A new paper just came out from Dr. Chris Howey‘s lab. The work focuses on how prescribed fires (in many cases, necessary to maintain healthy ecosystems) affect the reptiles and amphibians living within those landscapes. Prescribed fires are man-made burns that are used as a tool to manage forests. These burns can negatively and positively impact animals living within the environment. The authors found that fire has more predictable effects on reptiles. Reptile abundance post-fire reflected habitat requirements by different species, and how those respective habitats were made more/less available. Amphibians, with their more aquatic lifestyles, may be more strongly affected by annual weather patterns. Read the entire paper, published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, here.
Green Treefrog sitting on a scorched log following a prescribed fire.