Meeting Abstract

64.2  Sunday, Jan. 6  Response of Herpetofauna to Ponderosa Pine Forest Treatments Prescribed by the National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study BLOCK, Jean/L*; NISHIKAWA, Kiisa/C; Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff; Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff jlb269@nau.edu

Ponderosa pine forests across the southwestern United States are being treated by thinning and burning to reduce fuel loads and the risk of catastrophic wildfire. However, very little is known about how these treatments influence herpetofauna. Compared to bird and mammal studies, herpetofauna are underrepresented in the literature. Studying their response to forest treatments is especially important given their general decline worldwide. I compared richness, diversity, abundance, and occupancy rates of herpetofauna between four different treatments prescribed by the National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study on the Colorado Plateau. Additionally, I correlated habitat variables with habitat use by Sceloporus undulatus tristichus. My study site included three replicates with four 10-hectare treatment units including thinning, burning, thinning and burning, and no treatment. Two major patterns emerged. There was a significant interaction effect between replicate and treatment for abundance of Sceloporus u. tristichus. Additionally, habitat variables associated with late successional forest stages were negatively correlated with habitat use while those associated with early successional stages were positively correlated with habitat use. This study suggests that forest treatments on larger geographic scales with more replicates are needed to detect differences in herpetofauna response to forest treatments. Furthermore, microhabitat analysis of habitat variables before and after forest treatments is important to understand patterns of resource use and distribution of herpetofauna.