Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments
Fire suppression and other factors have drastically reduced wet prairie and pine savanna ecosystems on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Restoration of these open-canopy environments often targets one or several charismatic species, and semi-aquatic species such as burrowing crayf...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-07-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1854 |
| _version_ | 1797527894286663680 |
|---|---|
| author | Susan B. Adams Scott G. Hereford Chaz Hyseni |
| author_facet | Susan B. Adams Scott G. Hereford Chaz Hyseni |
| author_sort | Susan B. Adams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fire suppression and other factors have drastically reduced wet prairie and pine savanna ecosystems on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Restoration of these open-canopy environments often targets one or several charismatic species, and semi-aquatic species such as burrowing crayfishes are often overlooked in these essentially terrestrial environments. We examined the relationship between primary burrowing crayfishes and three vegetation treatments implemented over at least the past two decades in the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation in the 12 study sites had been frequently burned, frequently mechanically treated, or infrequently managed. <i>Creaserinus</i> spp., primarily <i>C. oryktes</i>, dominated the crayfish assemblage in every site. We counted crayfish burrow openings and coarsely categorized vegetation characteristics in 90, 0.56-m<sup>2</sup> quadrats evenly distributed among six transects per site. The number of active burrow openings was negatively, exponentially related to both the percent cover of woody vegetation and the maximum height of woody vegetation in quadrats, and to the number of trees taller than 1.2 m per transect, indicating that woody plant encroachment was detrimental to the crayfishes. Results were consistent with several other studies from the eastern US, indicating that some primary burrowing crayfishes are habitat specialists adapted to open-canopy ecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:49:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e040a678edcb41e385866c231a6001f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:49:21Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-e040a678edcb41e385866c231a6001f02023-11-22T02:55:19ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-07-011313185410.3390/w13131854Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation TreatmentsSusan B. Adams0Scott G. Hereford1Chaz Hyseni2USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, 1000 Front St., Oxford, MS 38655, USAUS Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, 7200 Crane Lane, Gautier, MS 39553, USADepartment of Ecology and Genetics, Animal Ecology, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-75236 Uppsala, SwedenFire suppression and other factors have drastically reduced wet prairie and pine savanna ecosystems on the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. Restoration of these open-canopy environments often targets one or several charismatic species, and semi-aquatic species such as burrowing crayfishes are often overlooked in these essentially terrestrial environments. We examined the relationship between primary burrowing crayfishes and three vegetation treatments implemented over at least the past two decades in the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. Vegetation in the 12 study sites had been frequently burned, frequently mechanically treated, or infrequently managed. <i>Creaserinus</i> spp., primarily <i>C. oryktes</i>, dominated the crayfish assemblage in every site. We counted crayfish burrow openings and coarsely categorized vegetation characteristics in 90, 0.56-m<sup>2</sup> quadrats evenly distributed among six transects per site. The number of active burrow openings was negatively, exponentially related to both the percent cover of woody vegetation and the maximum height of woody vegetation in quadrats, and to the number of trees taller than 1.2 m per transect, indicating that woody plant encroachment was detrimental to the crayfishes. Results were consistent with several other studies from the eastern US, indicating that some primary burrowing crayfishes are habitat specialists adapted to open-canopy ecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1854primary burrowing crayfishprescribed fireprairiewet pine savannahabitatvegetation management |
| spellingShingle | Susan B. Adams Scott G. Hereford Chaz Hyseni Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments Water primary burrowing crayfish prescribed fire prairie wet pine savanna habitat vegetation management |
| title | Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments |
| title_full | Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments |
| title_fullStr | Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments |
| title_short | Burrow Densities of Primary Burrowing Crayfishes in Relation to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Vegetation Treatments |
| title_sort | burrow densities of primary burrowing crayfishes in relation to prescribed fire and mechanical vegetation treatments |
| topic | primary burrowing crayfish prescribed fire prairie wet pine savanna habitat vegetation management |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1854 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT susanbadams burrowdensitiesofprimaryburrowingcrayfishesinrelationtoprescribedfireandmechanicalvegetationtreatments AT scottghereford burrowdensitiesofprimaryburrowingcrayfishesinrelationtoprescribedfireandmechanicalvegetationtreatments AT chazhyseni burrowdensitiesofprimaryburrowingcrayfishesinrelationtoprescribedfireandmechanicalvegetationtreatments |