Increased growth rates of stream salamanders following forest harvesting.

Autor: Guzy JC; Wetland and Aquatic Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Davie Florida USA.; Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas USA., Halstead BJ; Western Ecological Research Center U.S. Geological Survey Dixon California USA., Halloran KM; Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas USA., Homyack JA; Strategy and Technology Weyerhaeuser Company Centralia Washington USA., Willson JD; Department of Biological Sciences University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Ecology and evolution [Ecol Evol] 2021 Oct 24; Vol. 11 (24), pp. 17723-17733. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 24 (Print Publication: 2021).
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8238
Abstrakt: Timber harvesting can influence headwater streams by altering stream productivity, with cascading effects on the food web and predators within, including stream salamanders. Although studies have examined shifts in salamander occupancy or abundance following timber harvest, few examine sublethal effects such as changes in growth and demography. To examine the effect of upland harvesting on growth of the stream-associated Ouachita dusky salamander ( Desmognathus brimleyorum ), we used capture-mark-recapture over three years at three headwater streams embedded in intensely managed pine forests in west-central Arkansas. The pine stands surrounding two of the streams were harvested, with retention of a 14- and 21-m-wide forested stream buffer on each side of the stream, whereas the third stream was an unharvested control. At the two treatment sites, measurements of newly metamorphosed salamanders were on average 4.0 and 5.7 mm larger post-harvest compared with pre-harvest. We next assessed the influence of timber harvest on growth of post-metamorphic salamanders with a hierarchical von Bertalanffy growth model that included an effect of harvest on growth rate. Using measurements from 839 individual D . brimleyorum recaptured between 1 and 6 times (total captures, n  = 1229), we found growth rates to be 40% higher post-harvest. Our study is among the first to examine responses of individual stream salamanders to timber harvesting, and we discuss mechanisms that may be responsible for observed shifts in growth. Our results suggest timber harvest that includes retention of a riparian buffer (i.e., streamside management zone) may have short-term positive effects on juvenile stream salamander growth, potentially offsetting negative sublethal effects associated with harvest.
Competing Interests: None declared.
(© 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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