Tag: ecology

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UBAP lead and ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin presents on railway ecology

UBAP program lead and ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin was invited to present at the 2023 Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC). Her talk, titled “Railway Ecology: Using Railway Corridors to Restore Native Habitats and Preserve Biodiversity,” discussed the emerging field and made recommendations for future research.

There are 48,000 hectares of railway right of way in Illinois, 774,000 hectares in the US, and 4,122,000 hectares globally which could be managed for wildlife conservation.

Rahlin discussed where research efforts should be focused”

Collisions and wildlife crossings

    • Continue fencing high-speed railways
    • Create wildlife passages for low-vagility species

Habitat Restoration

    • Maintain native plant diversity in verges
    • Focus on restoring grasslands – appear more susceptible to invasive species

Species monitoring and management

    • Expand focus from large mammals
    • Standardized, repeated surveys needed to establish baselines
    • Need for robust occupancy and abundance models
    • Multi-year monitoring before and after construction/expansions
    • Investigate life history parameters for well-studied species
    • Adaptive management framework

Future Research

    • Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) designs
    • Establish experimental vegetation plots along verges
    • Take advantage of novel technology
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New paper on Baron’s mantella frog, co-authored by Devin Edmonds

frog on moss
Mantella baroni photo by Devin Edmonds

INHS PaCE Lab PhD candidate Devin Edmonds co-authored a recent paper on habitat features of Baron’s Mantella Frog. Tantely Rasoarimanana (Université d’Antananarivo) and Olivier Marquis (Paris Zoo) led the collaboration with the NGO Man and the Environment. The study aimed to identify what microhabitat features explain the presence of Baron’s mantella frog (Mantella baroni) and also estimate their population sizes in Vohimana Reserve, eastern Madagascar. We found that leaf litter depth and the number of small trees in a quadrat were important habitat features; deeper leaf litter and fewer small trees explained if M. baroni was present.

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INHS PaCE Lab at Turtle Survival Alliance Symposium

Dr. Dreslik and several lab members are presenting posters and talks in Charleston, South Carolina this week for the Turtle Survival Alliance’s 21st Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles

 

Population structure of the Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys spp.) across twelve military installations in California
Emily Asche, Matthew I. Parry, Thomas S. B. Akre, Robert Lovich, and Michael J. Dreslik
Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys spp.) populations are currently threatened with habitat loss, predation, and shell disease. The synergies among threats have caused severe population declines whereby they are an endangered species in Washington, a sensitive species in Oregon, and a species of special concern in California. It is imperative to investigate their status in California to determine how prevalent threats are and what level of conservation action needs to be taken to avoid declines. We examined the population structure of the Western Pond Turtle populations at twelve military installations across California through sampling in one-week bouts using 50 aquatic traps at one visit per base. We recorded the body size, life stage, and sex of all individuals. Our study is intended to represent a first pass at determining if there are any immediate conservation concerns, such as biases in stage or sex ratios and population size structure.

Detection and occupancy of the Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys spp.)
Matthew I. Parry, Emily Asche, Robert Lovich, Thomas S. B. Akre and Michael J. Dreslik
Low densities, followed by a secretive nature, create challenges for accurately estimating population estimates and site occupancy rates. The Western Pond Turtle (Actinemys spp.) faces range-wide declines and is currently a species of special concern in California. Our project aims to determine their status across 12 military installations using an occupancy/detection framework while attempting to maximize captures during one 50 aquatic trap/four trap night sampling session per installation. Because we sampled areas of known occupancy, we could focus on estimating detection rates. We aim to create an MS Excel tool to determine the detection probabilities while accounting for various environmental and habitat-related covariates.

Survival matters: Comparing the demographic traits of Clemmys and Glyptemys with long-term capture-recapture data
Devin Edmonds, Michael J. Dreslik, Jeffrey E. Lovich, and Carl H. Ernst

