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Beaver Creation of Amphibian Breeding, Foraging, and Overwintering Habitat

http://mtnhp.org. Beaver Creation of Amphibian Breeding, Foraging, and Overwintering Habitat. Montana Wetland Council Meeting – January 6, 2011. Bryce A. Maxell Interim Director / Senior Zoologist Montana Natural Heritage Program (406) 444-3655 bmaxell@mt.gov.

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Beaver Creation of Amphibian Breeding, Foraging, and Overwintering Habitat

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  1. http://mtnhp.org Beaver Creation of AmphibianBreeding, Foraging, and Overwintering Habitat Montana Wetland Council Meeting – January 6, 2011 Bryce A. Maxell Interim Director / Senior Zoologist Montana Natural Heritage Program (406) 444-3655 bmaxell@mt.gov

  2. Montana Amphibians & Reptiles that use Beaver Created Habitats

  3. Breeding Wintering Foraging Complex Life Histories = Complex Use of Habitat • Managers Need to Consider • Full Triangle of Habitats • Required and Migration Corridors

  4. native breeding/foraging native overwintering Importance of Lentic Site Structure to Amphibian Habitat

  5. Links to Resources on Montana’s Amphibians and Reptiles • • Powerpoint overview of Montana’s amphibian and reptile species, including identification, • habitat use, site occupancy rates, and Maxent and CART model outputs: • http://mtnhp.org/animal/presentations/060709_MT_Herps_ID_Status_files/frame.htm • MT Amphibian and Reptile Status Assessment, Literature Review, and Conservation Plan: • http://mtnhp.org/reports/Amphibian_Reptile_Conservation_Plan.pdf • Montana Field Guide • http://fieldguide.mt.gov/

  6. Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) Breeding Migration Migration Wintering Foraging Migration • Issues of Concern • Fish introduction • Piscicides • Bullfrogs • Water impoundments • Pest/Herbicides and Fertilizers • Heavy metals / mining • Loss of beaver Habitat Use Breeding: -Temporary or permanent waters with emergent vegetation Foraging: -Aquatic margins and nearby terrestrial habitats Overwintering: -Deeper permanent water bodies and streams Migration: -Individuals are known to migrate up to 1.5 kilometers between foraging and breeding areas and disperse more than 7 kilometers Elevation: -Approximately tree line Elevation Distribution From Maxell (2009)

  7. Breeding Migration Migration Wintering Foraging Migration Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) • Issues of Concern • Regional Declines • Pathogens • Local population viability? • Roads • Exotic species • Grazing • Pest/Herbicides and Fertilizers Habitat Use Breeding: -Usually more permanent waters with emergent vegetation, but some ephemeral sites may be used Foraging: -Aquatic margins and nearby terrestrial habitats Overwintering: -Deeper permanent water bodies and streams Migration: -Individuals are known to migrate at least 1 kilometer between foraging and breeding areas and disperse up to 8 kilometers Elevation: -Up to 6,700 ft Elevation Distribution From Maxell (2009)

  8. Breeding Foraging Wintering Western Painted Turtle

  9. Site Origins

  10. Issues of Gene Flow Funk et al. 2005. Population structure of Columbia Spotted Frogs (Ranaluteiventris) is strongly affected by the landscape. Molecular Ecology 14:483-496.

  11. Beaver and Population Structure of Columbia Spotted Frogs Amish, S.J. 2006. Ecosystem engineering: beaver and the population structure of Columbia Spotted Frogs in western Montana. M.S. Thesis. University of Montana, Missoula, MT. 82 pp. + appendices • Beaver occupied watersheds had four times as many lentic and breeding sites as non-beaver watersheds • Frog breeding sites were more evenly distributed across the elevation gradient in beaver occupied watersheds • Beaver occupied watersheds showed higher levels of genetic connectivity (i.e. less genetic divergence between breeding sites and overall higher levels of genetic diversity) Lentic Site Differences Differences in Population Structure

  12. Beaver, Willow, and Cattle Grazing in the Big Hole Valley 1942 2005

  13. …one old male beaver, whom we fondly named "Geronimo,'" was dropped again and again on the flying field. Each time he scrambled out of the box, someone was on hand to pick him up. Poor fellow!  He finally became resigned, and as soon as we approached him, would crawl back into his box ready to go aloft again. You may be sure that "Geronimo" had a priority reservation on the first ship into the hinterland, and that three young females went with him. Even there he stayed in the box for a long time after his harem was busy inspecting the new surroundings. However, his colony was later reported as very well established.  In the fall of 1948, 76 live beavers were dropped with only one casualty. Heter, E. W. 1950. Transplanting beavers by airplane and parachute. Journal of Wildlife Management 14:143-147. Cost of Transplanting 4

  14. http://mtnhp.org Upcoming Webinars On Heritage Data Resources Title:                 Overview of MT Natural Heritage Program Data Resources Date:                Tuesday January 25th, 1-2 p.m.  Instructor:         Bryce Maxell, bmaxell@mt.gov Title:                 Wetland Data Resources Date:                Tuesday February 15th, 1-2 p.m. Instructor:         Linda Vance, livance@mt.gov Title:                 Using the Natural Heritage Map Viewer and Tracker Applications to access animal, plant, species occurrence, land cover, and stewardship data Date:                Wednesday February 23rd, 1-2 p.m. Instructor:         Allan Cox, acox@mt.gov

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