Monitoring the effects of disturbance on old-field plant communities in Central New York: Applications to management of a rare snake Portia Osborne SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Final Report Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation December 2010 Summary of proposed work My research focused on the effects of management activities on the habitat for a rare snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus; Figure 1), which is listed as endangered in New York. Of the two populations of this species present in the state, I studied the population in central New York, near Syracuse. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is responsible for managing this population. They have tried both mowing and burning a field in which the males of this snake population tend to bask and hunt for prey during summer months. Through my summer internship with the NYS DEC, my objectives were to evaluate the response of both the plant community, which forms the snake’s habitat, and the snake community to these management activities and, based on these findings, to recommend future management activities to the NYS DEC. Figure 1. Two eastern massasauga rattlesnakes on one of my cover boards.
Monitoring the effects of disturbance on old-field plant communities in Central New York: Applications to management of a rare snake Portia Osborne SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Final Report Edna Bailey Sussman Foundation December 2010 Summary of proposed work My research focused on the effects of management activities on the habitat for a rare snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus; Figure 1), which is listed as endangered in New York. Of the two populations of this species present in the state, I studied the population in central New York, near Syracuse. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) is responsible for managing this population. They have tried both mowing and burning a field in which the males of this snake population tend to bask and hunt for prey during summer months. Through my summer internship with the NYS DEC, my objectives were to evaluate the response of both the plant community, which forms the snake’s habitat, and the snake community to these management activities and, based on these findings, to recommend future management activities to the NYS DEC. Figure 1. Two eastern massasauga rattlesnakes on one of my cover boards.
Finalreport-Osborne.docx