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- Info
Amphibian movements in response to forest edges, roads, and streambeds in southern New England
| Author: |
Gibbs, J.P. |
| Periodical: |
Journal of Wildlife Management |
| Abstract: |
If management of landscape linkages is to be promoted as a means of conserving amphibian populations, it must be demonstrated that amphibian dispersal does not occur independently of ecosystem edges and other salient landscape features. I used drift fences and pitfall traps to intercept dispersing amphibians and examine amphibian movements relative to roads, forest edges, and streambeds in a forest tract in southern Connecticut. Capture rates of 3 species (marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum; red spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens; pickerel frog, Rana palustris) were influenced by forest borders and streambeds, whereas captures of 3 other species (spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum; redback salamander, Plethodon cinereus; wood frog, R. sylvatica) were not. Across all species, the relative permeability of forest—road edges was much reduced in comparison to the forest interior and to edges between forest and open land. The data suggest that landscape-level conservation strategies aimed at amphibians should account for such filters and conduits to amphibian movement. |
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