ASSESSING CONTRIBUTIONS OF SILVICULTURAL PRACTICES TO SWAMP RABBIT HABITAT IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: MCINTIRE-STENNIS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1004824
• Project Start Date: Jan 19, 2015
• Project End Date: Dec 31, 2018
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV
(N/A)
CARBONDALE,IL 62901

Performing Department
Forestry

Non Technical Summary
Reforestation has been implemented across southern Illinois in support of a wide range of management objectives, but especially wildlife habitat enhancement. Until now, little effort has been made to link specific forest management silviculture practices with specific wildlife habitat outcomes. Moreover, no efforts have been made to balance the values associated with maturing stands with those of very young stands. This project will expand on previous research efforts of our research group. Using swamp rabbits as a model system, this research will address the following objectives: (1) Identify specific age, structure, and composition characteristics of bottomland hardwood forest stands as these relate to swamp rabbit habitat; (2), Relateswamp rabbit use to vegetation characteristics; (3) Institute monitoring proedures and construct models that directly assess the outcomes and impoacts of forest management practices on specific habitat attributes over time in young, afforested bottomland sites.

Animal Health Component

70%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

10%

Applied

70%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
123	0330	1070	100%

Knowledge Area
123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0330 - Wetland and riparian systems;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology;

Keywords

bottomland hardwood forest

lagomorph

wildlife habitat

forest stand structure

rabbit

afforestation

Goals / Objectives
(1) Identify specific age, structure, and composition characteristics of bottomland hardwood forest stands as these relate to Lagomorph habitat,(2), Relate lagomorphs use to vegetation characteristics(3) Institute monitoring protocols and construct models that directly assess the outcomes of silvicultural interventions on specific habitat attributes over time.

Project Methods
Objective 1: Identify specific age, structure, and composition characteristics of bottomland hardwood forest stands as these relate to Lagomorph habitatDr Nielsen and his students have been capturing lagomorphs and collecting habitat data at the microhabitat (i.e., site scale) and macrohabitat (i.e., landscape scale). Microhabitat variables measured will include stand age and condition, stem density, basal area, ground cover, and similar metrics intended to characterize habitat conditions important to rabbits (Nielsen 2012). Additionally, Dr. Nielsen proposes to characterize macrohabitat from land cover classification maps and patch metrics (e.g., size, shape, complexity) will be calculated in program FRAGSTATS. Proportional use (within home ranges) of early-successional habitat patches vs other patch types (i.e., BLH) will also be quantified. Characteristics sites will be revisited and re-characterized according to emerging changes in habitat characteristics as these impact lagomorphs species. Fixed plot sampling of overstory trees and nested vegetation plots will be employed. Down woody material will be characterized according to size and decay classification.Objective 2: (2), Relate lagomorphs use to vegetation characteristicsA literature review will be conducted to identify models or components of models that may be evaluated to characterize lagomorphs habitat and predict its change over time. Dependent variables will include occupancy by swamp or cottontail rabbit during key use seasons and relative abundance of both as identified by sampling conducted by Nielsen and his graduate students. Model evaluation will take into account both predictive power and ease of parameterization with regard to vegetation and habitat structural characteristics needed to achieve high predictive power. Vegetation sampling proxies will be evaluated and ground truthed during this stage of the research.Objective 3: Institute monitoring protocols and construct models that directly assess the outcomes of silvicultural interventions on specific habitat attributes over time.As preliminary data analyses clarify habitat features specific to the reforested bottomlands in the Cache River, silvicultural protocols will be developed and evaluated. Crop tree release is anticipated to be the method of choice to create horizontal structure in the form of slash, down stems and herbaceous vegetation. Monitoring of crop tree growth will also commence as the basis for further stand development research in support of bird and lagomorphs habitat.

Progress 01/19/15 to 12/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Natural resource management agencies and private landowners managing lands in the Cache Joint Venture Area The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Natural Resources Conservation Service International Natural Resources management academic community Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Field assistants were trained. A Ph.D. student, now emplyed in the private sector was trained. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Public presentations at National WIldlifre Refuges in Illinois and Missouri. Presentations at professional meetings. Hillard, E.M., J.C. Crawford, C.K. Nielsen, J.W. Groninger, and E.M. Schauber. 2018. Hydrogeomorphology influences swamp rabbit habitat selection in a fragmented bottomland hardwood ecosystem. 25th Annual Meeting of the Wildlife Society, October 8, Cleveland, OH. (Presented to 1500 Wildlife Professionals) Groninger, J.W. and E.M. Hillard. 2018. Afforestation and management of floodplain forest landscapes with an emphasis on wildlife. Central South University of Forestry and Technology, College of Forestry, July 5, Changsha, China. (Presented to approximately 50 students and faculty) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Specific age, structure, and composition characteristics of bottomland hardwood forest stands as these relate to Lagomorph habitat were identified within the study area , (2) Lagomorphs use to vegetation characteristics and hydrogeology were modeled (3) Monitoring protocols that can directly assess the outcomes of silvicultural interventions on specific habitat attributes over time were established.

