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Figure 9. Sometimes many volunteers are necessary for a in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Figure 9. Sometimes many volunteers are necessary for a project, either digging up a hibernation site (Fig 9a), clearing open areas for sun penetration, or digging up an old septic line to prevent collapses and injuries to snakes.

Fig. 3 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 3. Typical nesting area of Northern Pine Snakes in New Jersey. They require relatively open areas where there is complete sun penetration to the ground to provide sufficient warmth to the incubating eggs (Burger 1989a, 1991a; Burger and Zappalorti 2011a).

Fig. 5 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 5. Pine Snakes hibernate in communal hibernacula that can contain up to 30 or more Pine Snakes (Burger et al. 1988; Burger and Zappalorti 2011a, b, 2015, 2016). Fig. 5a shows the depth hibernation chambers are below ground, a snake in a natural chamber (Fig 5b) and in cement blocks from an old septic chamber (Fig. 5c, Pine Snake on right, Black Racer on left).

Fig. 1 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 1. Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus) hissing when first encountered in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Figure 8 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Figure 8. Several Pine Snake females often nest in the same nest. Here we (R. Zappalorti and J. Burger) have removed four clutches (note they are bound together, making it possible to identify the eggs of three different females). Once females lay eggs, they exude a liquid that binds the eggs together. This partly prevents other females from disrupting the clutch and accidentally removing them to the outside while they are digging their own side chambers.

Fig. 7 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 7. Volunteers contribute directly to conservation efforts by helping to remove trees that are obstructing sun penetration to nests or hibernation sites (Fig. 7a), or taking data on snake behavior (Fig. 7b).

Fig. 6 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 6. Volunteers of all ages are involved in our Pine Snake research, and the handling and measuring of snakes contributes to their education, and results in their providing information about conservation to their families, friends, classmates, and others. Following hibernation studies, the children (and adults) put the snakes back into their hibernation chambers.

Fig. 4 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 4. Female Pine Snakes sometimes remain in their nests for several days after egg-laying is complete, perhaps protecting their clutch from being disrupted by other females that lay in the same nest.

Fig. 2 in Stakeholder contributions to conservation of threatened Northern Pine Snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus, Daudin, 1803) in the New Jersey Pine Barrens as a case study

Fig. 2. Female Northern Pine Snakes dig their own nests in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, although in the southern part of their range they do not do so. They bend their neck such that the head forms a scoop capable of bringing sand out the entrance (Fig 2a). While digging their body is hidden below ground, and the dump pile of sand is visible (and serves to attract poachers; Fig 2b).

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2023View details →

zenodo36/100

Data from: Bat activity is related to habitat type and structure in managed pine barrens in New England

Background. Several insectivorous bat species are found in New England, yet research on them is still scarce. Current research shows the ecological importance of bats due to their control of insect populations, but they are endangered by habitat loss and White Nose Syndrome, among other threats. Pine barrens are an uncommon ecosystem found in New England that supports other rare taxa and could be important for these bat species. Methods. With hand-held audio recorders, we surveyed for bats in Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area in Massachusetts and Concord Pine Barrens in New Hampshire in June 2022. Our study objectives were to 1) describe the most common bat species and 2) compare bat activity across different habitat types at two managed pine barrens in New England. In particular, we examined bat activity related to habitat type (scrub oak, mature pitch pine, treated pitch pine, hardwood forest), habitat structure (i.e., canopy closure), and time since prescribed fire. We analyzed our data through linear mixed effects modeling and Fisher’s exact tests. Results. Overall, we were able to measure the presence of five out of the nine total species found in the area, including the endangered Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat). We recorded 293 bat calls, with the majority of calls from big brown bats (71%). We found significant differences (P < 0.05) in bat activity in relation to habitat types and structure. The index of bat activity was greatest in pitch pine and hardwood forests and lowest in scrub oak and treated pitch pine habitats. With preliminary data, we also found that there was more bat activity in areas that had not been burned recently. Discussion. These findings demonstrate the importance of pine barrens as an ecosystem that supports bats in New England. According to the activity of bats in our study, closed canopy and mature pitch pine habitats may be prioritized in conservation efforts at managed barrens for bat species. Further research is recommended to better understand the relationship between prescribed fires, which are common in managed barrens, and bat activity.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Using metagenomics to show the efficacy of forest restoration in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

