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Red Hills Salamander Habitat Delineation, Breeding Bird Surveys, and Habitat Restoration Recommendations On Red Hills Salamander Habitat Delineation, Breeding Bird Surveys, and Habitat Restoration Recommendations on Commercial Timberlands James Godwin Alabama Natural Heritage Program Environmental Institute Auburn University Auburn, AL 36849 December 2008 Submitted to: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resouces State Wildlife Grants Program Abstract Twenty-seven sites known to support the Red Hills salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) were surveyed to estimate burrow density, delineate and quantify habitat, map slope habitat, and at selected sites perform breeding bird surveys. Additional data analysis included Red Hills salamander habitat associations with the underlying geological and soil layers. Information was collected on a suite of other rare species as identified in the Alabama Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Stategy and known to occupy habitats of the Red Hills physiographic province: two lizards, one snake, one tortoise, and 19 birds. Stepwise logistic regression analysis indicated that the probability of having Red Hills salamders on a site increases with the presence of American beech, American holly, deciduous magnolia species, mountain laurel, and yellow poplar, yet the probability declines with the additons of additional woody species. Burrow density estimates were calculated for 18 sites with estimates ranging from 0.030 to 0.202 burrows/m2. The majority of Red Hills salamander habitat mapped occurred in tracts less than 10 ha in area. Habitat association, with the Tallhahatta and Hatchetigbee formations, was > 75%, as expected. Major soil associations with Red Hills salamander habitat were Arundel fine sandy loam and Luverne sandy loam. These two soil types comprised >76% of the total. Generalized management recommendations pertaining to Red Hills salamander slope habitat and adjacent ridgetops and based on scale and interval of perturbation events and effect upon species suites have been included. For sites deemed to be important for conservation of the Red Hills salamander and representative of this unique physiographic province specific management recommendations have been provided i Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................i Introduction.........................................................................................................1 Description of Red Hills .....................................................................................1 Red Hills: Historical Perspective and Biological Importance .............................5 Habitat Conservation Plans...............................................................................9 Objectives..........................................................................................................12 Methods .............................................................................................................12 Site Selection ..................................................................................................12 Habitat Delineation ..........................................................................................14 Woody Vegetation of Slopes ...........................................................................15 Line Transects for Salamander Burrow Density and Habitat Analysis.............16 Statistical Methodology................................................................................20 Avian Surveys .................................................................................................22 Other Species of Conservation Concern ........................................................23 Reptiles ...........................................................................................................23 Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).....................................................23 Coal skink (Eumeces anthracinus) ..............................................................24 Southeastern five-lined skink (Eumeces inexpectatus)................................25 Speckled kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki)...................................25 Birds ................................................................................................................26 Swallow-tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus).....................................................26 Common ground-dove (Columbina passerina) ............................................27 Eastern screech-owl (Otus asio)..................................................................28 Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) ...........................................................29 Chuck-will’s-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) ...........................................30 Belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) .................................................................31 Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) ............................32 Red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis)...........................................33 Downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) ..................................................35 Hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) ..........................................................36 Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) ............................................................37 Prairie warbler (Dendroica discolor).............................................................38 Worm-eating warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus)...........................................39 Swainson’s warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) .............................................40 Kentucky warbler (Oporonis formosus)........................................................41 Northern parula (Parula americana) ............................................................42 Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea)...................................................43 Louisiana waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla) ...................................................44 Bachman’s sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis) ..................................................45 Results and Discussion ...................................................................................47 Habitat Delineation ..........................................................................................47 GPS Tracks .................................................................................................47 Topographical & Aerial ................................................................................48 Geology .......................................................................................................48 ii Soils.............................................................................................................51 Woody Vegetation of Slopes ...........................................................................58 Line Transects, Predictive Models, and Burrow Density Estimation................64 Burrow Occupancy ......................................................................................65 Burrow Density ............................................................................................79 Historical Burrow Density.............................................................................86 Avian Surveys .................................................................................................92 Avian Species of Conservation Concern .......................................................103 Target Species in the Red Hills..................................................................105 Management Recommendations...................................................................106 Red Hills Salamander and Red-cockaded Woodpecker: Keystones to Red Hills Conservation and Restoration.......................................................................106 Red-cockaded Woodpecker Prey: the Acrobat Ant, Crematogaster ashmeadi ...................................................................................................................116 Additional Comments Regarding Longleaf Pine Restoration and Ant Communities..............................................................................................118 Ridgetop Restoration .................................................................................119 Natural (or restored) vs. Altered Ridgetop Tree Cover: A Postulated Linkage to Slope Habitat .........................................................................................131 Embedded Habitats ...................................................................................135 Comprehensive Red Hills Conservation for the...........................................137 Red Hills Salamander and Gopher Tortoise .................................................137 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................138 Literature Cited ...............................................................................................140 iii List of Tables Table 1. The major invertebrate fossil groups reported from the Nanafalia, Hatchetigbee, and Tallahatta formations of Alabama. ...................................3 Table 1. The major invertebrate fossil groups reported from the Nanafalia, Hatchetigbee, and Tallahatta formations of Alabama. ...................................3 Table 2. Terrestrial vertebrates of conservation concern that occur in the Red Hills Physiographic Province..........................................................................9 Table 2. Terrestrial vertebrates of conservation
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