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Lindenmayer DB, Florance D, Smith D, Crane C, Siegrist A, Lang E, Crane M, Michael DR, Scheele BC, Evans MJ. Temporal trends in reptile occurrence among temperate old-growth, regrowth and replanted woodlands. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291641. [PMID: 37768982 PMCID: PMC10538651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Reptiles are an important part of the vertebrate fauna in the temperate woodlands of south-eastern Australia. However, compared to birds and mammals, the long-term occurrence of reptiles across woodland growth types-old growth, regrowth, and replantings-remains poorly understood. Here, using 18-years of data gathered at 218 sites across 1.5 million hectares in New South Wales South West Slopes bioregion, we sought to quantify patterns of temporal change in reptile occurrence and determine if such changes varied between woodland growth types. Despite extensive sampling, almost 75% of our 6341 surveys produced no detections of reptiles. Significant survey effort exceeding 2000 surveys was needed over a prolonged period of time to record detections of 26 reptile species in our study area. Our analyses showed a temporal increase in estimated reptile species richness and abundance over 18 years. Such increases characterized all three vegetation structural types we surveyed. At the individual species level, we had sufficient data to construct models for five of the 26 species recorded. Three of these species were least commonly detected in replantings, whereas the remaining two were most often detected in replantings relative to old growth and regrowth woodland. We found evidence of a temporal increase in two skink species, a decline in one gecko species, and no change in the remaining two skink species. Although detections were consistently low, active searches were the best survey method, and we suggest using this method in habitats known to be hotspots for reptiles, such as rocky outcrops, if the aim is to maximize the number of individuals and species detected. Our findings highlight the value of all three broad vegetation structure types in contributing to woodland reptile biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David B. Lindenmayer
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Daniel Florance
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - David Smith
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Clare Crane
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Angelina Siegrist
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Eleanor Lang
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Mason Crane
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust, Gundagai, NSW, Australia
| | - Damian R. Michael
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Gulbali Institute for Agriculture, Water and Environment, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia
| | - Ben C. Scheele
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - Maldwyn John Evans
- Sustainable Farms, Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
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