喀斯特山地青冈栎群落优势种的种间关系分析

采用2×2列联表的χ2检验和Spearman秩相关系数分析了喀斯特山地青冈栎(Cyclobalanopsis glauca)群落22个优势种的种间联结性和相关性。结果表明,在所组成的231个种对中,χ2检验中有100个种对为正联结,110个种对为负联结;Spearman秩相关系数检验有114个种对为正相关,117个种对为负相关,正、负联结或相关的种对数相近。正联结或正相关的种对主要体现了种间对生境具有相似的生态适应性和生物学特性,而负联结或负相关关系则主要由于对生境的不同偏好或相异的生物学特性所致。喀斯特山地高度的生境异质性促使优势种间的生态位相互分化,对生境的偏好趋异,负联结或负相关的种对趋于增加,因而喀斯特山地高度的生境异质性对植物种间关系的形成具有重要的影响。研究结果对于指导喀斯特地区进行人工植被恢复和重建具有一定的实践指导意义。     

山西桑干河流域湿地植被优势种群种间关系研究

采用χ2检验、Pearson积矩相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数检验研究了山西桑干河流域湿地植物群落的种间关系,分别测定了36种植物,共630个种对的种间关联(或相关)。结果表明,1)χ2检验共有79个种对为正关联,16个种对为负关联(P<0.05或P<0.01,下同);Pearson相关系数有51个种对为正相关,34个种对为负相关;Spearman秩相关系数有61个种对呈正相关,14个种对呈负相关。2)χ2检验不能反映两个种对间的数量变化关系,应用Pearson积矩相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数来刻划种对间的数量变化关系;与Pearson积矩相关系数检验相比,Spearman秩相关系数检验具有较高的灵敏度。3)物种之间正相关或正关联,主要是由于它们具有相近的生物学特性,对生境具有相似的生态适应性和相互分离的生态位所致;而物种之间负相关或负关联,则主要是由于它们具有不同的生物学特性,对生境具有不同的生态适应性和相互重叠的生态位所致。     

金城山植物群落优势种群的种间关系

采用2×2列联表的χ2检验、Ochiai关联度指数、Pearson 相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数检验,研究了南充金城山植被24个优势种群共276个种对的种间关联(或相关).结果表明: 1) χ2检验有15个种对呈正相关, 3个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为5.0,其余258种对联结程度不显著; Pearson相关系数检验23个种对正相关, 1个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为23.0,其余252种对联结程度不显著; Spearman秩相关系数检验24个种对呈正相关, 5个种对呈负相关,正负关联比为4.8,其余247种对联结程度不显著; 2)χ2检验只能反映出种对间联结性显著与否,经χ2检验不显著的种对并不意味着其间没有联结性,故只有与Ochiai关联度指数结合,结论才比较合理; 3)与Pearson相关系数检验相比, Spearman相关系数检验具有较高的灵敏度; 4) 按照对环境的适应方式和主导生态因素,24个优势种可划分为4个生态种组,同一生态种组内,各种间具有较强的正联结,表明其资源利用方式和生态要求相似,而不同组间联结较为松散,主要是由于它们具有不同的生物学特性,对生境具有不同的生态适应性和相互分离的生态位所致.桤木、千筋树、插田泡、乌蔹莓和小叶菝葜等呈独立分布.图4表4参19     

