Using artificial rocks to restore nonrenewable shelter sites in human-degraded systems: Colonization by fauna

Croak, BM; Pike, DA; Webb, JK; Shine, R

Using artificial rocks to restore nonrenewable shelter sites in human-degraded systems: Colonization by fauna

Croak, BM Pike, DA Webb, JK

Shine, R

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Restoration Ecology, 2010, 18 (4), pp. 428 - 438
Issue Date:: 2010-07-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2011003957OK.pdf	Published Version	5.28 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Croak, BM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Pike, DA	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Webb, JK https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4822-6829	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Shine, R	en_US
dc.date.issued	2010-07-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Restoration Ecology, 2010, 18 (4), pp. 428 - 438	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1061-2971	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/32527
dc.description.abstract	Many animals spend much of their time within retreat sites underneath loose surface rocks and may be highly selective in terms of the physical characteristics of the sites that they use. If such shelters are eliminated by anthropogenic activities, such as rock removal for landscaping, the only way to restore these nonrenewable habitats may be to replace them with artificial rocks. To construct artificial rock habitats, we need to understand which rock attributes are important for faunal use and develop methods to mimic these important natural retreat site characteristics. Based on our prior understanding of rocky retreat sites used by reptiles in sandstone outcrops of southeastern Australia, we constructed realistic-looking artificial rocks from fiber-reinforced cement and evaluated (1) the degree to which they mimicked natural retreat sites in both thermal regime and three-dimensional crevice structure and (2) their colonization by fauna after deployment in the field. Our results demonstrate that thermal regimes and crevice structures beneath the artificial rocks were similar to those beneath natural rocks. In addition, 100% of the artificial rocks were colonized (by 45 invertebrate, six lizard, and two snake species, including the endangered Broad-headed snake, Hoplocephalus bungaroides) after only 40 weeks. Together, these results suggest that restoring degraded habitats for rock-dwelling species is feasible and can provide a rapid means of enhancing shelter-site availability for such species. © 2008 Society for Ecological Restoration International.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Restoration Ecology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00476.x	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Ecology	en_US
dc.title	Using artificial rocks to restore nonrenewable shelter sites in human-degraded systems: Colonization by fauna	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	18	en_US
utslib.for	0602 Ecology	en_US
utslib.for	05 Environmental Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	18	en_US

Abstract:

Many animals spend much of their time within retreat sites underneath loose surface rocks and may be highly selective in terms of the physical characteristics of the sites that they use. If such shelters are eliminated by anthropogenic activities, such as rock removal for landscaping, the only way to restore these nonrenewable habitats may be to replace them with artificial rocks. To construct artificial rock habitats, we need to understand which rock attributes are important for faunal use and develop methods to mimic these important natural retreat site characteristics. Based on our prior understanding of rocky retreat sites used by reptiles in sandstone outcrops of southeastern Australia, we constructed realistic-looking artificial rocks from fiber-reinforced cement and evaluated (1) the degree to which they mimicked natural retreat sites in both thermal regime and three-dimensional crevice structure and (2) their colonization by fauna after deployment in the field. Our results demonstrate that thermal regimes and crevice structures beneath the artificial rocks were similar to those beneath natural rocks. In addition, 100% of the artificial rocks were colonized (by 45 invertebrate, six lizard, and two snake species, including the endangered Broad-headed snake, Hoplocephalus bungaroides) after only 40 weeks. Together, these results suggest that restoring degraded habitats for rock-dwelling species is feasible and can provide a rapid means of enhancing shelter-site availability for such species. © 2008 Society for Ecological Restoration International.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/32527