Blog Post 4

This week, salamander suitable habitat research was conducted by consulting multiple research articles and the DEC governmental website to understand what makes suitable habitats fir all NY salamander species to live in. The suitable land cover types that salamanders can inhabit in NY can be seen below followed by unsuitable land cover types:

National land cover values that represent suitable habitat land classes for NY salamanders:
41- Deciduous Forest
43- Mixed Forest
90- Woody Wetlands
95- Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands


National land cover values that represent unsuitable NY salamander habitat:
11- Open Water
23- Developed, Medium Intensity
24- Developed, High Intensity
42- Evergreen Forest
52- Shrub/ Scrub
71- Grassland/ Herbaceous
81- Pasture/ Hay
82- Cultivated Crops

This maps shows the suitable habitat zones for salamanders in New York State. The green areas show suitable salamander habitats and the purple areas show where habitats that are not suitable for salamanders. 

Literature Cited:

ESRI Data and Maps for ArcGIS

Guerry, Anne D., and Malcolm L. Hunter. "Amphibian Distributions in a Landscape of Forests and Agriculture: An Examination of Landscape Composition and Conf Iguration." Conservation Biology 16.3 (2002): 745-54. Web.

"SPCN Amphibians."Www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/spcnamphibians.pdf. New York Department of Environmental Conservation, 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

Blog Post 3

This week, more criteria for the other species being used to analyze habitat fragmentation was researched and collected. The next pilot species being analyzed is the Virginia Opossum (

Didelphis virginiana).

Suitable habitat land classes for the Virginia Opossum include: 

21- Developed, Open Space- mainly parks and golf courses
31- Barren Land
41- Deciduous Forest
42- Evergreen Forest
43- Mixed Forest
52- Shrub/ Scrub
71- Grassland/ Herbaceous
82- Cultivated Crops
90- Woody Wetlands
95- Emergent Herbaceous Wetlands

National land cover values that represent unsuitable Virginia Opossum habitat:

11- Open Water
23- Developed, Medium Intensity
24- Developed, High Intensity
81- Pasture/ Hay

Literature Cited:

"Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC)." Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC). US Geological Survey, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.

"Virginia Opossum - Didelphis Virginiana." Virginia Opossum. New Hampshire Public Television, 2016. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.