Fine-scale habitat associations of a terrestrial salamander: the role of environmental gradients and implications for population dynamics.

ABSTRACT: Environmental gradients are instrumental in shaping the distribution and local abundance of species because at the most fundamental level, an organism's performance is constrained by the environment it inhabits. In topographically complex landscapes, slope, aspect, and vegetative cover interact to affect solar exposure, creating temperature-moisture gradients and unique microclimates. The significance of the interaction of abiotic gradients and biotic factors such as competition, movement, or physiology has long been recognized, but the scale at which these factors vary on the landscape has generally precluded their inclusion in spatial abundance models. We used fine-scale spatial data relating to surface-soil moisture, temperature, and canopy cover to describe the spatial distribution of

SUBMITTER: Peterman WE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3646024 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature