Potential effects of sudden oak death on small mammals and herpetofauna in coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia woodlands

Abstract

Within San Luis Obispo County, California, coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodlands provide important habitat for many wildlife species (see Tietje and others, this volume). Unfortunately, many of these woodlands are at high risk of sudden oak death (SOD) infection should the pathogen (Phytophthora ramorum) become established in the County (Meentemeyer and others 2004). To assess the potential impacts of SOD on the small mammal and herpetofaunal communities in this high-risk habitat, we surveyed for these taxa at three separate high-risk study sites within the County. We considered the co-occurrence of California bay laurel (Umbellularia californica) to be an indicator of high-risk woodlands. We then developed a priori regression models relating the abundance of the most common species to habitat structure and compared competing models using adjusted Akaike’s Information Criterion (AICc) values (Burnham and Anderson 2002). Finally, we projected the potential effects of SOD on these species in San Luis Obispo County by comparing vegetation data that we collected at infected and uninfected sites in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the sudden oak death second science symposium: the state of our knowledge

Citation

Tempel, Douglas J.; Tietje, William D. 2006. Potential effects of sudden oak death on small mammals and herpetofauna in coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia woodlands. In: Frankel, Susan J.; Shea, Patrick J.; and Haverty, Michael I., tech. coords. Proceedings of the sudden oak death second science symposium: the state of our knowledge. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-196. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 233-236