Community occupancy of herpetofauna in roadside ditches in a managed pine landscape

Homyack, Jessica A.; O’Bryan, Christopher J.; Thornton, Jamie; Baldwin, Robert F.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.037

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…, Homyack et al. ). Across the herpetofaunal community, occupancy and species richness were consistently positively associated with SMZ width, with maximum estimated richness of 30 species occurring at sites with buffers extending 51 m on either side of the stream.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used a hierarchical Bayesian community occupancy model (Dorazio and Royle , Homyack et al. ) to estimate species‐specific occupancy and detection probability as a function of site‐specific covariates (average SMZ width, stand age categories, SMZ composition, site PC1, and site PC2) and sampling covariates (sampling PC1 and sampling PC2). This hierarchical approach incorporates species‐specific and assemblage‐level (i.e., salamander, reptile, or anuran groups) covariate effects into the same modeling framework, thus allowing estimation of species‐specific occurrence and detection probabilities and site‐specific species richness while also accounting for imperfect detection (Dorazio and Royle , Zipkin et al.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differential responses of amphibian and reptile assemblages to size of riparian buffers within managed forests

Guzy

Halloran

Homyack

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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2019. Differential responses of amphibian and reptile assemblages to size of riparian buffers within managed forests. Ecological Applications 29(8):Abstract. Streamside management zones (i.e., riparian buffers; SMZs) are commonly implemented within managed forests to protect water quality but may also provide habitat for riparian-associated wildlife. Yet, little research has rigorously addressed the value of SMZs for wildlife, particularly for cryptic species such as amphibians and reptiles. Previous studies of herpetofauna within SMZs have focused on one or a few stream-associated species, and questions remain regarding variation among species or guilds and what role SMZs serve toward conservation of herpetofaunal diversity in managed forests. However, recent statistical advances have improved our ability to analyze large multi-species presence-absence data sets, accounting for low detection rates typical for some herpetofaunal species. Our study represents an extensive landscape-scale examination of herpetofaunal communities within SMZs using a multi-species occupancy approach. We conducted four replicate surveys at 102 headwater streams, spanning a gradient of SMZ widths and adjacent forest stand ages, within the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas, USA. We used a hierarchical Bayesian community occupancy model to estimate species richness and species-specific occupancy responses to SMZ and overstory characteristics, accounting for variation in occupancy and detection attributable to site and sampling covariates. We documented high richness (37 species) within SMZs. Across the herpetofaunal community, occupancy and species richness were consistently positively associated with SMZ width, with maximum predicted richness of 30 species occurring at sites with buffers extending 51 m on either side of the stream. However, we documented considerable variation among groups and species within groups, underscoring the potential for different responses to forest management among taxa. Reptile predicted richness increased more rapidly up to SMZs of~35 m, whereas maximum salamander predicted richness was not seen until an SMZ width of 55 m. Estimated salamander richness was highest within SMZs embedded in mature managed pine stands and was higher in SMZs comprised of a deciduous or mixed overstory vs. a pine overstory. Compared to salamanders, more anuran species showed high mean estimated occupancy (>75%) at narrower SMZs (<30 m). Collectively, our results indicate that SMZs surrounding small first-order streams in intensively managed forests not only protect water quality, but also can support diverse amphibian and reptile communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential responses of amphibian and reptile assemblages to size of riparian buffers within managed forests

Guzy

Halloran

Homyack

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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“…; Homyack et al . ). Under the hierarchical community model, we assume species‐specific effects for a given parameter are drawn from one of two common normal distributions, for example,

{normalα}_{normalLeaf - normalgleaner, i} \sim N false(μ_{1}, σ_{1}^{2} false)

for parameter

α_{normalLeaf - normalgleaner}

of species i, where the mean and variance of

α_{Leaf - gleaner, i}

are population‐level hyperparameters depending on whether species i is a leaf‐gleaner species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…To evaluate specific predictions about avian responses to herbicide treatments, we included a hyperprior in the model to distinguish leaf-gleaner and non-leaf-gleaner guilds (Gelman & Hill 2007;Pacifici et al 2014;Homyack et al 2016). Under the hierarchical community model, we assume species-specific effects for a given parameter are drawn from one of two common normal distributions, for example, a LeafÀgleaner;i $ Nðl 1 ; r 2 1 Þ for parameter a LeafÀgleaner of species i, where the mean and variance of a LeafÀgleaner;i are population-level hyperparameters depending on whether species i is a leaf-gleaner species.…”

