Clearcut Herpetofauna 33 



Herpetofauna 



Sampling — Amphibians and reptiles were captured using three 

 types of traps: drift fences, coverboards, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 

 pipe. Nine arrays of drift fences, measuring 270 m in total, were 

 constructed of aluminum flashing (Gibbons and Semlitsch 1981). 

 Each array consisted of two 15-m lengths placed at right angles to 

 one another. Three of the arrays were placed in the clearcut, three in 

 the control, and three along the edge between the clearcut and control. 

 Twelve pitfall traps (19-L plastic paint buckets) were placed along 

 each array, for a total of 108 traps. Arrays were centered in the 

 clearcut, about 75 m from the edge. Control arrays averaged about 

 75 m from the edge. 



Forty-five coverboards were systematically placed across the study 

 site, 30 in the clearcut and 15 in the control. Each coverboard con- 

 sisted of a piece of plywood or particle-board (about 120 x 60 x 0.625 

 cm) placed flat on the ground to simulate the type of cover often used 

 by ground-dwelling herpetofauna (DeGraff and Yamasaki 1992, Fitch 



1992, Mitchell et al. 1993). Coverboards were placed a minimum of 

 20 m apart. 



Sixty 1.5-m lengths of PVC pipe were driven into the soil to 

 capture treefrogs. The diameters of the pipes were 2.5 and 5 cm. 

 Forty pipes were used in the clearcut, and 20 in the control. These 

 pipes served as refuges for treefrogs, which were easily captured at 

 the open top ends of the pipes. One nocturnal chorus survey (July 

 1993) was done to compare to habitat use trends indicated by the pipe 

 captures. Frog choruses were monitored from the clearcut, control, 

 and edge for 30 minutes each. Weather was humid, warm, clear, and 

 calm. 



Each of the traps was checked daily during the summers of 1992 

 and 1993. All captured animals were released immediately. Adult 

 anurans were toe-clipped, but no capture-recapture data will be pre- 

 sented here (see below). In 1992, we trapped from 29 May until 13 

 August, with the exception of 14 days when the swamp was flooded. 

 On those days, only the treefrog pipes were checked. In 1993, four 

 drift fence arrays (one control, two edge, one clearcut) were checked 

 from 20 May to 12 August. The remaining traps were checked from 

 20 June to 12 August. Again, sampling was impeded due to flooding. 



Sampling was replicated within the control, edge, and clearcut 

 site, but not replicated with additional sites because of constraints 

 imposed by the establishment of concurrent studies, which used small 

 replicated treatment blocks within the clearcut (Pavel 1993, Phelps 



1993, Perison In Press). These blocks were the reason for unequal 



