Conspecific attraction as a management tool for endangered and at risk species on military lands
Abstract
Movements of wildlife species and associated colonization of habitats is often unpredictable, potentially leading to ineffectivemanagement and/or interference with military training. Habitat restoration for wildlife management on military lands is a common, yetexpensive, response to federal conservation and mitigation mandates, yet viable wildlife populations often fail to become established onrestored habitat. Conspecific attraction, using the tendency for individuals of the same species to settle near one another, can be a cost effective means of attracting animals to newly created or restored habitats. Our objectives were to demonstrate the use of conspecificattraction as an alternative tool for encouraging colonization of restored habitats by at-risk birds and amphibians. Conspecific attractionwas relatively straight-forward to employ, but its effectiveness varied among species. We demonstrated clear success in attracting somebird (northern bobwhite; Colinus virginianus) and frog (wood frogs; Lithobates sylvaticus) species into our target areas but otherspecies showed a neutral response. Conspecific attraction presents an extremely cost-effective alternative to current managementpractices such as translocation or relying on passive colonization after habitat is created or restored.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1135482
Entities
People
- Brett Degregorio
- Jinelle H. Sperry
- Mike Ward
- Stephen A. Tyndel
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center