Bumble bees (Bombus spp.) are declining across many regions in the Northern Hemisphere, leading to a need for management actions that will protect and enhance their habitats. In the Sierra Nevada of California, USA, montane chaparral is prevalent across the landscape, particularly after forest fires, and may provide important floral resources for pollinators. However post‐fire montane chaparral is often targeted for removal during reforestation efforts, to reduce competition with young trees. In 2015 and 2016, we conducted non‐lethal bumble bee surveys within 2 areas in the Sierra Nevada that burned in forest fires in 2004. Our goals were to describe bumble bee abundance and species richness in a post‐fire landscape, to compare results from chaparral‐dominated upland vegetation with results from interspersed patches of riparian vegetation, and to identify characteristics of individual chaparral stands that might make some stands more valuable to bumble bees than others. We captured 2,494 bumble bees of 12 species, and used Bayesian hierarchical modeling to determine that bumble bee abundance was substantially greater in riparian plots (modeled capture rate truex¯ = 1.10 ± 0.31 [SD] bees/survey in 2015, and 2.96 ± 0.83 bees/survey in 2016) than in upland plots (truex¯ = 0.47 ± 0.07 bees/survey in 2015, and 1.27 ± 0.18 bees/survey in 2016), which comprised a mix of chaparral shrubs and associated herbaceous plants. Modeled species richness was also greater in riparian plots, with an average mean richness of 4.1 ± 1.8 bumble bee species in riparian plots versus 2.3 ± 1.3 species in upland plots across the 2 years of the study. Within upland and riparian areas, plots dominated by herbaceous vegetation had greater abundance and species richness. One chaparral shrub species, bearclover (Chamaebatia foliolosa), was foraged on preferentially over all other shrub species and over all but 1 forb taxon, and was associated with increased occupancy probability in the Vosnesensky bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii), the most abundant bumble bee species on our study plots. A complex of closely related herbaceous species in the genus Phacelia, commonly associated with upland chaparral in our study area, was the plant taxon most frequently used by bumble bees, and appeared to be particularly important during mid‐summer after bearclover flowers became scarce. Our findings suggest that post‐fire chaparral communities are generally less intensively used by bumble bees than nearby riparian vegetation but may nevertheless provide important habitat. When chaparral removal is part of post‐fire forest regeneration strategies, bumble bees will likely benefit from retention of a mosaic of upland habitat patches dominated by herbaceous vegetation and, in our study area, bearclover, which may provide foraging resources throughout the life cycle of local bumble bee colonies. Because habitat characteristics affected the occupancy of individual bumble bee species differently, managers should consider foraging preferences of target bumble ...

Understanding the limiting factors of recovery is essential for guiding sound management of endangered species. The Wyoming toad (Anaxyrus baxteri) is a critically endangered amphibian whose cause of decline and inability to reestablish breeding populations despite early life stage reintroductions remains unknown; habitat degradation and the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) are 2 potential contributing factors. In 2013, we experimentally tested the effects of habitat factors under foodsupplemented and predator-protected conditions (i.e., mesh field enclosures) on time to metamorphosis, the proportion of tadpoles that metamorphosed, tadpole and toadlet size, the proportion of toadlets remaining in enclosures at release (approx. 1 month post-metamorphosis), and Bd prevalence in early life stages of Wyoming toads at Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge. In 2014, we tested the effects of small-scale application of vegetation height management on toadlet size, the proportion of toadlets that remained, and Bd prevalence until 1 month post-metamorphosis. In 2013, median time to metamorphosis (25.5 days) was shorter in warmer water temperatures and proportion of tadpoles that metamorphosed was 0.70. In 2013, toadlet size was positively related to forb cover up to 35% and although overall treatment effect was not significant, mid-vegetation height treatments (10-30 cm) had fewer small toadlets at release than short (0-10 cm) and tall (>30 cm) vegetation heights. In 2014, vegetation height treatment (11.49-31.6 cm) had marginal support for estimating larger size at release. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis was not detected in water samples or on post-metamorphic toadlets. Our results suggest that in mesh field enclosures, time to metamorphosis is shorter in warm water. In addition, vegetation heights of 10-30 cm and up to 35% forb cover within terrestrial mesh enclosures could increase Wyoming toad post-metamorphic size, which could increase overwinter survival rates. Using mesh field enclosures for soft-release may improve the effectiveness of early life stage reintroduction efforts, but predator attraction and density-dependent growth need to be considered. Habitat management can also influence growth and survival of early life stages of amphibians and may benefit reintroduction efforts for other species. Ó 2015 The Wildlife Society.

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