Occupancy and Community Characteristics of Herpetofauna
PRELIMINARY RESULTS so far show:
- Both amphibian and reptile species richness is greatest in unmanaged (hardwood) ponds. - NMDS analyses suggest that managed ponds have a subset of the diversity seen in other aquatic systems. This may be a result of site-level habitat features, such as hydroperiod. - Occupancy models show species are responding to different site and landscape scale features, providing evidence that a mosaic of habitat types and stand ages supports beta diversity of amphibian and reptile assemblages. |
The goal of my master's research is to understand how various aquatic systems embedded in a managed loblolly pine forest contribute to diversity of amphibians and reptiles by:
(1) Predicting occupancy of herpetofauna as a function of habitat variables, aquatic system, stand age, and landscape context (2) Assessing community composition as a function of aquatic system, stand age, and associated habitat variables (3) Comparing species richness and diversity by aquatic systems and stand ages I monitored 53 sites stratified across the landscape by aquatic system (managed ponds, unmanaged ponds, and roadside ditches) and stand age (early, mid, and late) surrounding a site from January-June 2013 and 2014. I am taking a landscape scale approach, collecting habitat variables at the site, local (50m), and landscape (400m) scales. To tackle these questions, I used visual surveys, dipnet surveys, and acoustic recording devices to collect anuran call data, . Anuran call data was collected using Song Meters (SM2+), allowing us to collect a robust sample across sites for multiple nights, while also collecting temporal variation within a single night. |