Effects of Urbanization on Stream Salamander Habitat Selection: An Experimental Study
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Authors
Dominguez, Kristin A.
Issue Date
2007-04-27
Type
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Conservation of headwater streams, and the biota associated
with them, is becoming more important as many streams are
being “urbanized” with an increase in construction and
development in their surrounding areas. Biota living in
headwater streams serve as nutrient processors and help
maintain water quality and stream health, not just for lower
order streams, but also for larger order streams and rivers. One
such animal is Eurycea bislineata (Fig. 1), the northern two-lined
salamander. These salamanders are common in lower order
streams in the northeastern United States and have an aquatic
larval stage lasting two years or more.
In this experimental study, we tested the effects of three
common consequences of urbanization of larval Eurycea
bislineata and their macroinvertebrate prey during summer
2006, as follows:
1) the presence of concrete in streams which may release alkali
2) the removal of riparian forests which decreases vegetation,
and reduces habitat structure and allochtonous nutrient supply
to the stream, and
3) an increase in loose sediment flow into the stream which may
increase the embeddedness, or compactness, of the stream
substrate.
Specifically, we tested whether or not salamander abundance is
reduced in presence of concrete, salamander density is higher in
non-embedded habitats and in the presence of leaf litter, and
whether or not salamander colonization is due to an interaction
between non-embedded treatments and the presence of leaf
litter.
Description
1 broadside : ill.