The Franklin Parker Preserve within the New Jersey Pine Barrens contains 5,000 acres of wetlands habitat, including old-growth Atlantic White Cedar (or AWC; Chamaecyparis thyoides) swamps, cranberry bogs, and former cranberry bogs undergoing restoration into AWC forests. This study showed that the C-use efficiency was greater in the old-growth AWC soils than in soils from 8-year old mid-stage restored AWC stands, which were greater than found in soil from 4-year old AWC stands—the latter two stands being restored from long-term cranberry bogs. A metagenomic analysis of eDNA extracted from these soils showed that the C-cycle trends were associated with increases in the relative numbers of DNA sequences from several copiotrophic bacterial groups (Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria), complex C decomposing fungal groups ( Sordiomycetes, Mortierellales, and Thelephorales), and collembolan and formicid invertebrates. All groups are indicators of successionally more advanced soils, and critical for soil C-cycle activities. These data suggest that the restoration activities studied are enhancing critical guilds of soil biota, and increasing C-use efficiency in the soils of restored habitats, and that the use of metagenomic analysis of soil eDNA can be used in the development of assessment models for soil recovery of wetlands following restoration.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Geographic variation in the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii): concordance of genetic, morphometric, and acoustic signal data

Delimiting species is important to every subfield in biology. Templeton's cohesion species concept uses genetic and ecological exchangeability to identify sets of populations that ought to be considered as the same species, and the lack of exchangeability helps determine which populations can be grouped as evolutionarily significant units (ESU) in conservation science. However, previous work assessing genetic and ecological interchangeability among populations has been limited in scope. Here, we provide a method for assessing exchangeability that incorporates multiple, independent lines of multivariate evidence in genetic, behavioural and morphological data. We use this approach to assess exchangeability across three disjunct groups of populations of the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii) from the eastern United States. This species is considered threatened by each state in which it occurs and conservation management of this taxon requires a clearer understanding of how populations in these three regions may differ from one another. We find a strikingly concordant pattern in which the first axis of variation for each of the three types of data distinguishes populations along a latitudinal gradient and the second axis distinguishes the set of populations occurring in the Carolinas from those occurring in the New Jersey and Florida/Alabama regions. We know of no comparable data set that displays such concordance among different types of data across so large a geographic range. The overlap in trait values (i.e. exchangeability) between neighbouring regions, however, is substantial in all three types of data, which supports continued consideration of this taxon as a single species.

publicMar 2021View details →

Data from: Signatures of north-eastern expansion and multiple refugia: Genomic phylogeography of the Pine Barrens Treefrog, Hyla andersonii (Anura: Hylidae)

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publicMay 2015View details →

Data from: Geographic variation in the Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii): concordance of genetic, morphometric, and acoustic signal data

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publicMar 2018View details →

Data from: Using metagenomics to show the efficacy of forest restoration in the New Jersey Pine Barrens

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Figure 11 from: Hicks A (2015) In the shadow of a megalopolis, a new Flexamia from a threatened grass species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Paralimnini). ZooKeys 511: 69-79. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.511.9572

Figure 11 - Female, bases of valvulae. Within Flexamia these structures provide a means for specific identification of female specimens.

Figure 12 from: Hicks A (2015) In the shadow of a megalopolis, a new Flexamia from a threatened grass species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Paralimnini). ZooKeys 511: 69-79. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.511.9572

Figure 12 - Distribution of Muhlenbergia torreyana and location of the Pine Barrens. Modified from data found on the Grass Manual on the Web and BONAP's North American Plant Atlas.

Figure 1 from: Hicks A (2015) In the shadow of a megalopolis, a new Flexamia from a threatened grass species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Paralimnini). ZooKeys 511: 69-79. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.511.9572

Figure 1 - A stand of Muhlenbergia torreyana in the Pine Barrens. Photo courtesy of Uli Lorimer of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Figure 10 from: Hicks A (2015) In the shadow of a megalopolis, a new Flexamia from a threatened grass species in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Paralimnini). ZooKeys 511: 69-79. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.511.9572

Figure 10 - Female 7th sternite. Commonly illustrated for this genus but only occasionally useful to separate species.