An Assessment of Herpetofaunal and Non-Volant Mammal Communities at Sites in the Piedmont of North Carolina

Abstract

The southeastern United States contains a rich diversity of vertebrate spe- cies. Despite this, the Piedmont province of the southeastern US has received less attention than the more biologically diverse Coastal Plain and Mountain regions. Yet, the Piedmont region experiences the greatest anthropogenic impact and should be the focus of conservation efforts. In an attempt to obtain diversity information for this under-studied region, we surveyed amphibian, reptile, and non-volant mammal communities for one year at two sites in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Our survey methodologies included drift fences, artificial cover objects, camera traps, and visual encounter surveys. We captured or obtained evidence of a total of 49 species across both sites (mammals = 20, amphibians = 15, reptiles = 14), and over 2000 animals were captured or detected. We calculated measures of species richness, abundance, diversity, and evenness for each study site, and calculated similarity between sites. Diversity and evenness measures varied, but were generally highest for amphibians or reptiles and lowest for mammals. Measures of similarity between study sites indicated high similarity. The species we observed were comparable to those reported by past inventory projects in the Piedmont of North Carolina, although such projects have been sparse. Our results provide much-needed information on vertebrate communities in this under-studied region.