Salamander guilds are important components of ecosystems and may be declining in Virginia. Consequently, information on salamander diversity and abundance is needed. Our objective was to assess salamander diversity at one site in the Rappahannock River watershed: the C.F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area. We randomly selected stream and upland terrestrial sites to run 50-m transects, for both quadrat and natural cover searches. We assessed diversity using a Shannon-Weiner index on all captures (larval and adults) and assessed diversity in on-site catchments. We found 11 of 13 expected species, with Ĥ′ = 1.33 ± 0.05 SD, Ĵ′ = 0.55 for all captures, and Ĥ′ = 1.18 ± 0.08 SD, Ĵ′ = 0.49 for non-larval diversity. A single catchment (Fishing Run) was considered more diverse than other catchments on site. We conclude that C.F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area supports a relatively diverse salamander community. Management efforts should focus on maintaining stream structural diversity and monitoring the effects of agricultural activities such as fertilizer use, erosion, and habitat fragmentation and loss.
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1 December 2010
Salamander Diversity at C.F. Phelps Wildlife Management Area, Fauquier and Culpeper Counties, Virginia
Jay D. McGhee,
Michael D. Killian
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