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hillard, E.M. 2018. Swamp Rabbit responses to habitat conditions in bottomland hardwood forests in southern Illinois. Ph.D. Dissertation in Agricultural Sciences. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 74 p.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hillard, E.M., C.K. Nielsen, and J.W. Groninger, and E.M. Schauber. Hydrogeomorphology influences swamp rabbit habitat selection in a fragmented bottomland hardwood forest ecosystem, in preparation.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hillard, E.M., C.K. Nielsen, and J.W. Groninger. 2018. Stand conditions drive swamp rabbit habitat use in a managed bottomland hardwood forest. Wildlife Society Bulletin, in review.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hillard, E.M., A.C Edmund, J.C. Crawford, C.K. Nielsen, E.M. Schauber, and J.W. Groninger. 2018. Winter snow cover increases swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) mortality rates at the northern extent of their range. Mammalian Biology 93:93-96.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: Hillard, E.M., C.K. Nielsen, and J.W. Groninger. 2018. Stand dynamics drive swamp rabbit habitat use in a managed bottomland hardwood forest. 21st Central Hardwood Forest Conference, May 15-17, USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Bloomington, IN, in press.

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Interagency land managers at Cache River Joint Venture Partnership. The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Natural Resources Conservation Service.Wildlife managers in southern Illinois and across the midwest and mid-south. Members of the interested public, including hunters and students at Southern Illinois UniversityTo date, we have engaged approximately 1,750 managers, 200 public, and 240students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Ph.D. student in Forestry/AgriculturalSciences is being trained. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations have been delivered to an audeince of 1500 at the national meeting of the WIldlife Society and to the Society of American Foresters National Convention. Teaching material has been developed and presented to students in classes in the Department of Forestry at Southern Illinois University. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Currently, reports regarding both swamp rabbit habitat use and survivorship are being compiled for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals. These novel publications will relate BLH stand- and landscape- level habitat characteristics and changes in these characteristics to swamp rabbit viability. The final outcome of this research will facilitate an understanding of habitat values associated with different stand ages and structures as a framework to help inform and guide management efforts in BLH ecosystems focused on improving swamp rabbit habitat and provide an intermediate scale to guide habitat-based management objectives within BLH forest landscapes.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Collected data has been analyzed and reports are being compiled regarding swamp rabbit habitat use and survival within bottomland hardwood forests (BLH) across a variety of stand ages and structural characteristics. Locations and survival data from 136 radio-collared swamp rabbits and three years of pellet plot surveys have been used to evaluate swamp rabbit habitat use and survival. Habitat use models were created using temporal pellet count data and specific stand- and landscape- level variables such as woody stem density, herbaceous understory composition, tree density, average basal area (m2/ha), and forest patch and landscape contiguity metrics to evaluate how stand structure, microhabitat, and macrohabitat variables influence swamp rabbit habitat use in a managed BLH landscape made up of afforested and mature stands. Survival data from radio-collared rabbits within five winter seasons (2009-2016) was evaluated and mortality rates calculated and compared to examine the impact of environmental conditions on swamp rabbit vitality.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Hillard, E. H., C. K. Nielsen, and J. W. Groninger. 2017. Swamp rabbits as indicators of wildlife habitat quality in bottomland hardwood forest ecosystems. Ecological Indicators 79: 47-53.

