Short-term response to season of burn by amphibians and reptiles in a Florida longleaf pine – wiregrass sandhill

Greenberg, Cathryn H.; Zarnoch, Stanley J.; Austin, James D.

doi:10.1139/cjfr-2019-0219

Title: Short-term response to season of burn by amphibians and reptiles in a Florida longleaf pine – wiregrass sandhill

Journal Article · Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Canadian Journal of Forest Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2019-0219· OSTI ID:1798981

Greenberg, Cathryn H. ^[1]; Zarnoch, Stanley J. ^[2]; Austin, James D. ^[3]

USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, 1577 Brevard Rd., Asheville, NC 28806, U.S.A.
USDA, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, U.S.A.
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, 110 Newins Ziegler Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A.

We investigated how herpetofauna respond to burning and burn season in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) sandhills by contrasting preburn species richness, diversity, and evenness and captures of six reptile and six amphibian species to the first (Y+1) or second (Y+2) year after burn or between dormant-season burns (DSB) and growing-season burns (GSB). Responses to burning overall or burn season were inconsistent among species; several showed no response, whereas others responded positively or negatively. Most responses were evident only in Y+1. Reptile species richness, diversity, and evenness responses were not detected. Amphibian richness increased after burning overall; diversity and evenness decreased more in GSB than in DSB in Y+1. Southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris (Bonnaterre, 1789)) captures increased and Florida crowned snake (Tantilla relicta Telford, 1966) captures decreased following burns overall in Y+1. Ground skink (Scincella lateralis (Say in James, 1823)) captures increased more in DSB than GSB in Y+1. Florida gopher frog (Lithobates capito (LeConte, 1855)) and southeastern five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus; Taylor, 1932) captures increased, and oak toad (Anaxyrus quercicus (Holbrook, 1840)) decreased more in GSB than DSB in Y+2. Responses were likely due to changes in aboveground activity affecting captures or (for amphibians especially) annual variability in captures unrelated to burns. Our results indicated that reptiles and amphibians of sandhills are resilient to short-term effects of burning overall and burn season.

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Research Organization:: US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Washington, DC (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

DOE Contract Number:: AI09-76SR00056

OSTI ID:: 1798981

Journal Information:: Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 49, Issue 12; ISSN 0045-5067

Publisher:: Canadian Science Publishing

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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