青藏高原东北边缘桦木林木本植物种间联结

青藏高原东北边缘地区位于我国东部季风区、西北干旱区与青藏高原高寒区的交汇地带,该区既兼具3大自然区的特点,又具有边缘地带气候波动不稳定性和自然生态环境的脆弱性,是全球变化重点监测的地区之一。研究青藏高原东北边缘亚高山桦木林的种间联结,不仅有助于更深刻地认识该地区桦木群落的结构、功能和演替,对于维持该地区群落稳定性以及生态恢复具有重要意义。本文选取青藏高原东北边缘桦木林中20个优势种,采用方差比率法(VR)检验多物种间的联结性,2×2列联表分析共同出现百分率(JI)、点相关系数(Ф)、Dice指数(DI)来表示种间联结程度,用重要值的Pearson相关和Spearman秩相关来检验相伴出现的机率等方法分析其种间关联性。结果表明:群落总体联结VR值为1.094,说明20个种群间表现出净正关联,其统计量W值为10.94说明20个种群之间在总体上的正关联不显著;大多数种对的JI值、DI值在0.4以下,说明种对之间联结程度不显著,Φ值大部分处于[-0.2, 0.2]值域内,说明种对之间的正或负的联结性较弱;而Spearman秩相关所测得的正负关联比要大于Pearson相关所测得的,且Spearman秩相关要优于Pearson相关。从以上结果可以看出,青藏高原东北边缘三种桦树天然次生林处于不稳定的状态,即演替的中期阶段,其逐渐会被地带性植被所取代。     

珍稀濒危植物矮牡丹生存群落优势种种间联结性及群落稳定性

采用方差比率法(VR)、χ~2检验、联结系数(AC)、共同出现百分率(PC)、Pearson相关系数、Spearman秩相关系数以及M.Godron稳定性测定等数量分析方法,对山西稷山矮牡丹(Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. var. spontanea)生存群落中20个优势物种、190个种对间进行种间相关性及群落稳定性分析.结果显示:(1)稷山矮牡丹生存群落20个优势种种群整体表现为不显著负相关性,物种间相对独立,群落稳定性结果(40/60)远离20/80,整体群落不稳定.(2)χ~2检验中不显著关联的对数有168对,占到了88.78%;AC和PC结果都表明20个优势种群落有很大的独立性或随机性,对生境的需求不同,共同出现概率较低;χ~2检验结果、Pearson相关系数半矩阵图、Spearman秩相关系数半矩阵图分别表明检验呈正关联的种对占总对数的38.42%、38.42%、44.74%;检验呈负关联的种对分别占总对数的61.05%、61.05%,54.74%;其中黄刺玫(Rosa xanthina)、连翘(Forsythia suspensa)、辽东栎(Quercus wutaishanica Mayr)与矮牡丹的正相关性相对较显著;黄精(Polygonatum sibiricum)、红柄白鹃梅(Exochorda giraldii)、西北栒子(Cotoneaster zabelii)和黄栌(Cotinus coggygria)与矮牡丹的负相关性相对较显著;(3)根据种群的聚类分析和种间联结测定分析,把矮牡丹生存群落的20个优势种划分为3个生态种组.以上研究表明该群落中种对间的关联性较弱,群落处于不稳定演替阶段,在对矮牡丹保护的同时应加强与其正相关性较强物种在其群落中的保护和建立,促进其群落趋于稳定,以求达到对其实效保护的目的.(图5表6参31)     

巨枝人工林灌木层优势种的种间联结性分析

种间联结的研究对于人工林群落的生物多样性保育和可持续经营与管理具有重要的意义,目前对巨桉人工林灌木层物种之间的作用关系知之甚少。根据野外60个样方的调查数据,运用x^2检验、Jaccard指数和Spearman秩相关系数研究了巨桉（Eucalyptusgrandis）人工林灌木层18个优势种的种间关联和相关关系。结果表明,灌木层优势种具有总体上的正联结性,但在153个种对中,具有显著正联结性的种对数约占总种对数的10％,绝大数种对表现为弱联结性或无联结性,种间关系较为松散,表明巨桉林下灌木种群具有相对独立分布的特性。研究种间关系时,种间关联结合种间相关得出的结果较好。根据分析结果将18个优势种划分为4个生态种组,生态种组内的种其资源利用方式和生态要求相似,而组间表现出明显的差异。生态种组的划分能为巨桉人工林林下灌木层的管理提供理论依据。     

