@article {6900, title = {Potential influence of high-elevation wind farms on carnivore mobility}, journal = {The Journal of Wildlife Management}, volume = {81}, year = {2017}, month = {Jan-11-2017}, pages = {1505 - 1512}, abstract = {

Wind power development is regarded as a clean energy source. Efforts to mitigate climate change, however, may degrade habitat and compromise wildlife. During winter 2011{\textendash}2012, we examined the potential influence of a wind farm on a community of carnivores in the New England-Acadian Forest, northern New Hampshire, United States, with a focus on American martens (Martes americana), a mid- to late-successional forest species adapted for snow. We counted marten, red fox (Vulpes fulva), and coyote (Canis latrans) tracks and measured snowpack along roads, and snowmobile and hiking trails to determine the relative influence of wind farms on space use for each species. We observed all species at high-elevations (\>823 m), although use frequency varied by road or trail type. As expected, we detected martens most often at high elevations along hiking trails and least often along wind farm roads. We observed the opposite pattern for red foxes and coyotes. Additionally, there was a higher probability of observing canids when snow depth increased and a lower probability when penetrability increased. Although our results indicate spatial partitioning, the edge habitat and compacted snow created by wind farm roads increased access for canids to high-elevation forest. In addition to habitat loss and fragmentation, these conditions may increase competition for martens and lower population viability. Future wind development should minimize disturbance of rare habitats, especially those considered climate refugia.

}, keywords = {climate change, wildlife society, wind farms}, doi = {10.1002/jwmg.21317}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jwmg.21317}, author = {Alexej P. K. Sir{\'e}n and Pekins, Peter J. and Kilborn, Jillian R. and Kanter, John J. and Chris S. Sutherland} } @article {6491, title = {Spatial Capture{\textendash}Recapture: A Promising Method for Analyzing Data Collected Using Artificial Cover Objects}, journal = {Herpetologica}, volume = {72}, year = {2016}, month = {Jan-03-2016}, pages = {6 - 12}, abstract = {

Spatial capture{\textendash}recapture (SCR) is a relatively recent development in ecological statistics that provides a spatial context for estimating abundance and space use patterns, and improves inference about absolute population density. SCR has been applied to individual encounter data collected noninvasively using methods such as camera traps, hair snares, and scat surveys. Despite the widespread use of capture-based surveys to monitor amphibians and reptiles, there are few applications of SCR in the herpetological literature. We demonstrate the utility of the application of SCR for studies of reptiles and amphibians by analyzing capture{\textendash}recapture data from Red-Backed Salamanders,Plethodon cinereus, collected using artificial cover boards. Using SCR to analyze spatial encounter histories of marked individuals, we found evidence that density differed little among four sites within the same forest (on average, 1.59 salamanders/m2) and that salamander detection probability peaked in early October (Julian day 278) reflecting expected surface activity patterns of the species. The spatial scale of detectability, a measure of space use, indicates that the home range size for this population of Red-Backed Salamanders in autumn was 16.89 m2. Surveying reptiles and amphibians using artificial cover boards regularly generates spatial encounter history data of known individuals, which can readily be analyzed using SCR methods, providing estimates of absolute density and inference about the spatial scale of habitat use.

}, keywords = {cover, data collection, Salamanders, SCR, spatial capture-recapture}, issn = {0018-0831}, doi = {10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-15-00027}, url = {http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-15-00027}, author = {Chris S. Sutherland and Mu{\~n}oz, David J. and Miller, David A.W. and Evan H. Campbel Grant} } @article {6373, title = {Using spatial capture-recapture to elucidate population processes and space-use in herpetological studies}, journal = {Journal of Herpetology}, volume = {50}, year = {2016}, month = {Apr-17-2016}, abstract = {

The cryptic behavior and ecology of herpetofauna make estimating the impacts of environmental change on demography difficult; yet, the ability to measure demographic relationships is essential for elucidating mechanisms leading to the population declines reported for herpetofauna worldwide. Recently developed spatial capture{\textendash}recapture (SCR) methods are well suited to standard herpetofauna monitoring approaches. Individually identifying animals and their locations allows accurate estimates of population densities and survival. Spatial capture{\textendash}recapture methods also allow estimation of parameters describing space-use and movement, which generally are expensive or difficult to obtain using other methods. In this paper, we discuss the basic components of SCR models, the available software for conducting analyses, and the experimental designs based on common herpetological survey methods. We then apply SCR models to Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), to determine differences in density, survival, dispersal, and space-use between adult male and female salamanders. By highlighting the capabilities of SCR, and its advantages compared to traditional methods, we hope to give herpetologists the resource they need to apply SCR in their own systems.

}, doi = {DOI: 10.1670/15-166}, url = {http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.1670/15-166}, author = {Mu{\~n}oz, D and Miller, D and Chris S. Sutherland and Evan H. Campbel Grant} }