Understanding vertebrate habitat relationships is important to promote management strategies for the longterm conservationof many species. Using a modified drift fence method, we sampled reptiles and compared habitat ...Understanding vertebrate habitat relationships is important to promote management strategies for the longterm conservationof many species. Using a modified drift fence method, we sampled reptiles and compared habitat variables within theWilliam B. Bankhead National Forest (BNF) in Alabama, U.S.A from April 2005 to June 2006. We captured 226 individual reptilesrepresenting 19 species during 564 total trap nights. We used canonical correspondence analysis to examine habitat associationsfor the reptiles sampled and we detected a distinct habitat gradient ranging from sites with greater litter depth and percentcanopy cover to more open sites with greater woody, herbaceous, and coarse woody debris (CWD) coverage, and CWD volume.Little brown skinks Scincella lateralis and eastern worm snakes Carphophis a. amoenus were associated with sites with greaterlitter depth and canopy cover, whereas eastern fence lizards Sceloporus undulatus, copperheads Agkistrodon cnntortrix, and grayratsnakes Pantherophis spiloides were associated with sites possessing greater CWD coverage and volume. We found that disturbancesdue to the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis were likely important for influencing reptile distributions throughthe creation of canopy gaps and fallen coarse woody debris. Compared to other studies, our modified drift-fence trap techniquewas successful for sampling larger snake species (66 snakes in 564 trap nights). We have also provided detailed schematics forconstructing drift fence array and box traps used in this study .展开更多
基金provided by the USDA Forest Service Southern Research Stationthe National Science Foundation
文摘Understanding vertebrate habitat relationships is important to promote management strategies for the longterm conservationof many species. Using a modified drift fence method, we sampled reptiles and compared habitat variables within theWilliam B. Bankhead National Forest (BNF) in Alabama, U.S.A from April 2005 to June 2006. We captured 226 individual reptilesrepresenting 19 species during 564 total trap nights. We used canonical correspondence analysis to examine habitat associationsfor the reptiles sampled and we detected a distinct habitat gradient ranging from sites with greater litter depth and percentcanopy cover to more open sites with greater woody, herbaceous, and coarse woody debris (CWD) coverage, and CWD volume.Little brown skinks Scincella lateralis and eastern worm snakes Carphophis a. amoenus were associated with sites with greaterlitter depth and canopy cover, whereas eastern fence lizards Sceloporus undulatus, copperheads Agkistrodon cnntortrix, and grayratsnakes Pantherophis spiloides were associated with sites possessing greater CWD coverage and volume. We found that disturbancesdue to the southern pine beetle Dendroctonus frontalis were likely important for influencing reptile distributions throughthe creation of canopy gaps and fallen coarse woody debris. Compared to other studies, our modified drift-fence trap techniquewas successful for sampling larger snake species (66 snakes in 564 trap nights). We have also provided detailed schematics forconstructing drift fence array and box traps used in this study .
