Small mammals and mesomammals in a post-fire and salvage-logged landscape
department or school: Science, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
department or school: Biology, Department of (Okanagan)
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCO
creator: Kelly, Angelina
issued: 2021-01-19T20:34:58Z
issued: 2021
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Wildfire influences the ecosystem function of fire adapted ecosystems. Climate change has shifted the natural fire regime of North American forests to tend to larger, higher severity fires. While wildfire is a natural disturbance, it is detrimental to the forestry industry. Salvage logging is a common practice in British Columbia (BC), Canada, forests following wildfire, and it often differs from standard harvesting practices in that it removes timber from larger expanses of land. The impacts of post-fire salvage logging on wildlife are poorly understood and may compromise the ecosystem function of post-fire landscapes. To better understand the impacts of wildfire and post-fire salvage logging on forest ecosystems, I determined the population responses of deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus), southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi), snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). I studied these important species in a post-fire and salvage-logged interior Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forest on the Chilcotin Plateau, BC. I live-trapped small mammals to estimate their abundances in mature, post-fire, and post-fire salvage-logged habitats. Post-fire regenerating forest supported the highest abundances of southern red-backed voles in the study area. However, post-fire salvage logging reduced southern red-backed vole populations and supported mainly deermice, a generalist species. Snowshoe hare densities were lowest in post-fire salvage-logged sites. These sites supported significantly fewer hares than regenerating post-fire stands that burned eight-nine years ago or mature forest. Early seral post-fire regenerating stands supported the highest densities of snowshoe hares. Red squirrel densities were highest in mature forest sites, but squirrels also used eight to nine-year-old post-fire regenerating sites. Post-fire salvage logging significantly changed vegetation structure by reducing tree basal area, rendering sites unsuitable fo…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/77157
note: i SMALL MAMMALS AND MESOMAMMALS IN A POST-FIRE AND SALVAGE-LOGGED LANDSCAPE by Angelina Kelly B.Sc. [Hons], Montana State University, 2016 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Biology) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) January 2021 © Angelina Kelly, 2021 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis/dissertation entitled: SMALL MAMMALS AND MESOMAMMALS IN A POST-FIRE AND SALVAGE-LOGGED LANDSCAPE submitted by Angelina Kelly in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science . Dr. Karen Hodges, Biology Department, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Sciences Supervisor Dr. Adam Ford, Biology Department, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Robert LaLonde, Biology Department, Irving K. Barber Faculty Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Lori Daniels, Department of Forestry, University of British Columbia Vancouver University Examiner iii Abstract Wildfire influences the ecosystem function of fire adapted ecosystems. Climate change has shifted the natural fire regime of North American forests to tend to larger, higher severity fires. While wildfire is a natural disturbance, it is detrimental to the forestry industry. Salvage logging is a common practice in British Columbia (BC), Canada, forests following wildfire, and it often differs from standard harvesting practices in that it removes timber from larger expanses of land. The impacts of post-fire salvage logging on wildlife are poorly understood and may compromise the ecosystem function of post-fire landscapes. To better understand the impacts of wildfire and post-fire salvage logging on forest ecosystems, I determined the population responses of deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus), southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi), snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), and red squir…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2021-02
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0395674
language: eng
degree discipline: Biology
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/77157