and 20 paired comparison sites without water from April to August 1992 in semiarid southern New Mexico to assess animal species associattor~ We sampled sites by us. ing small-mammal live trap~ herpetofaunal and invertebrate pi~all array~ and 30-minute time-area coun~ We compared animal species richness and species concordance among water units (rain catchment,~ earthen tanks, and windmills) and comparison sites in three vegetation communities (mixed scrub, grusslana~ and pinyon.juniper). We detected 134 animal taxa during field sampling. Animal species richness did not differ between water units and comparison sites among vegetation communitie~ Amphibians were found only at water units but occur far from units during seasonal umt periodz Greater numbers of individual small mammals and berpetofauna at water units versus comparison sites likely related to debris and disturbed soil present near water unit~ Taxa detected at water units and comparison sites were 65% concordant overal~ discordant taxa were those rarely detected, Our data implied that definitive effects of artificial water sources on native wildlife species were not detectable Providing water sources may be a strategic tmmagement tool but must be viewed critically regarding effect on distribution of nativ~ feral and exotic
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.