Geology topics

Christopher Pearl

Publications and source records attributed to Christopher Pearl.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2018

Effect of cattle exclosures on Columbia Spotted Frog abundance

Livestock grazing is an important land use in the western USA and can have positive or negative effects on amphibians. Columbia Spotted Frog ( Rana luteiventris ) often use ponds that provide water for cattle. We conducted a long-term manipulative study on US Forest Service land in northeastern Oregon to determine the effects of full and partial exclosures that limited cattle access to ponds used by frogs. We found weak evidence of a short-term increase in abundance that did not differ between full and partial exclosures and that diminished with continuing exclusion of cattle. The benefit of exclosures was small relative to the overall decline in breeding numbers that we documented. This suggests that some protection can provide a short-term boost to populations.

Wetlands Ecology and Management↗

USGS2018

Late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon spotted frogs (Rana pretiosa) in Oregon, USA

Many amphibians use multiple habitats across seasons. Information on seasonal habitat use, movement between seasonal habitat types, and habitats that may be particularly valuable is important to conservation and management. We used radio-telemetry to study late-season movement and habitat use by Oregon Spotted Frog ( Rana pretiosa ) at nine sites from four populations along the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. Movement rates declined with date and were the lowest at the end of tracking in December and January. Frogs across our sites used vegetated shallows in late summer and early fall. In fall, frogs used a range of habitat types, and at several sites moved to distinctive habitats such as springs, interstices in lava rock, and semi-terrestrial beaver channels. Distance between first and last tracking location was <250 m for 84.5% (49/58) of frogs, ranged up to 1145 m, and was greater for frogs in ditch habitats than those not in ditches. Distinctive features like springs or semi-terrestrial retreats can host multiple frogs and may represent particularly valuable wintering habitat for R. pretiosa in some sites in their Oregon range.

Oregon↗

USGS2017

A new parameterization for integrated population models to document amphibian reintroductions

Managers are increasingly implementing reintroduction programs as part of a global effort to alleviate amphibian declines. Given uncertainty in factors affecting populations and a need to make recurring decisions to achieve objectives, adaptive management is a useful component of these efforts. A major impediment to the estimation of demographic rates often used to parameterize and refine decision-support models is that life-stage-specific monitoring data are frequently sparse for amphibians. We developed a new parameterization for integrated population models to match the ecology of amphibians and capitalize on relatively inexpensive monitoring data to document amphibian reintroductions. We evaluate the capability of this model by fitting it to Oregon spotted frog ( Rana pretiosa ) monitoring data collected from 2007 to 2014 following their reintroduction within the Klamath Basin, Oregon, USA. The number of egg masses encountered and the estimated adult and metamorph abundances generally increased following reintroduction. We found that survival probability from egg to metamorph ranged from 0.01 in 2008 to 0.09 in 2009 and was not related to minimum spring temperatures, metamorph survival probability ranged from 0.13 in 2010–2011 to 0.86 in 2012–2013 and was positively related to mean monthly temperatures (logit-scale slope = 2.37), adult survival probability was lower for founders (0.40) than individuals recruited after reintroduction (0.56), and the mean number of egg masses per adult female was 0.74. Our study is the first to test hypotheses concerning Oregon spotted frog egg-to-metamorph and metamorph-to-adult transition probabilities in the wild and document their response at multiple life stages following reintroduction. Furthermore, we provide an example to illustrate how the structure of our integrated population model serves as a useful foundation for amphibian decision-support models within adaptive management programs. The integration of multiple, but related, data sets has an advantage of being able to estimate complex ecological relationships across multiple life stages, offering a modeling framework that accommodates uncertainty, enforces parsimony, and ensures all model parameters can be confronted with monitoring data.

Ecological Applications↗

USGS2009

Short-term effect of cattle exclosures on Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) populations and habitat in northeastern Oregon

Livestock grazing is a common land use across the western United States, but concerns have been raised regarding its potential to affect amphibian populations. We studied the short-term effects of full and partial livestock grazing exclosures on Rana luteiventris (Columbia Spotted Frog) populations using a controlled manipulative field experiment with pre- and posttreatment data (2002–2006). Despite a significant increase in vegetation height within grazing exclosures, we did not find treatment effects for egg mass counts, larval survival, or size at metamorphosis 1–2 years following grazing exclosure installation. Water samples taken in late summer showed concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, and orthophosphate that were low or near detection limits across all ponds and years. The results of this experiment do not support a hypothesis that limiting cattle access to breeding ponds will help conserve R. luteiventris populations in our study area. Further research is needed to evaluate regional variation and long-term effects of grazing exclosures on R. luteiventris populations.

Journal of Herpetology↗