@article{raybuck_moorman_fritts_greenberg_deperno_simon_warburton_2015, title={Do silvicultural practices to restore oaks affect salamanders in the short term?}, volume={21}, ISSN={["1903-220X"]}, DOI={10.2981/wlb.00076}, abstractNote={Salamanders are an important ecological component of eastern hardwood forests and may be affected by natural or silvicultural disturbances that alter habitat structure and associated microclimate. From May to August in 2008 (pretreatment) and 2011 (post‐treatment), we evaluated the response of salamanders to three silvicultural practices designed to promote oak regeneration — prescribed fire, midstory herbicide application and shelterwood harvest — and a control. We trapped salamanders using drift fences with pitfall traps in five replicates of the four treatments. Only the southern gray‐cheeked salamander Plethodon metcalfi and the southern Appalachian salamander P. teyahalee were captured in sufficient numbers for robust statistical analysis. We analyzed data for these species using single‐species dynamic occupancy models in statistical software program R. We allowed changes in four covariates to influence extinction probability from pre‐ to post‐treatment implementation: 1) percent leaf litter cover; 2) percent understory cover; 3) percent CWD cover; and 4) percent canopy cover. The final combined model set describing extinction probability contained four models with ΔAIC < 2 for P. metcalfi and nine models with ΔAIC < 2, including the null model, for P. teyahalee. For both species, the 95% confidence intervals for model‐averaged extinction probability parameter estimates overlapped zero, suggesting none were significant predictors of extinction probability. Absence of short‐term salamander response in midstory herbicide and prescribed burn treatments was likely because of minor or transitory changes to forest structure. In shelterwood harvests, any potential effects of reduced canopy and leaf litter cover may have been mitigated by rapid post‐treatment vegetation sprouting. Additionally, climatic conditions associated with high elevation sites and high amounts of rainfall in 2011 may have compensated for potential changes to microclimate. Continued monitoring of Plethodon salamanders to assess responses at longer time scales (e.g. > 3 years post‐treatment) is warranted.}, number={4}, journal={WILDLIFE BIOLOGY}, author={Raybuck, Amy L. and Moorman, Christopher E. and Fritts, Sarah R. and Greenberg, Cathryn H. and Deperno, Christopher S. and Simon, Dean M. and Warburton, Gordon S.}, year={2015}, month={Aug}, pages={186–194} }
 @article{raybuck_moorman_greenberg_deperno_gross_simon_warburton_2012, title={Short-term response of small mammals following oak regeneration silviculture treatments}, volume={274}, ISSN={["1872-7042"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.foreco.2012.02.012}, abstractNote={Upland, mixed-oak forests in the eastern United States have experienced widespread oak regeneration failure, largely due to cessation of anthropogenic disturbance. Silvicultural practices used to promote advance oak regeneration may affect ground-dwelling mammals. From May to August 2008 (pre-treatment), 2010 (first year post-treatment), and 2011 (second year post-treatment), we trapped small mammals to assess changes in species richness and abundance following experimental tests of three silvicultural treatments (prescribed burns, midstory herbicide applications, and shelterwood harvests) used to promote oak regeneration. We trapped small mammals in five replicates of each treatment and controls using Sherman live traps (2008 and 2010) and drift fences (2008, 2010, and 2011). From pre- to post-treatment, we evaluated the change in estimated peromyscid abundance and relative abundance of masked shrews (Sorex cinereus), smoky shrews (Sorex fumeus), and northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda). Additionally, we evaluated the change in species richness across treatments for both sampling techniques. For all measures analyzed (i.e., species richness, peromyscid abundance, and relative abundance of shrews), the change from pre- to post-treatment did not differ among treatments. However, more masked shrews, smoky shrews, and northern short-tailed shrews were captured in 2011 (i.e., second year post-treatment) than in 2010 (i.e., first year post-treatment). Our research indicates that, in the short-term, small mammals (e.g., mice and shrews) can tolerate a wide range of forest disturbance following oak regeneration treatments. However, delayed treatment effects (e.g., additional post-herbicide midstory dieback) or additive changes following future treatments (e.g., prescribed burns following shelterwood harvests or multiple prescribed burns) may compound effects on small mammal populations, and should be assessed with long-term research (>2 years post-treatment).}, journal={FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT}, author={Raybuck, Amy L. and Moorman, Christopher E. and Greenberg, Cathryn H. and DePerno, Christopher S. and Gross, Kevin and Simon, Dean M. and Warburton, Gordon S.}, year={2012}, month={Jun}, pages={10–16} }