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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Effects Of Mountaintop Removal Mining On Population Dynamics Of Stream Salamanders, Sara B. Freytag
Effects Of Mountaintop Removal Mining On Population Dynamics Of Stream Salamanders, Sara B. Freytag
Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR) is a notorious stressor of stream ecosystems in the Central Appalachians. Valley fills (VF) lead to reduced occupancy, abundance, and species richness of stream salamanders. Multiple factors may be responsible for these reductions, but specifically habitat fragmentation and degradation may reduce colonization rates and increase local extinction rates. From 2013-2015, repeated counts of salamanders were conducted in stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and compared to counts in reference reaches to answer the question: do stream salamander population dynamics differ between stream reaches impacted by MTR/VF and reference stream reaches? I also investigated dynamics of stream habitat …
Investigations In Cryptic Species: Considerations And Applications For Estimating Detection, Occupancy, And Abundance Of Semi-Aquatic Snakes, Christian Robert Oldham
Investigations In Cryptic Species: Considerations And Applications For Estimating Detection, Occupancy, And Abundance Of Semi-Aquatic Snakes, Christian Robert Oldham
Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources
Snake species are notoriously difficult to study in the field due to their cryptic natural-histories and secretive behaviors. Difficulties associated with detection present challenges estimating parameters including occupancy and abundance, as well as responses to habitat degradation. Our objectives were to use Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) telemetry to enhance detection of Queensnakes (Regina septemvittata) as compared to traditional capture-mark-recapture (CMR) survey techniques and to examine occupancy and abundance of Queensnakes and Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) in streams of differing levels of anthropogenic impact within Central Kentucky. During 2013, we captured Queensnakes and implanted them with PIT …