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Abstract
Terrestrial salamanders are ideal indicators of forest ecosystem integrity due to their abundance, their role in nutrient cycling, and their sensitivity to environmental change. To understand better how terrestrial salamanders are affected by forest management practices, we monitored species diversity and abundance before implementation of timber harvests within the forested landscape of the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment in Indiana. We monitored 66 cover-object grids in fall 2007 and spring 2008 and conducted quadrat surveys at each grid in spring 2008. Cover-object sampling and quadrat surveys detected six salamander species. The most commonly encountered species were eastern red-backed (
Plethodon cinereus) (n=3621 encounters) and northern zigzag salamanders (
P. dorsalis) (n=1603 encounters). Mean salamander encounters per sampling occasion found by cover objects ranged among units from 6.6 to 11.1, whereas those found by quadrat surveys ranged from 1.5 to 7.3. Treatment types did not differ according to cover-object data, but quadrat surveys found greater mean encounter rates in control and even-aged units than in uneven-aged units. Encounter rates were greater during spring sampling compared to fall, and rates were greater on northeast-facing slopes in general.
Parent Publication
Keywords
bats,
beetles,
birds,
Central Hardwoods,
experiment,
forest management,
human attitudes,
Indiana,
moths,
oak,
reptiles,
salamanders,
silviculture,
small mammals,
wildlife
Citation
MacNeil, Jami E.; Williams, Rod N. 2013. Relative abundance and species richness of terrestrial salamanders on hardwood ecosystem experiment sites before harvesting. In: Swihart, Robert K.; Saunders, Michael R.; Kalb, Rebecca A.; Haulton, G. Scott; Michler, Charles H., eds. 2013. The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment: a framework for studying responses to forest management. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-108. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 142-150.
