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Herpetofaunal Communities in Agroecosystems: The Effect of Farm Management Style

Herman, John Edward
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1114016439

Abstract Details

2005, Master of Science, University of Toledo, Biology (Ecology).
Habitat loss due to the conversion of natural areas to agricultural use has been speculated as a force driving the global decline in herpetofaunal communities (Collins & Storfer 2003; Gibbons et al. 2000). This study examined how the management practices of two different agricultural styles, Amish and modern English, affected the herpetofaunal communities in an agroecosystem. I hypothesized that there would be a healthier herpetofaunal community on lands that employed the Amish agricultural management style as compared to the English. The study sites were in Hillsdale County, Michigan, USA. Hillsdale County has two large farming communities, corresponding to the Amish and English agricultural management styles. These two farming communities are geographically separate from one another and effectively divide the agricultural landscape in half. Three sites per farm type were sampled using a variety of live trap methods, including coverboards (wood and metal), double-ended funnel traps and pitfall traps associated with drift fences. The trapped animals were examined to determine taxonomic identity, age class and sex, then marked and released. This information was used to determine the health of the herpetofaunal communities at each site. The total trapping effort for the study was 57,222 trap days which yielded 2,392 animals of 19 species in 4 Orders. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in abundance, age structure or sex ratio (p=0.995, p=0.3224 and p=0.5021 respectively) as well as in species richness, Shannon diversity or Evenness (p=0.1757, p=0.5517 and p=0.7958 respectively) between treatment types. These results imply that there is no difference in the health of herpetofaunal communities in agroecosystems due to agricultural management style. However, the lack of statistical significance was a direct result of large within treatment variation. This variation was due to intense grazing at Amish sites 1 and 3 and the premature drying of the wetlands at English sites 5 and 6. This suggests that community health was determined more by local conditions at each site rather than broad-scale conditions relating to agricultural management style. Therefore, conservation management decisions for herpetofaunal communities in agroecosystems should be made at a local level and not a broad-scale level.
Elliot Tramer (Advisor)
126 p.
herpetofauna; agriculture; community

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Herman, J. E. (2005). Herpetofaunal Communities in Agroecosystems: The Effect of Farm Management Style [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1114016439

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Herman, John. Herpetofaunal Communities in Agroecosystems: The Effect of Farm Management Style. 2005. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1114016439.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Herman, John. "Herpetofaunal Communities in Agroecosystems: The Effect of Farm Management Style." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1114016439

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Toledo and OhioLINK.