Biodiversity of the Moodna Creek Watershed - Orange County Water ...

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Appendix A. Flagship Species of the Moodna Creek Watershed The following wildlife species represent the diversity of habitats in the Moodna Creek watershed. In many cases, conservation of these species will contribute to conservation of other plants and animals with similar habitat needs. Information on recommended habitat and buffer sizes, important temporal considerations, and additional conservation concerns are included. (Note that many of these species use a complex of different habitats, in addition to the priority habitat group listed here.) Common Name Northern red salamander Pseudotriton ruber Priority Habitat Group Streams and Riparian Corridors Habitat Needs Conservation Considerations Because of their use of both aquatic and terrestrial habitat in Forests near low-gradient, sluggish sections of the stream corridor, riparian buffers are especially important to small streams, springs, and seeps with maintain water quality and provide adequate adjacent uplands. abundant decaying organic matter. Juveniles Buffers of at least 160 ft (50 m) on either side of the stream is are aquatic for first 3.5 years. Adults spend recommended to conserve habitat for northern red and other summer and early fall beneath logs, stones, stream salamanders. (Crawford and Semlitsch 2007) Adults and leaf litter in forested habitat, and the rest of migrate from the stream to terrestrial habitats on warm rainy the year in the water. nights in early April. Wood turtle Clemmys insculpta Streams and Riparian Corridors Wood turtles have large home ranges that include river and streamside habitats bordered by forests or meadows. Stream microhabitats include open pools, undercut banks, and logs. Nesting occurs in sunny, well-drained areas that are not prone to flooding. Nesting season is May through early July, with hatching occuring in September and October. Females travel up to 0.6 mi (1 km) to nest. Road mortality is a major threat during overland movements. Habitat loss in riparian zones and illegal collection are additional threats to this declining species. A minimum of 650 ft (200m) of buffer from the core stream habitat is recommended. Louisiana waterthrush Seiurus motacilla Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis Streams and Riparian Corridors Streams and Riparian Corridors Nest placed in small hollow or cavity on stream bank, under fallen log, or within roots of an upturned tree. Nesting and This migratory warbler breeds along gravelbottomed, unpolluted streams flowing through fledgling activity occurs in April through July. Louisiana waterthrush nests are frequently parasitized by brown-headed ravines or hilly, deciduous or mixed forests with cowbird. Riparian buffers of at least 300 ft (90 m) are moderate to sparse undergrowth. recommended to ensure clean stream water, adequate upland habitat, and reduced nest predataion and parisitism. Cold, clear streams that are well-shaded, with good water quality and high dissolved oxygen, overhead cover, and gravel substrates needed for reproduction. Stocking has expanded the species' distribution to less optimal habitat, but in these cases brook trout are often outcompeted by the nonnative brown trout (also stocked in NY), which may ultimately restrict viable populations to headwater streams. Barriers such as culverts, dams, and streams can be mitigated to reduce stream fragmentation and increase fish habitat. Riparian buffers of 100 ft (30m) with 80% well vegetated or stable rocky banks is recommended. (Raleigh 1982)
Appendix A. Flagship Species of the Moodna Creek Watershed The following wildlife species represent the diversity of habitats in the Moodna Creek watershed. In many cases, conservation of these species will contribute to conservation of other plants and animals with similar habitat needs. Information on recommended habitat and buffer sizes, important temporal considerations, and additional conservation concerns are included. (Note that many of these species use a complex of different habitats, in addition to the priority habitat group listed here.) Common Name Red-shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus Priority Habitat Group Forests Habitat Needs Varies from bottomland hardwoods and riparian areas to upland deciduous or mixed deciduous-conifer forest, and almost always includes some form of water, such as a swamp, marsh, river, or pond. Breeds in extensive forested habitat; a minimum of 620 ac (250 ha) of floodplain forest may be necessary for successful breeding. Habitat overlaps with barred owl's. Conservation Considerations May be especially sensitive to fragmentation of forested habitat. Disturbances from humans in the form of off-road vehicles, hunters, and horseback riders may be restricting redshouldered hawks to the deepest, wildest areas left. Redshouldered hawk usually nests below the canopy in deciduous or mixed forest, often near a pond, stream, or swamp. Nesting and fledgling activity occurs in March through July. Cerulean warbler Dendroica cerulea Forests Extensive deciduous forests, composed of Forest fragmentation and habitat loss is major threat to structurally mature hardwoods near streams, cerulean warbler; conservation efforts should focus on wetlands, and the Hudson River. Specific protecting large, contiguous tracts of forest with substantial forest types vary throughout the species’ range interior habitat. Unfragmented forest patches of 100+ ac (40+ and include bottomland hardwood and riparian ha) are recommended to support breeding by some forestinterior breeding birds in a 50-60% forested landscape. Nest forests (especially with tall sycamores or cottonwoods), dry ridgetops with mature oaks parasitism by brown-headed cowbird may also be contributing and hickorys, mesic cove forests with tulippoplar and other southern hardwoods, red- trees, most often oaks, elms, and American sycamore. Nesting to population declines. Cerulean warblers nest in a variety of maple swamps, and lake margins. and fledgling activity occurs from May to July. Jefferson salamander Ambystoma jeffersonianum Forests Lives in upland, deciduous and mixed forests with abundant stumps, logs, and leaf litter on the forest floor. Small mammal burrows provide critical microhabitat. Breeds in intermittent woodland pools that are typically isolated, dry by summer, and fishless. Jefferson salamander, and other species in the group of "mole salamanders" (spotted, marbled, and blue-spotted) are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation that prevents movement from forest habitat to breeding pools. Because woodland pools are small, they are often overlooked and do not receive adequate protection. Buffer zones of 525-820 ft (160- 250 m) should be preserved around pools to ensure adequate terrestrial habitat and intact connectivity for breeding migrations. The mole salamanders migrate to pools in early March through April on rainy nights, with Jefferson being the earliest breeder, often when pools are still partially covered in ice; the one exception is marbled salamander, which breeds in the fall. Road mortality is a threat during spring migrations and may be minimized by posting signage or engaging volunteers to shepard salamanders across roads.
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Page 3 and 4: Moodna Biodiversity L. Heady, 19 Ju
Page 9 and 10: Figure 1. Ecological Communities of
Page 15 and 16: Figure 3. Analysis of Riparian Buff
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Page 43 and 44: Appendix B. Birds of Conservation C
Page 45: Appendix C. Reptiles and Amphibians

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