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Comparing Relative Abundance Of Amphibians In Forest Canopy Gaps Of Natural Origin Vs. Timber Harvest Origin, Carol J. Strojny, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

Publications

Relative abundance of amphibians in forest canopy gaps of natural origin vs. timber harvest origin.— Small–scale canopy gaps created by logging may retain adequate habitat structure to maintain amphibian abundance. We used pitfalls with drift fences to measure relative abundance of amphibians in 44 harvested gaps, 19 natural treefall gaps, and 36 closed–canopy forest plots. Metamorphs had relatively lower capture rates in large harvest gaps for Ambystoma maculatum, Lithobates catesbeianus, L. clamitans, and L. sylvaticus but we did not detect statistically significant (p < 0.1) differences among gap types for Lithobates palustris metamorphs. L. clamitans juveniles and L. sylvaticus juveniles and adults had relatively …