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Herpetofauna Communities and Habitat Conditions in Temporary Wetlands of Upland and Floodplain Forests on Public Lands in North-Central Mississippi

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Herpetofauna Communities and Habitat Conditions in Temporary Wetlands of Upland and Floodplain Forests on Public Lands in North-Central Mississippi Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2007 Herpetofauna Communities and Habitat Conditions in Temporary Wetlands of Upland and Floodplain Forests on Public Lands in North-Central Mississippi Katherine E. Edwards Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Edwards, Katherine E., "Herpetofauna Communities and Habitat Conditions in Temporary Wetlands of Upland and Floodplain Forests on Public Lands in North-Central Mississippi" (2007). Theses and Dissertations. 2484. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/2484 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HERPETOFAUNA COMMUNITIES AND HABITAT CONDITIONS IN TEMPORARY WETLANDS OF UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN FORESTS ON PUBLIC LANDS IN NORTH-CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI By Katherine Elise Edwards A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2007 HERPETOFAUNA COMMUNITIES AND HABITAT CONDITIONS IN TEMPORARY WETLANDS OF UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN FORESTS ON PUBLIC LANDS IN NORTH-CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI By Katherine Elise Edwards Approved: Jeanne C. Jones Kristina C. Godwin Associate Professor of Wildlife and State Director, USDA APHIS Fisheries Wildlife Services (Director of Thesis) Adjunct Faculty of Wildlife and Fisheries (Committee Member) W. Daryl Jones Bruce D. Leopold Assistant Extension Professor of Professor and Head Wildlife and Fisheries Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (Committee Member) (Committee Member) Bruce D. Leopold George M. Hopper Graduate Coordinator Dean Department of Wildlife and Fisheries College of Forest Resources Name: Katherine Elise Edwards Date of Degree: May 4, 2007 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Wildlife and Fisheries Science Major Professor: Dr. Jeanne C. Jones Title of Study: HERPETOFAUNA COMMUNITIES AND HABITAT CONDITIONS IN TEMPORARY WETLANDS OF UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN FORESTS ON PUBLIC LANDS IN NORTH-CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI Pages in Study: 115 Candidate for Degree of Master of Science Temporary wetlands are important breeding sites for herpetofauna, including species of concern, but are often overlooked in conservation planning and management decisions. I conducted surveys of herpetofauna communities and quantified habitat variables surrounding isolated, upland and stream-connected ephemeral pools on Tombigbee National Forest and Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in north-central Mississippi from March 2004 – March 2006 to compare herpetile species assemblages between different classes of temporary wetlands, determine use of pools as reproductive sites for amphibians, and determine faunal-habitat relationships for herpetofauna. Species richness and abundance of terrestrial herpetiles differed significantly between upland and floodplain pools. Upland pools contributed substantially more to the diversity of herpetiles than floodplain pools. Upland pools supported significantly greater abundance of larval Ambystomatid salamanders and central newts (larvae and adults). Forest overstory and ground coverage components influenced amphibian abundance such as abundance of mature trees, standing snags, downed woody debris, and litter depth. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to offer my sincere gratitude to the USDA Forest Service for generously funding my study. I would like to thank Tombigbee National Forest and Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge for providing access to study sites, and specifically Dave Richardson for his interest and assistance with this study. Special thanks go to Dr. Jeanne C. Jones for her guidance as my major advisor, her professional expertise, and her undying commitment to wildlife conservation. I thank the members of my committee: Ms. Kris Godwin, Dr. W. Daryl Jones, and Dr. Bruce D. Leopold. Many thanks to Dr. Jarrod Fogarty for pointing me in the right direction when getting started and also teaching me the use of nonparametric statistics. I would like to thank numerous technicians for their enthusiasm and dedication in data collection: Tyler Harris, Robert Hardy, Matt Brock, Lindsey Singleton, Lindsey Smith, Amanda Mitchell, Will Kouns, Jason Letson, and Eddie Parham and also fellow graduate students Edith Fogarty, Ray Iglay, and Joelle Carney for their assistance. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURE ............................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................... 5 II. STUDY AREA AND FIELD METHODS ..................................................... 7 STUDY AREA .......................................................................................... 7 FIELD METHODS .................................................................................... 9 Faunal Surveys............................................................................... 9 Habitat Data Collection ................................................................. 12 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................. 14 III. HERPETOFAUNA DIVERSITY AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCE IN UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN EPHEMERAL POOLS .......................... 17 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 17 STUDY AREA .......................................................................................... 23 METHODS ................................................................................................ 23 Field Methods ................................................................................ 23 Statistical Analyses........................................................................ 23 RESULTS ................................................................................................... 26 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 27 MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS ......................................................... 37 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................. 41 IV. LARVAL AMPHIBIAN DIVERSITY AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCE IN UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN EPHEMERAL POOLS .................... 56 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 56 STUDY AREA .......................................................................................... 58 METHODS ................................................................................................ 58 Field Methods ............................................................................... 58 iii CHAPTER Page Statistical Analyses ....................................................................... 59 RESULTS .................................................................................................. 60 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 61 MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS ......................................................... 67 LITERATURE CITED .............................................................................. 69 V. HABITAT ASSOCIATIONS OF REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS IN UPLAND AND FLOODPLAIN EPHEMERAL POOLS .......................... 79 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 79 STUDY AREA .......................................................................................... 82 METHODS ................................................................................................. 82 Field Methods ................................................................................ 82 Statistical Analyses........................................................................ 83 RESULTS ................................................................................................... 85 Canonical Correspondence Analysis ............................................. 85 Habitat .............................................................................. 85 Herpetofaunal Richness and Abundance ......................... 86 Additional Analyses....................................................................... 87 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................ 87 MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS ......................................................... 92 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................... 94 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................. 106 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................... 114 iv LIST OF TABLES TABLE Page
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