Basin-Scale Surveys of Stream-Associated Amphibians in Intensively Managed Forests

Kroll, Andrew J.; MacCracken, James G.; Mcbride, Timothy C.; Bakke, Jenniffer; Light, Jeff; Peterson, Phil; Bach, Janette

doi:10.2193/2009-265

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The Program PRESENCE software (Any use of trade, firm or (Kroll et al, 2010). If detection is unaccounted for, the true presence of a species may be misclassified as absent if a species was present but not detected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Past research was reviewed to identify microhabitat parameters thought to influence salamander occupancy and/or abundance (Bury and Corn, 1989;Miller et al, 2007;Moseley et al, 2008;Kroll et al, 2010). Temporally variable parameters such as water temperature, conductivity, soil temperature, air temperature and stream flow condition were sampled at each of the three sampling events.…”

Section: Microhabitat Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia

Sweeten¹,

Ford²

2016

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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Large-scale coal mining practices, particularly surface coal extraction and associated valley fills as well as residential wastewater discharge, are of ecological concern for aquatic systems in central Appalachia. Identifying and quantifying alterations to ecosystems along a gradient of spatial scales is a necessary first-step to aid in mitigation of negative consequences to aquatic biota. In central Appalachian headwater streams, apart from fish, salamanders are the most abundant vertebrate predator that provide a significant intermediate trophic role linking aquatic and terrestrial food webs. Stream salamander species are considered to be sensitive to aquatic stressors and environmental alterations, as past research has shown linkages among microhabitat parameters, large-scale land use such as urbanization and logging, and salamander abundances. However, there is little information examining these relationships between environmental conditions and salamander occupancy in the coalfields of central Appalachia. In the summer of 2013, 70 sites (sampled two to three times each) in the southwest Virginia coalfields were visited to collect salamanders and quantify stream and riparian microhabitat parameters. Using an information-theoretic framework, effects of microhabitat and largescale land use on stream salamander occupancy were compared. The findings indicate that Desmognathus spp. occupancy rates are more correlated to microhabitat parameters such as canopy cover than to large-scale land uses. However, Eurycea spp. occupancy rates had a strong association with large-scale land uses, particularly recent mining and forest cover within the watershed. These findings suggest that protection of riparian habitats is an important consideration for maintaining aquatic systems in central Appalachia. If this is not possible, restoration riparian areas should follow guidelines using quick-growing tree species that are native to Appalachian riparian areas. These types of trees would rapidly establish a canopy cover, stabilize the soil, and impede invasive plant species which would, in turn, provide high-quality refuges for stream salamanders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microhabitat Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia

Sweeten¹,

Ford²

2016

J. Ecol. Nat. Environ.

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show abstract

“…Other studies have estimated detection probabilities for Ambystoma from 0.459 to 0.89 (Corn et al 2005, Hossack and Corn 2007, Gorman et al 2009, Peterman et al 2013; however, all of these refer to larger pond or wetland habitats and not to streams or sites as small as our sites. Detection probabilities of nonambystomatid salamanders in streams range from 0.39-0.96 (Jung et al 2005, Kroll et al 2010.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural history of the critically endangered salamander Ambystoma leorae (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from the Río Tonatzin, Mexico

Lemos‐Espinal¹,

Smith

Zamora³

et al. 2017

Phyllomedusa

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Natural history of the critically endangered salamander Ambystoma leorae (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from the Río Tonatzin, Mexico. In Mexico, many species of Ambystoma are endangered, but unfortunately little is known about their natural history and ecology. We report on aspects of the natural history of A. leorae, a critically endangered endemic salamander, from the Río Tonatzin, State of México, Mexico. We observed egg masses, which were attached to vegetation, from April to June, with a mean of 7.28 eggs per egg mass. Larval A. leorae were found in sections of the Río Tonatzin with muddy bottoms and submerged aquatic vegetation. We observed adult and juvenile salamanders throughout the year except September, but with a peak from May to July. The use of sites along the Río Tonatzin by adult and juvenile A. leorae was driven primarily by vegetation type and substrate type of the site, with mud or sand substrate with grass roots and submerged aquatic vegetation being the most used site types. We found no evidence of sexual dimorphism in A. leorae. Our results suggest that adult and juvenile A. leorae use a variety of stream sites, although larvae appear to be more limited in their use of stream sites. These observations indicate that to maintain this population of A. leorae, the general conditions existing in the Río Tonatzin should be protected, especially the sections with muddy bottoms and aquatic vegetation where larvae, juveniles, and adults are found.

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“…Program PRESENCE was developed to examine and rank multiple hypotheses using an information-theoretic approach (AIC) and maximum likelihood to determine the best-fit model for the data (Bailey et al, 2007;Kroll et al, 2010). Within Program PRESENCE, we used "SingleSeason" models to examine occupancy and the "Royle Repeated Count" models (also known as N-mixture models) to estimate salamander abundances from repeated site visits (Royle, 2004).…”

Section: Occupancy and Abundance Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of a Stream and Riparian Habitat Assessment Protocol Using Stream Salamanders in the Southwest Virginia Coalfields

Sweeten¹,

Ford²

2016

JASMR

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Within the central Appalachia Coalfields, the aquatic impacts of largescale land uses, such as surface mining, are of particular ecological concern. Identification and quantification of land use impacts to aquatic ecosystems are a necessary first step to aid in mitigation of negative consequences to biota. However, quantifying physical environmental quality such as stream and riparian habitat often can be quite difficult, particularly when there is time or fiscal limitations. As such, standard protocols such as the U.S. EPA's Stream Habitat Rapid Bioassessment Protocol have been established to be cost-and time-effective. This protocol estimates ten different stream and riparian conditions on a scale of 0 to 20. Unfortunately, using estimations can be problematic because of large potential variation in the scoring depending on differences in training, experience, and opinion of the personnel doing the estimations. In order to help negate these biases and provide a simplified process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) developed a functional assessment for streams that measures 11 stream and riparian variables along with watershed land use to calculate three different scores, a hydrology score, biogeochemical score, and habitat score. In our study, we examined the correlation of stream salamander presence and abundance to the three USACE scores. In the summer of 2013, we visited 70 sites in the southwest Virginia Coalfields multiple times to collect salamanders and quantify stream and riparian microhabitat parameters. Using occupancy and abundance analyses, we found strong relationships among three Desmognathus spp. and the USACE Habitat FCI score. Accordingly, the Habitat FCI score provides a reasonable assessment of physical instream and riparian conditions that may serve as a surrogate for understanding the community composition and integrity of aquatic salamander in the region.

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Basin-Scale Surveys of Stream-Associated Amphibians in Intensively Managed Forests

Cited by 3 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia

Effects of microhabitat and large-scale land use on stream salamander occupancy in the coalfields of Central Appalachia

Natural history of the critically endangered salamander Ambystoma leorae (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from the Río Tonatzin, Mexico

Validation of a Stream and Riparian Habitat Assessment Protocol Using Stream Salamanders in the Southwest Virginia Coalfields

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