Small herps as indicators of land restoration success in desert environments. Ward, Tina^*,1, Anderson, Val ¹, ¹ Brigham Young Universtiy, Provo, UT, USA

ABSTRACT- Evaluation of the success of reclamation attempts should include many ecological considerations. Animal population data is often a useful indicator of the effectiveness of restoration efforts. In this study, reptile populations (abundance and diversity), are determined in each of three different desert plant communities. Reptiles may be a better indicator of ecological health than small or large mammals or birds in deserts environmnets. This is because they are able to exist in higher densities and thus probably the main prey soruce of many of the larger mammals and birds. Therefore, studying the effects of disturbance and reclaimation on reptile populations can be a useful indicator of the health of the ecosystem. The area of study, located in Utahs west desert, is a native sagebrush community of which a portion was disturbed by an accidental burn years previously. Parts of the disturbed area were reclaimed with exotic and native plant species while other parts were unmanaged and became annual weed, mainly cheatgrass communities. Pitfall and funnel traps were set up in each area. Traps were opened every other week continuously for three days and checked each morning. Captures were recorded and marked in order to obtain population estimations through mark-recapture data. Trapping began in May and concluded in September. Data collected has strongly indicated that the native, undisturbed sagebrush community has a much larger lizard population than reclaimed and cheatgrass areas. However, reclaimed area does seem to support a small lizard population while cheatgrass has none at all.

KEY WORDS: herps, reclaimation, desert environment, population