A MULTISCALE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING SNAKE USE OF CONSERVATION BUFFER STRIPS IN AN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE

作者：Knoot Tricia G^*; Best Louis B

来源：Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 2011, 6(2): 191-201.

• agricultural matrix
• buffer strips
• conservation
• grassed waterways
• Iowa
• landscape metrics
• snakes

In regions of the United States that are predominately devoted to agricultural production, most grassland habitat remains as linear strips, including areas along roads and within conservation buffer strips. While land management agencies in the United States promote conservation buffer strips as beneficial to wildlife populations, we know little about snake use of these habitats, especially in relation to multiscale factors. Our poor understanding of these relationships hinders effective design and management of these habitats to conserve biodiversity. We evaluated the influence of buffer design, management, and surrounding landscape characteristics on snake occurrence in grassed waterways in southeastern Iowa. We documented snakes at nearly 80% of the grassed waterways and captured 119 individual snakes of five species; one of which, the Smooth Green Snake (Lioclonorophis vernalis), is listed as a species of conservation concern in Iowa. We used a multiple logistic regression and an information theoretic approach to determine the most parsimonious local and landscape variable models that best explained snake species occurrence. The "local" waterway design variable, width, occurred in the best local variable models for three of the five species and was positively associated with snake presence for all three species. Landscape variable models also helped explain snake presence; individual species responded differently to the various landscape metrics. Insights gained from this study may provide opportunities for improving the conservation value of buffer strips to snakes in these fragmented landscapes.

• 出版日期2011-8