Figure 1 - uploaded by Ian Perkins-Taylor
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(A) Map of the counties of New Mexico, USA, with White Sands Missile Range highlighted in grey and our study area in the northeast corner of the range in red. (B) Photograph of the Oscura Mountains, New Mexico, taken from just south of North Oscura Peak and facing south. The mountain range is a west-facing fault block with steep escarpments on the west face and a gentler slope on the east face.
Source publication
The Oscura Mountains chipmunk (Tamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) is a unique subspecies of the Colorado chipmunk endemic to the Oscura Mountains on White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Little is known about this taxon, which is listed as threatened in New Mexico, making it difficult to develop meaningful conservation and management strategies. I...
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Land-use change, including agricultural expansion, is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss globally. Given the rapid pace of land-use change, data-driven, strategic, and dynamic conservation planning is imperative.
Objectives
We present an exemplar application of using existing data to inform conservation planning. Specifically, w...
Species distribution models (SDMs) use presence records to determine the relationship between species occurrence and various environmental variables to create predictive maps describing the species’ distribution. The Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) occurs in central New Mexico and is of conservation concern...
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Background
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Methods
We monitored the population distri...
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Citations
Species distribution models (SDMs) use presence records to determine the relationship between species occurrence and various environmental variables to create predictive maps describing the species’ distribution. The Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) occurs in central New Mexico and is of conservation concern due to its relict distribution and threats to habitat. We previously created an occupancy model for this taxon, but were concerned that the model may not have adequately captured the ecological factors influencing the chipmunk’s distribution because of the data hungry nature of occupancy modeling. MaxEnt is another SDM method that is particularly effective at testing large numbers of variables and handling small sample sizes. Our goal was to create a MaxEnt model for the Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk and to compare it with our previous occupancy model for this taxon, either to strengthen our original assessment of the relevant ecological factors or identify additional factors that were not captured by our occupancy model. We created MaxEnt models using occurrence records from baited camera traps and opportunistic surveys. We adjusted model complexity using a novel method for tuning both the regularization multiplier and feature class parameters while also performing variable selection. We compared the distribution maps and variables selected by MaxEnt to the results of our occupancy model for this taxon. The MaxEnt and occupancy models selected similar environmental variables and the overall spatial pattern of occurrence was similar for each model. Likelihood of occurrence was positively related to elevation, piñon woodland vegetation type, and topographic variables associated with escarpments. The overall similarities between the MaxEnt and occupancy models increased our confidence of the ecological factors influencing the distribution of the chipmunk. We conclude that MaxEnt offers advantages for predicting the distribution of rare species, which can help inform conservation actions.
Non-invasive survey methods may be necessary when studying rare species or when site conditions are likely to result in unintended mortalities during conventional live trapping. Traditional non-invasive methods based on visual and auditory observations, such as stationary point and roaming time constrained area surveys, may be prone to error. Remote cameras are primarily used with large mammals but have increasingly been applied to small mammals. We compared survey methods for a rare subspecies of the Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) occurring in a remote mountain range in New Mexico, using stationary point surveys, roaming time constrained area surveys, and remote-camera survey methods. We detected chipmunks at substantially more locations using remote cameras (13-23%) versus surveys using visual and auditory cues at stationary points (2.6%) or roaming within 2.7 ha plots (5.6%). In addition, remote cameras have additional strengths such as reducing the risk of false positive and false negative results, and providing verifiable and archivable evidence that can be used to corroborate study results.
The Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) is a rare subspecies of the Colorado chipmunk that is listed as threatened by the state of New Mexico, primarily because it is an endemic subspecies with a small, isolated habitat and the potential for continuing habitat loss. Knowledge about its ecology is limited, which has hindered the development of scientifically defensible management plans. Our goal was to better understand the ecological factors related to the distribution and habitat selection of this chipmunk. We deployed baited camera traps in the Oscura Mountains, New Mexico, USA, using an occupancy modeling framework to determine which ecological factors are associated with occupancy and detection probability. We collected microhabitat and landscape‐level data for use as covariates in the occupancy models. We detected the Oscura Mountains chipmunk at 26 of the 137 survey sites. Occupancy probability was not influenced by the microhabitat characteristics measured and the final model contained only landscape‐level covariates on occupancy. Probability of occupancy was positively associated with proximity to an escarpment, two‐needle pinyon (Pinus edulis) woodland vegetation community type, and elevation. Detection probability was positively associated with the presence of mature two‐needle pinyons at the site. Habitat loss is a major concern for this taxon, especially because climate change is expected to exacerbate threats to pinyon woodlands. Drought, wildfire, bark beetle (Ips confusus) outbreaks, and other diseases pose a large risk to conifer woodlands throughout the southwestern United States. Conserving the pinyon woodlands on the Oscura Mountains, particularly in areas near escarpments, will help maintain habitat that is important for the Oscura Mountains chipmunk. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.