Freshwater turtles are one of the most threatened vertebrate groups, with over half of all species at risk of extinction. Overexploitation and habitat loss are the largest threats, with many turtle populations now small, isolated, and needing conservation action to ensure they persist. To enact informed conservation measures and monitor recovery efforts, managers benefit from information about demographic rates like survival and recruitment for highly threatened turtle species. Survival plays a particularly important role in population persistence, considering the life history of most turtle species is characterized by a long lifespan, delayed sexual maturity, and low fecundity. Thus, even small changes in adult annual survival rates can cause otherwise stable populations to decline. We analyzed three historical long-term capture-recapture datasets to estimate annual survival and recruitment for populations of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata), Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), and Bog Turtles (Glyptemys muhlengerbii) that live in increasingly threatened wetlands and surrounding habitats. All three have ranges characterized by disjunct distributions and often small and isolated populations. Adult sex ratios in turtles can be affected by differences between the sexes in the timing of maturity, rates of mortality, sex-determining mechanism, or differential immigration/emigration. The two Glyptemys species have genetic sex determination while Clemmys has environmental sex determination. This latter distinction could affect each species responses under warming climate scenarios, since Clemmys might be expected to have female-biased populations as global temperatures increase. However, sex-specific differences in survival of Glyptemys species could also occur. Using multi-decadal data, we analyze sex-specific and species-specific survivorship from a site in eastern Pennsylvania where these turtles were sympatric. Our results help inform conservation efforts for three threatened freshwater turtle species and show the strengths of historic long-term data.

Baseline energetic requirements of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata)
Andrea L. Colton and Michael J. Dreslik

Increasing ambient temperatures due to climate change may lead to altered behaviors as turtles attempt to regulate internal body temperatures. Increased efforts to maintain temperatures may result in energetic tradeoffs, leading to reduced individual fitness and, thus, population abundance. Estimation of resting metabolic rates for turtles affords calculation of baseline energetic requirements and the potential to predict costs associated with warming landscapes. Using flow-through respirometry, we will determine the resting metabolic rates (RMRs) of adult Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) across a temperature gradient to provide information on energetic costs. The baseline estimates will then be used to determine the annual RMR costs on the landscape.

Ranges on the spectrum of recovery: conservation action for the Spotted Turtle and Eastern River Cooter in Illinois
Michael J. Dreslik

Extinction rates in the Anthropocene are significantly higher than background and previous major events. The extinction process can occur when local populations become extirpated, particularly those on the range periphery where habitats are often sub-optimal. Turtles are one of the most critically endangered taxa, with many anthropogenic factors triggering declines. Although jurisdictional boundaries can often complicate conservation, many North American turtles have peripheral populations of conservation concern. Within Illinois, peripheral populations of the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) and Eastern River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna) are protected as State Endangered; however, their apparent recovery is quite different. I discuss conservation prioritizations, status assessments, and conservation implementation needs for both species in Illinois. Finally, I compare the pathways to recovery for both species.
Conservation Tools and Actions: Oral Thursday PM

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Massasauga hibernacula at Carlyle Lake are genetically distinct units

Genetic analysis shows that the Eastern Massasauga hibernacula at Carlyle Lake are genetically distinct units.

Once found across the northern two-thirds of Illinois, populations of the Eastern Massasauga have declined, with only one known population remaining in Illinois. Our long term studies have found the top four sources of mortality to include automobiles, predation, management related mortality (prescribed burns, mowing, etc), and disease. Our current study indicates that efforts to address these ecological threats may not be enough to save this imperiled species.

The area under what is now known as Carlyle Lake was a floodplain valley known as Boulder Bottoms. The creation of Carlyle Lake in the 1960s flooded this area, separating habitats on the the east and west sides of the Kaskaskia River, pushing wildlife, including the Eastern Massasauga, to the edges between the lake and agricultural fields.  These bands of habitat are separated by the lake, paved roads, agriculture, and urbanization, potentially limiting migration and gene flow between patches.

Our current study looked at 327 genetic samples collected between 1999 and 2015 from individuals at 9 hibernacula across 3 study areas at Carlyle Lake. Study sites separated by up to 5 km had limited gene flow, as did hibernacula separated by a few hundred meters. This restriction of gene flow increases the vulnerability of these already imperiled populations.

Our study indicates that conservation and recovery efforts need to consider genetic rescue efforts in addition to reduction of ecological threats. Such efforts may include translocations and captive rearing to reduce the impacts of inbreeding depression and genetic drift. Even short distance translocations between the different study areas at Carlyle Lake could help restore  gene flow impeded by contemporary human created fragmentation.

Read the paper at PLOS One

Anthonysamy, Whitney J.B., Michael J. Dreslik, Sarah J. Baker, Mark A. Davis, Marlis R. Douglas, Michael E. Douglas, and Christopher A. Phillips. 2022. Limited gene flow and pronounced population genetic structure of Eastern Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus) in a Midwestern prairie remnant. PLOS ONE: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265666

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    Using three decades of data to save turtles

    Champaign, IL – Protecting and restoring habitats are the most important steps that can be undertaken to protect turtle populations into the future according to a pair of recent papers analyzing 3 decades of data.

