Do Terrestrial Salamanders Indicate Ecosystem Changes in New England Forests?
Do Terrestrial Salamanders Indicate Ecosystem Changes in New England Forests?
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DOI：
10.3390/f10020154
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发表时间：
2019-02
期刊：
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
A. Siddig;Alison Ochs;A. Ellison
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
A. Siddig;Alison Ochs;A. Ellison
长期生态研究 (LTER) 和监测计划积累了宝贵的生态数据，为政策提供信息并改进决策，从而适应和缓解环境变化。人们对确定可以轻松有效地监测的生态指标非常感兴趣，以产生有关森林生态系统环境变化的可靠数据。然而，LTER 项目中监测生态指标的选择、使用和有效性对于生态学家和保护生物学家来说仍然是一项具有挑战性的任务。在美国东部，基础树种东部铁杉 (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) 的数量正在减少，并因非本地昆虫铁杉毛状铁杉 (Adelges tsugae Annand) 的侵扰而死亡。我们使用哈佛森林 LTER 站点的铁杉去除实验的数据以及美国东部其他 LTER 站点的信息来表明，无齿蝾螈可以成为美国东部森林生态系统持续生态变化的可靠指标。这些蝾螈数量众多，具有种群稳定的历史，既是捕食者又是猎物，可以简单且经济高效地进行采样和监测。在哈佛森林 LTER，红背蝾螈（Plethodon cinereus Green）是以东部铁杉（Tsuga canadensis）为主的完整森林的有力指标；它们的高地点保真度和栖息地特异性为该物种带来了 0.99 的指标值（稳健的 Dufrêne 和 Legendre 的“IndVal”）。东部红斑蝾螈（Notopthalmus viridescens viridescens Rafinesque）是附近由年轻的混合硬木树种组成的林分的更好指标，例如那些在阿德尔吉德侵扰后取代铁杉林的林分。在 Hubbard Brook 和 Coweeta LTER 遗址，无齿蝾螈与完整的河岸栖息地有关，这些栖息地也可能以东部铁杉为主。我们得出的结论是，无齿蝾螈满足美国东部森林环境变化的可靠生态指标的大多数标准。
Long-term ecological research (LTER) and monitoring programs accrue invaluable ecological data that inform policy and improve decisions that enable adaptation to and mitigation of environmental changes. There is great interest in identifying ecological indicators that can be monitored easily and effectively to yield reliable data about environmental changes in forested ecosystems. However, the selection, use, and validity of ecological indicators to monitor in LTER programs remain challenging tasks for ecologists and conservation biologists. Across the eastern United States of America, the foundation tree species eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) is declining and dying from irruptions of a non-native insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand). We use data from the Harvard Forest LTER site’s Hemlock Removal Experiment together with information from other eastern US LTER sites to show that plethodontid salamanders can be reliable indicators of ongoing ecological changes in forested ecosystems in the eastern USA. These salamanders are abundant, they have a history of demographic stability, are both predators and prey, and can be sampled and monitored simply and cost-effectively. At the Harvard Forest LTER, red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus Green) were strong indicators of intact forests dominated by eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis); their high site fidelity and habitat specificity yielded an indicator value (robust Dufrêne and Legendre’s “IndVal”) for this species of 0.99. Eastern red-spotted newts (Notopthalmus viridescens viridescens Rafinesque) were better indicators of nearby stands made up of young, mixed hardwood species, such as those which replace hemlock stands following adelgid infestation. At the Hubbard Brook and Coweeta LTER sites, plethodontid salamanders were associated with intact riparian habitats, which may also be dominated by eastern hemlock. We conclude that plethodontid salamanders satisfy most criteria for reliable ecological indicators of environmental changes in eastern US forests.