8 research outputs found
Massasauga Repatriation on a Restored Wet Prairie
Get PDFThe massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a small rattlesnake that occurs from Texas to New York (Schmidt and Davis 1941, Conant and Collins 1991, Szymanski 1998). In Missouri, the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (EMR; S. c. catenatus), a subspecies of the massasauga, occurs north and east of the Missouri River, is a former candidate for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act (Code of Federal Regulations 64 FR 57534; Szymanski 1998), and is listed as a state endangered species (Missouri Natural Heritage Program 2011). Missouri currently harbors five extant EMR populations (Johnson 2000, Durbian et al., unpublished report, J. Briggler, Missouri Department of Conservation, personal communication). The decline of this subspecies can be attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation, over utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific or educational purposes, predation due to habitat fragmentation, inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms, and indiscriminant or accidental killing (Szymanski 1988).
In Missouri, the EMR utilizes a combination of mesic and xeric bottomland prairie habitats and is typically associated with wetlands (Seigel 1986, Johnson et al. 2000). Over the past century, 87% of the wetland habitat has been lost in Missouri (Dahl 1990); however, current restoration efforts will enable EMRs to repatriate sites that are adjacent to existing populations. Repatriation of restored habitat has been documented for many other species groups including amphibians (Lehtinen and Galatowitsch 2001) and birds (Gardali et al. 2006), however, we were unable to find evidence in the literature involving snakes. Therefore, our objective was to document repatriation of restored habitat by EMRs on Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (SCNWR) located in northwestern Missouri
Massasauga Repatriation on a Restored Wet Prairie
Get PDFThe massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) is a small rattlesnake that occurs from Texas to New York (Schmidt and Davis 1941, Conant and Collins 1991, Szymanski 1998). In Missouri, the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake (EMR; S. c. catenatus), a subspecies of the massasauga, occurs north and east of the Missouri River, is a former candidate for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act (Code of Federal Regulations 64 FR 57534; Szymanski 1998), and is listed as a state endangered species (Missouri Natural Heritage Program 2011). Missouri currently harbors five extant EMR populations (Johnson 2000, Durbian et al., unpublished report, J. Briggler, Missouri Department of Conservation, personal communication). The decline of this subspecies can be attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation, over utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific or educational purposes, predation due to habitat fragmentation, inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms, and indiscriminant or accidental killing (Szymanski 1988).
In Missouri, the EMR utilizes a combination of mesic and xeric bottomland prairie habitats and is typically associated with wetlands (Seigel 1986, Johnson et al. 2000). Over the past century, 87% of the wetland habitat has been lost in Missouri (Dahl 1990); however, current restoration efforts will enable EMRs to repatriate sites that are adjacent to existing populations. Repatriation of restored habitat has been documented for many other species groups including amphibians (Lehtinen and Galatowitsch 2001) and birds (Gardali et al. 2006), however, we were unable to find evidence in the literature involving snakes. Therefore, our objective was to document repatriation of restored habitat by EMRs on Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (SCNWR) located in northwestern Missouri
Data from: Habitat attributes associated with short-term settlement of Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) salamanders following translocation to the wild
No full text1. Organisms associated with lotic systems rank among the most threatened because of global change. Although translocation is being increasingly applied as a conservation strategy, most studies have focused on survival and recruitment of individuals, and few have attempted to identify how habitat attributes influence short-term settlement of animals during the critical post-release period. 2. We demonstrate the application of resource selection modelling in an information theoretic framework to identify release-site characteristics that will increase the likelihood of settlement for a fully aquatic benthic stream salamander, the Ozark hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi). We fit discrete choice models using data from 29 radio-tagged hellbenders that were translocated to two sites in the North Fork of the White River (NFWR), Missouri (U.S.A.). We defined resource availability at two spatial scales (stream reach and home range) and quantified abiotic habitat attributes at 3181 salamander locations and 6329 random available locations collected between May 2008 and August 2009. 3. At both sites and spatial scales, a single model received substantially greater support (0.96–1.00 of total model weight) than all other models, and top-ranked models were similar in form and predictive ability. At both spatial scales, selection was positively influenced by the presence of cobble-boulder substratum relative to bedrock and finer substrata. We also noted a negative interactive effect between distance to the nearest substratum particle large enough to provide cover (i.e. at least one axis ≥15 cm in length) and an increase in either a direct or relative (i.e. pool, run, and riffle) measure of water velocity. 4. Collectively, salamanders released in our study selected resources indicative of long-term benthic microhabitat stability. However, despite strong selection of cobble-boulder substratum, 8% (282 of 3181) of captive-reared hellbender locations occurred in bank crevices and root masses. Although several studies have reported the importance of near bed hydraulics in determining occurrence of stream macroinvertebrates, our findings are the first to indicate that spacing among cobble-boulder substrata may be important for hellbenders. 5. To increase the likelihood of short-term settlement of captive-reared hellbenders in the wild, we recommend prioritising release sites where the average distance between cobble-boulder particles within habitat patches is minimised. In general, average spacing among cobble and boulder substrata should be <1 m in habitat patches where mean benthic water velocity exceeds 0.1 m s−1, and <0.5 m where water velocity approaches 0.30 m s−1. Based on home range sizes of captive-reared Ozark hellbenders, the collective extent of suitable cobble-boulder habitat patches within release sites should approximate at least 10 m2 per salamander released