Section: A N a L Y S I Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Assembly dynamics of a forest bird community depend on disturbance intensity and foraging guild

Kroll

Verschuyl

Giovanini

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Tree plantations occur globally and are often promoted as a strategy to supply wood products for an expanding human population while reducing pressure on natural forests. Herbicides can accelerate growth of crop trees by suppressing competing vegetation, but little information is available about potential trade‐offs with early seral biodiversity resulting from more intensive management. Using data collected over 5 years immediately following stand‐replacing disturbance (clear‐felling), we used a large‐scale experiment to test how environmental filtering influences dynamics of avian community assembly. We evaluated avian responses to three levels of plant cover reduction (light, moderate and intensive herbicide applications) in relation to a control without herbicide. Under the environmental filtering hypothesis, we expected reduced avian species richness and higher turnover as broadleaf plant cover decreases with increasing management intensity. We predicted that the most intensive treatments would exert strong negative effects on leaf‐gleaning insectivores, including several species of conservation concern due to long‐term population declines. Richness of leaf‐gleaning bird species was reduced by 23–52% over the 5 years on moderate (standard practice) vs. control treatments, but effects were substantially smaller for the non‐leaf‐gleaner guild in years 1–4 (8–25%) and disappeared by year 5 (0%). Both leaf‐gleaner and non‐leaf‐gleaner functional groups continued to colonize moderate and intensive treatments at higher probabilities than the control in Year 5 (range: 0·17–0·29), likely due to rapid vegetation recovery after herbicide applications ceased. Planted conifers were >35% taller and >70% larger in diameter in the two most intensive treatments, leading to substantially more wood volume produced per unit area than on stands without herbicide applications. Synthesis and applications. Under current management regimes, stand‐level trade‐offs between conservation of avian diversity and production of wood commodities may be less severe than previously recognized. However, in landscapes where biodiversity conservation rather than wood production is the primary goal, managers can adjust the trade‐off by making relatively small reductions in herbicide use that should have positive impacts on richness of leaf‐gleaning insectivorous birds.

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“…Most rare and threatened species in ROW are plants or invertebrates, but some rare vertebrates have also been documented, including toad, turtle, and snake species of conservation concern in the US state of North Carolina (Homyack et al . ), two rare species of pygmy possum in South Australia (Carthew et al . ), and threatened avian fauna worldwide (Morelli et al .…”

Section: Habitats For Rare and Threatened Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rights‐of‐way: a potential conservation resource

Gardiner

Riley

Bommarco

et al. 2018

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Rights‐of‐way (ROW) that enable the transport of humans, goods, and energy (eg roads and road verges, railways and embankments, and power lines and the corridors they occupy) cover vast areas and can resemble a species‐rich natural habitat. We examine the value of ROW for biodiversity conservation. Similar to grasslands or heathlands, the green spaces associated with ROW often harbor high numbers of species, including rare plants and animals. There is, however, a risk that ROW can act as ecological traps, by attracting organisms that fail to survive and/or reproduce within ROW green spaces. To date, a focus on documenting species occurrence has left major gaps in our understanding of how life in a ROW influences the survival and reproduction of populations, their biotic interactions, and movements within a broader landscape. Estimating these parameters allows for management to better recognize the potential conservation value of these landscape elements.

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Community occupancy of herpetofauna in roadside ditches in a managed pine landscape

Cited by 15 publications

References 58 publications

Differential responses of amphibian and reptile assemblages to size of riparian buffers within managed forests

Differential responses of amphibian and reptile assemblages to size of riparian buffers within managed forests

Assembly dynamics of a forest bird community depend on disturbance intensity and foraging guild

Rights‐of‐way: a potential conservation resource

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