Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Esque, T. C., Schwalbe, C. R., DeFalco, L. A., Duncan, R. B., & Hughes, T. J. (2003). Effects of desert wildfires on desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii) and other small vertebrates. Southwestern Naturalist, 48(1), 103–111.
Added by: Admin (14 Aug 2008 20:37:14 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Esque2003 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Gopherus, Gopherus agassizii, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae Creators: DeFalco, Duncan, Esque, Hughes, Schwalbe Collection: Southwestern Naturalist |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae We report the results of standardized surveys to determine the effects of wildfires on desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and their habitats in the northeastern Mojave Desert and northeastern Sonoran Desert. Portions of 6 burned areas (118 to 1,750 ha) were examined for signs of mortality of vertebrates. Direct effects of fire in desert habitats included animal mortality and loss of vegetation cover. A range of 0 to 7 tortoises was encountered during surveys, and live tortoises were found on all transects. In addition to desert tortoises, only small (<1 kg) mammals and reptiles (11 taxa) were found dead on the study areas. We hypothesize that indirect effects of fire on desert habitats might result in changes in the composition of diets and loss of vegetation cover, resulting in an increase in predation and loss of protection from temperature extremes. These changes in habitat also might cause changes in vertebrate communities in burned areas.
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