Browsing by Author "Thomas, Julie"

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    Habitat Use by Boreal Mammals in Response to Salvage Logging After an Insect Outbreak
    (2018-06-20) Thomas, Julie; Reid, Mary L.; Barclay, Robert Malcolm Ruthven; Galpern, Paul; Harder, Lawrence D.
    Post-disturbance logging (i.e., salvage logging) is controversial, as it may disrupt forest succession and alter wildlife habitat. I examined habitat use by moose (Alces americanus), snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), lynx (Lynx canadensis), coyotes (Canis latrans), and little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) in response to salvage logging after a bark beetle outbreak in Yukon, Canada. I monitored species occupancy in beetle-affected forests and salvage-logged stands of different tree retention levels and ages using wildlife cameras and bat detectors. Moose occupancy was highest in low-retention-logged stands with low cover and abundant shrubs. Snowshoe hares occupied stands with dense canopies and avoided logged stands (regardless of retention or age); lynx and coyote used similar habitat to hares. Logging had no significant effect on little brown bats, although bats avoided densely-treed stands. Diverse forest management strategies may benefit the most species, including salvage logging with variable retention and maintaining patches of beetle-affected forest.