    The Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guttata, is a small semi-aquatic turtle that inhabits sedge meadow, cattail marsh, wet-mesic prairie, and dolomite prairie in Illinois. It is protected as an endangered species in Illinois, which is at the western edge of its range. The two known populations in Illinois have been the focus of mark-recapture studies since 1988.

    Recent analysis found that Spotted Turtle populations are limited by the amount of available habitat, suggesting that management efforts should focus on increasing suitable habitat. Control of cattails (Typha sp.) and restoration of sedges would increase the amount of available habitat.

    Adults have a higher survival rate than younger turtles. Predators including raccoons and muskrats can eradicate eggs and juvenile turtles. While caging nests and headstarting juveniles will help the younger turtles, controlling predator populations could benefit all age classes.

    Feng, C.Y.; Ross, J.P.; Mauger, D.; Dreslik, M.J. A Long-Term Demographic Analysis of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) in Illinois Using Matrix Models. Diversity. 2019, 11, 226. doi:10.3390/d11120226

    Feng, C.Y.; Mauger, D.; Ross, J.P.; Dreslik, M.J. Size and Structure of Two Populations of Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) at Its Western Range Limit. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 14(3):648–658

     

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    Spotted, Blanding’s, and Wood turtle ​ ​conservation symposium

    PACE Lab head Michael Dreslik and herpetologist Jason Ross presented at the 2019 Spotted, Blanding’s, and Wood turtle conservation symposium held in West Virginia this November.

    http://www.americanturtles.org/2019symposium.html

    Population Viability Analysis and the Role of Head-starting for a northern Illinois Blanding’s Turtle Population

    Rapid Demographic Assessments for Freshwater Turtles: Filling in Data Deficiencies

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    New Publication on Spacial Ecology of Softshell Turtles

    Read the complete article at https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/11/8/124:

    Ross, J.P.; Bluett, R.D.; Dreslik, M.J. Movement and Home Range of the Smooth Softshell Turtle (Apalone mutica): Spatial Ecology of a River Specialist. Diversity 2019, 11, 124.

    A new paper by INHS PACE Lab herpetologists examined the movement of the state listed Smooth Softshell Turtle, Apalone mutica, a riverine species. Spatial ecological information is necessary to guide the conservation efforts of river turtles. Turtles were radio tracked and found to move on average 142 m per day, but moved more when water was high or streams were larger. In most situations, females moved greater distances than males. This work will guide future studies of riverine species.

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    Graduate Research Assistanceship available in Amphibian Ecology and Conservation

    M.S. Research Position in Amphibian Ecology and Conservation

    Drs. Michael Dreslik (Illinois Natural History Survey) and John Crawford (National Great Rivers Research and Education Center) are seeking a graduate student to pursue a Master of Science with the Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences department at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). This is a funded project that will investigate the population ecology and demography of Jefferson-complex (Ambystoma jeffersonianum and A. platineum) and blue-spotted salamanders (A. laterale) in Illinois. Census techniques will include the use of drift fence arrays, minnow trapping, and dip-netting. There will be opportunities for the student to ask additional ecological questions within the study system. Additional research responsibilities will include: entering and analyzing data; presenting results at scientific meetings and writing scientific reports and manuscripts.

    Competitive applicants will have: 1) a B.S. in Biology, Ecology, Wildlife or other related fields; 2) field research experience; 3) a strong work ethic; 4) ability to work well with others; and 5) a valid driver’s license. The successful applicant will be expected to enroll at the University of Illinois for the Spring 2019 semester (November 1 application deadline). Preference will be given to students with prior experience working with amphibians and/or drift fence arrays. To apply, combine cover letter, resume/CV, transcripts, GRE scores, and contact information (e-mail and phone) for three references into a single PDF document and submit by e-mail to Michael Dreslik (dreslik@illinois.edu) with the subject heading, “AmbystomaEcology”.

    For more information, email Dr. Michael Dreslik (dreslik@illinois.edu) and/or Dr. John Crawford (joacrawford@lc.edu).

    https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/7426/699126

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    UBAP staff presents at Ecological Society of America

    UBAP Ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin presented a poster at the Ecological Society of America conference held in Portland, Oregon from August 6th-11th. The poster reported on the environmental DNA research being conducted in collaboration with Mark Davis and Matthew Niemiller to collect presence-absence data on cryptic rails in Northern Illinois. The project is testing environmental DNA for bird detection and comparing it to traditional playback surveys.

    Rahlin, A.A., M.A. Niemiller, and M.A. Davis. Using environmental DNA sampling methods to determine cryptic wetland bird occupancy in Illinois.

     

    View poster