Publication Details
Macrohabitat models of occurrence for the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander, Plethodon nettingi
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Year Published
2008
Publication
Applied Herpetology. 5: 201-224.
Abstract
The federally threatened Cheat Mountain salamander (Plethodon nettingi; hereafter CMS) is known to occur at approximately 70 small, scattered sites in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia. We used a comparative modeling approach to explain the landscape-level distribution and habitat relationships of CMS in relation to a suite of biotic and abiotic habitat variables measured across the species' range. We collected data on 13 explanatory macrohabitat variables at CMS-occupied (n = 180) and random (n = 180) sites. We then examined CMS-macrohabitat relationships using a priori, logistic regression models with information-theoretic model selection, classification tree modeling, and discriminant function analysis. Among logistic regression models, a model containing the variables elevation, aspect, slope, and lithology received the strongest empirical support, although a model containing these variables and current vegetation type also received limited support. Variable selection within our classification tree and discriminant function modeling was consistent with logistic regression results.
Citation
Dillard, Lester O.; Russell, Kevin R.; Ford, W. Mark. 2008. Macrohabitat models of occurrence for the threatened Cheat Mountain salamander, Plethodon nettingi. Applied Herpetology. 5: 201-224.