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摘要
Large, catastrophic wind disturbances are historically common across the coastal plain of the southeastern united states, a region which harbors one of the planet's most speciose regions for amphibian taxa. Links between such disturbances and the amphibians they potentially impact, however, have received little focus, and studies addressing these impacts are often limited by an inability to compare post-disturbance survey data to pre-disturbance conditions at the same sites. I conducted habitat and anuran surveys following an intense tornadic disturbance in 2011 within a series of transects in the upper coastal plain of central Alabama that has been studied continuously since 2009, with the purpose of examining the effects of catastrophic wind events. These surveys revealed that several southern toads (Anaxyrus terrestris) appeared to have been killed due to storm impacts, while cope's gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) began breeding in the storm-damaged area immediately following the storm. This was the first instance of anuran breeding activity; none had occurred during the preceding three years in this transect. breeding activity in H. chrysoscelis was facilitated by the creation of multiple, isolated pools via debris scouring as a direct result of the tornado. Although extreme wind events are often stochastic and infrequent, these results illustrate their importance for habitat creation within storm-damaged areas, and provide potentially useful information for managers charged with monitoring amphibian populations following extreme wind disturbance.
- 出版日期2013-12
