Modeling California Tiger Salamander Habitat
I am currently modeling the effect of a variety of habitat variables on California tiger salamander (CTS) larvae in Sonoma County, California. The Sonoma population exists in a highly fragmented urban matrix, so we are trying to understand how factors such as surrounding upland habitat quality, the number of other ponds within a certain distance of each breeding pond, and the depth of each pond may affect the density of larvae within each pond. Our hope is to use these models to develop a management plan that maximizes larval salamander density increases most efficiently.