The relative influence of in situ and neighborhood factors on reptile recolonization in post‐mining restoration sites

Triska, Maggie D.; Craig, Michael; Stokes, Vicki L.; Pech, Roger P.; Hobbs, Richard J.

doi:10.1111/rec.12340

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Landscape composition may contribute to variation in restoration outcomes by influencing the likelihood that new habitats will be discovered and colonized, given that landscape attributes can profoundly affect dispersal (Bond & Lake ; Crouzeilles et al ; Wood et al ). At local scales, factors including microhabitat structure (Triska et al ; Corrêa et al ) and plant species composition (Boves et al ; Leuenberger et al ) are important predictors of species response to restoration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale drivers of restoration outcomes for an imperiled songbird

McNeil

Rodewald

Ruiz‐Gutiérrez

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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Habitat restoration is a cornerstone of conservation, particularly for habitat‐limited species. However, restoration efforts are seldom rigorously monitored at meaningful spatial scales. Poor understanding of how species respond to habitat restoration programs limits conservation efficacy for habitat‐restricted species like the Golden‐winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera, GWWA). We provide one of the first concerted assessments of a national conservation program aimed at restoring songbird habitat across its breeding range. We studied GWWA response to forest habitat restoration across two broad regions with opposing population trajectories and assessed factors driving species use of restored habitats across multiple spatial scales. From 2015 to 2017, we conducted 1,145 (n = 457 locations) and 519 point counts (n = 215 locations) across the Appalachian Mountains and Great Lakes (respectively) within restored habitats. Warbler abundance within restored habitats across the Great Lakes varied with latitude, longitude, elevation, forest type, and number of growing seasons. In the Appalachian Mountains, occupancy (trueψ^) varied with longitude, elevation, forest type, and number of growing seasons. Detections were restricted to areas within close proximity to population centers (usually <24 km) in the Appalachian Mountains, where GWWAs are rare (trueψ^ = 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20–0.25), but not in the Great Lakes, where GWWAs remain common (trueψ^ = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.84–0.90). Our study suggests that, even when best management practices are carefully implemented, restoration outcomes vary within/across regions and with multiscale habitat attributes. Although assessments of concerted habitat restoration efforts remain uncommon, our study demonstrates the value of monitoring data in the adaptive management process for imperiled species.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale drivers of restoration outcomes for an imperiled songbird

McNeil

Rodewald

Ruiz‐Gutiérrez

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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“…Although habitat restoration is used in reptile conservation (e.g. Péchy et al 2015;Triska et al 2016;Michael et al 2018), little is known on the efficiency of these actions, because of lack of knowledge on preferred vegetation characteristics or due to the lack of effective monitoring (Block et al 2001;Ruiz-Jaen and Aide 2005;Jellinek et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reptile responses to vegetation structure in a grassland restored for an endangered snake

et al. 2020

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Grassland ecosystems are among the most threatened biomes, and their restoration has become common in nature conservation. Yet restoration is rarely applied specifically for reptiles, which are among the most threatened vertebrates. The Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii) has become extinct in most of lowland Europe, and an endangered subspecies (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) has been a target of habitat restoration and captive breeding in Hungary since 2004. We quantified vegetation properties and the density of reptiles that either spontaneously colonised (three species) or were reintroduced (V. ursinii) in a grassland restored specifically for this purpose. We used a fine-scale survey to estimate the cover, and compositional and vertical diversity of the vegetation. We characterised sampling units along three habitat gradients: wetness, openness and grass tussock size. Model selection based on data from replicated counts showed that Green Lizards (Lacerta viridis) responded positively to vegetation cover and negatively to tussock area and height, and number of burrows. The Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis) responded positively to vegetation cover, vertical diversity and wetness, and negatively to openness. The Balkan Wall Lizard (Podarcis tauricus) responded positively to tussock height and negatively to vegetation cover. Finally, V. ursinii responded positively to vegetation cover and tussock height, and negatively to compositional diversity. Our results show the general importance of structural and compositional diversity of vegetation to reptiles. These results suggest that adaptive management should focus on increasing the total cover (for lizards) and the structural diversity of vegetation (for each species) to benefit reptiles in restored grasslands.

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“…Snakes were generally detected in all habitat types, but most species had higher captures in reclaimed treatments, most notably shrublands. Another study reviewed reptile recolonization of 3-20-y-old postmining restoration sites (Triska et al 2016). Two Serpentes species were captured in the study, and their detection did not differ between intact reference sites and postmining restoration sites, despite the extra efforts taken to reclaim the mined site (e.g., replacement of topsoil, reestablishment of vegetation from the topsoil seed bank and other sources).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of Terrestrial Herpetofauna to Persistent, Novel Ecosystems Resulting from Mountaintop Removal Mining

Williams

Brown

Wood

2017

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Mountaintop removal mining is a large-scale surface mining technique that removes entire floral and faunal communities, along with soil horizons located above coal seams. In West Virginia, the majority of this mining occurs on forested mountaintops. However, after mining ceases the land is typically reclaimed to grasslands and shrublands, resulting in novel ecosystems. In this study, we examined responses of herpetofauna to these novel ecosystems 10–28 y postreclamation. We quantified differences in species-specific habitat associations, (sub)order-level abundances, and habitat characteristics in four habitat types: reclaimed grassland, reclaimed shrubland, forest fragments in mined areas, and nonmined intact forest. Habitat type accounted for 33.2% of the variation in species-specific captures. With few exceptions, forest specialists were associated with intact forest and fragmented forest sites, while habitat generalists were either associated with grassland and shrubland sites or were distributed among all habitat types. At the (sub)order level, salamander (Order Urodela) captures were highest at fragmented and intact forest sites, frog and toad (Order Anura) captures were lowest at intact forest sites, and snake (Suborder Serpentes) captures were highest at shrubland sites. Habitat type was a strong predictor for estimated total abundance of urodeles, but not for anurans or snakes. Tree stem densities in grasslands differed from the other three habitat types, and large trees (>38 cm diameter at breast height) were only present at forest sites. Overstory vegetation cover was greater in forested than in reclaimed habitat types. Ground cover in reclaimed grasslands was distinct from forest treatments with generally less woody debris and litter cover and more vegetative cover. It is important to consider the distributions of habitat specialists of conservation concern when delineating potential mountaintop mine sites, as these sites will likely contain unsuitable habitat for forest specialists for decades or centuries when reclaimed to grassland or shrubland.

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The relative influence of in situ and neighborhood factors on reptile recolonization in post‐mining restoration sites

Cited by 25 publications

References 46 publications

Multiscale drivers of restoration outcomes for an imperiled songbird

Multiscale drivers of restoration outcomes for an imperiled songbird

Reptile responses to vegetation structure in a grassland restored for an endangered snake

Responses of Terrestrial Herpetofauna to Persistent, Novel Ecosystems Resulting from Mountaintop Removal Mining

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