caa a22 4500 605527857 CHVBK 20210128100810.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150501xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10531-014-0844-x doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10531-014-0844-x Opposing responses to ecological gradients structure amphibian and reptile communities across a temperate grassland-savanna-forest landscape [Elektronische Daten] [Ralph Grundel, David Beamer, Gary Glowacki, Krystalynn Frohnapple, Noel Pavlovic] Temperate savannas are threatened across the globe. If we prioritize savanna restoration, we should ask how savanna animal communities differ from communities in related open habitats and forests. We documented distribution of amphibian and reptile species across an open-savanna-forest gradient in the Midwest U.S. to determine how fire history and habitat structure affected herpetofaunal community composition. The transition from open habitats to forests was a transition from higher reptile abundance to higher amphibian abundance and the intermediate savanna landscape supported the most species overall. These differences warn against assuming that amphibian and reptile communities will have similar ecological responses to habitat structure. Richness and abundance also often responded in opposite directions to some habitat characteristics, such as cover of bare ground or litter. Herpetofaunal community species composition changed along a fire gradient from infrequent and recent fires to frequent but less recent fires. Nearby (200-m) wetland cover was relatively unimportant in predicting overall herpetofaunal community composition while fire history and fire-related canopy and ground cover were more important predictors of composition, diversity, and abundance. Increased developed cover was negatively related to richness and abundance. This indicates the importance of fire history and fire related landscape characteristics, and the negative effects of development, in shaping the upland herpetofaunal community along the native grassland-forest continuum. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht (out side the USA), 2014 Ecotone nationallicence Fire nationallicence Herpetofaunal conservation nationallicence Savannas nationallicence Wetlands nationallicence Grundel Ralph Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut Beamer David Nash Community College, 27804, Rocky Mount, NC, USA aut Glowacki Gary Lake County Forest Preserves, 1899 West Winchester Rd., 60048, Libertyville, IL, USA aut Frohnapple Krystalynn Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut Pavlovic Noel Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/5(2015-05-01), 1089-1108 0960-3115 24:5<1089 2015 24 10531 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0844-x text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0844-x text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Grundel Ralph Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Beamer David Nash Community College, 27804, Rocky Mount, NC, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Glowacki Gary Lake County Forest Preserves, 1899 West Winchester Rd., 60048, Libertyville, IL, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Frohnapple Krystalynn Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Pavlovic Noel Great Lakes Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 1100N. Mineral Springs Rd., 46304, Porter, IN, USA aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/5(2015-05-01), 1089-1108 0960-3115 24:5<1089 2015 24 10531