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Interagency land managers at Cache River Joint Venture Partnership. The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, Natural Resources Conservation Service.Wildlife managers in southern Illinois and across the midwest and mid-south. Members of the interested public, including hunters. Students at Southern Illinois UniversityTo date, we have engaged approximately 250 managers, 200 public, and 190 students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project supports a Ph D students and three undergraduates who are becoming versed in field wildlife and forest monitoring techniques How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at professional meetings as well as a field course and lecture course at Southern Illinois University Swamp rabbit response to bottomland hardwood forest conditions in southern Illinois. August 3rd, 2016. Swamp rabbit working group meeting, Duck Creek Conservation Area, Puxico, MO. Program sponsored by The Missouri Department of Conservation (audience of 30 state and federal managers and biologists). Swamp rabbits of the Cache. May 7th, 2016. Cache River Nature Fest, Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center, Cypress, IL. Program sponsored by Friends of Cache River Watershed (audience of 25 members of the engaged public) Swamp rabbits and their habitats in the Cache River watershed. May 7th, 2015. Cache River Nature Fest, Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center, Cypress, IL. Program sponsored by Friends of Cache River Watershed (audience of 100 members of the engaged public) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continued data analysis and model development to use swamp rabbits as indicators for forest management decision making.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Data have been collected regarding swamp rabbit occupancy of bottomland hardwood forests across a variety of stand ages and structural characteristics. Thirty-two individual swamp rabbits were captured and 23 radio-collared from December 2015 to March 2016. Radiolocations and pellet plot survey data from this year and previous years are being used to measure swamp rabbit habitat use and survival. Specific stand- and landscape- level variables measured include woody stem density, herbaceous understory composition, tree density, average basal area (m2/ha), and forest patch and landscape contiguity metrics. Herbicidal treatments of ash trees in 14 treatment plots paired with non-treated reference plots were monitored to measure vegetation composition and rabbit response. These plots will continue to be measured temporally over the remaining duration of this project to anticipate impacts of impending emerald ash borer infestations.

Publications

• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Akamani, K., E.J. Holzmueller, and J.W. Groninger. 2016. Managing wicked environmental problems as complex social-ecological systems: The promise of adaptive governance. Chapter 33 In: Melesse, A.M. and W. Abtew (ed.). Landscapes, Soils and Hydrological Processes in Varied Climates. Springer, pp. 741-762.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Behnken, J.A., J.W. Groninger, and K. Akamani. 2016. Institutional Constraints to Collaborative Ecosystem Management within a Wetlands Conservation Partnership. Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education 158:19-33.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hillard, E.M., C.K. Nielsen, and J.W. Groninger. 2016. Swamp rabbits as indicators of wildlife habitat quality in bottomland hardwood forest ecosystems. Ecological Indicators, in review.

Progress 01/19/15 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Interagency managers at Cache River Joint Venture, Wildlife Managers in southern Illinois and across the midwest, members of the interested public. Students at Southern Illinois University. To date, we have engaged approximately 200 managers, 160 public, and155students. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project supports a Ph.D. student and her assistants who are undergraduate and graduate students at Southern Illinois Univeristy. The work being conducted is used as subject matter for classroom instruction in courses offered by the Department of Forestry, Southern Illinois University. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of this work to date have been reported at several venues including public engagement through the Fish and WIldlife Service, the interagency Cache River Joint venture where USDA NRCS is a partner and at several academic venues at Southern Illinosi University Carbondale. The Midwest Fish and WIldlife Conference targeted working professionals. Swamp rabbits in the Cache River watershed, implications for bottomland hardwood forest management. June 28th, 2015. Crab Orchard NWR Visitor's Center, Marion, IL. Program sponsored by the Southern Illinois Master Naturalists (audience of 60 members of the engaged public) Swamp rabbits and their habitat in the Cache River watershed. May 5th, 2015. Cache River Nature Fest, Barkhausen Cache River Wetlands Center, Cypress, IL. Program sponsored by Friends of Cache River Watershed (audience of 100 members of the engaged public) Effects of silvicultural treatments on swamp rabbit occupancy in bottomland hardwood forests. Hillard, E. M., C. K. Nielsen, and J. W. Groninger. 2015. 75th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Indianapolis, IN. (200 wildlife managers) Assessing swamp rabbit habitat suitability as a framework for ecosystem-based management. December 5th 2014. College of Agriculture Seminar. SIU, Carbondale, IL. (25 graduate students) Swamp rabbit response to habitat conditions in bottomland hardwood forests in southern Illinois. Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory Proposal Presentations. Guyon Auditorium, SIU, Carbondale, IL (25 wildlife graduate students) What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Data collection will continue as needed for model development. Monitoring of vegetation response will be expanded to account for rapidly changing understory conditions due to induced Fraxinus mortality.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Stands that provide habitat for Lagomorphs were characterized and lagomorph occupancy data were collected. 2. Data collection is ongoing that will be used to relate lagomorph occupancy to vegetation characteristics. 3. Silviculture interventions were installed in the form of overstory mortality for Fraxinus spp. Monitoring of vegetation development continues.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Nickelson, J.B., E.J. Holzmueller, J.W. Groninger, and D.B. Lesmeister. 2015. Previous land use and invasive species impacts on afforestation success. Forests 6:3123-3135. DOI: :10.3390/f6093123
• Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Holzmueller, E., J. Groninger, and C. Ruffner. 2015. Improving oak regeneration with prescribed fire and thinning. The Voice for Illinois Forests: Illinois Forestry Association Newsletter.