路域和保护区油松林种间关联比较研究

根据大量野外调查和室内测算,运用多物种方差比率(VR)、χ~2检验、Pearson相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数以及关联测度(OI指数、AC值和点相关系数)等7个指标,对宝天高速公路路域以及与该路段毗邻的小陇山国家级自然保护区油松(Pinus tabulaeformis)群落进行种间关联的对比研究,为确定群落动态发展提供理论依据.结果表明:(1)路域生态带油松群落的总体关联性表现为显著负相关,保护区油松群落的总体关联性表现为显著正相关,保护区油松群落较路域生态带油松群落稳定;(2)χ~2检验、Pearson相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数表明路域生态带与保护区油松群落主要物种与伴生物种多以负相关为主,说明不同生境主要种群对群落内环境的要求不同;(3)关联测度值表明路域生态带油松群落中正关联程度低于保护区,负关联程度高于保护区,且多种群表现为独立分布;(4)依据路域油松林和保护区油松林种间关联度性质的不同,将路域生态带和保护区组成群落的主要物种分别划分为3个生态组:正关联生态组、负关联生态组和独立生态组,与保护区相比,路域生态带独立生态种组物种较多,显示了群落成员之间的生态协调性不同.综上表明路域生态带油松群落种间关系不密切,独立种对较多;群落内环境不够协调,种间搭配关系还不够稳定.     

泥石流频发流域失稳性坡面主要植物种间关联性

为揭示生态环境脆弱的泥石流频发流域植被群落结构特征及物种种间关系,在样方调查的基础上,基于2×2联列表,使用方差分析、χ~2检验、Jaccard指数、Pearson相关系数和Spearman秩相关系数检验,研究失稳性坡面稳定区、失稳区、堆积区的主要植物种间关联性.方差分析检验显示:稳定区与堆积区各45个种对整体上均表现显著负关联,失稳区45个种对整体表现为不显著负关联,趋于独立分布.不同检验结果显示:χ~2检验的稳定区、失稳区、堆积区种对种间显著联结的分别有1对、4对、4对,种间正、负关联的种对数量比例分别为0.55、0.67、0.67.Pearson相关分析检验的稳定区、失稳区、堆积区种对种间显著联结的分别有8对、5对、5对,种间正、负关联的种对数量比例分别为0.36、0.45、0.45.Spearman秩相关分析检验的稳定区、失稳区、堆积区种对种间显著联结的分别有10对、6对、9对,种间正、负关联的种对数量比例分别为0.5、0.55、0.6.各检验结果总体上具有相似性,但相互之间也有差异,在3个分区的各45个种对中,都是负关联种对数大于正关联种对数,大多数物种呈独立性分布且种间关系不显著.上述研究表明失稳性坡面整体上植物群落还不稳定,泥石流频发流域生态脆弱区的物种种间关系易受环境的干扰;因此在植被恢复过程中应根据种间联结关系,合理选择配置物种,以促进群落结构发展与生态环境改善.     

天然针阔混交林优势种群间联结关系

运用２ ×２ 联列表,通过方差分析、χ２ 检验、联结系数Ｃ、Ｏｃｈｉａｉ 系数、Ｃｚｅｋａｎｏｗｓｋｉ 系数和Ｊａｃｃａｒｄ 系数等系列方法,测定了天然针阔混交林１５ 个优势种群间的总体联结关系,各种对间联结显著性和关联系数．研究表明：中亚热带针阔混交林的种间联结测定使用上述系列技术效果很佳．运用方差分析揭示出多物种整体间的联结关系;χ２ 检验揭示出成对物种间联结的性质和程度;Ｏｃｈｉａｉ、Ｃｚｅｋａｎｏｗｓｋｉ 和Ｊａｃｃａｒｄ 系数可表明种对的联结程度和相伴随出现的机率．结果表明：多物种间的整体联结关系为显著的正联结;χ２ 统计量检验了１０５ 个种对,其中９ 个种对呈现极显著的正联结;２ 个种对为显著的正联结;４ 个种对呈现显著的负联结．马尾松（ Ｐｉｎｕｓ ｍａｓｓｏｎｉａｎａ）与常绿阔叶林优势树种间的联结关系很弱,反映出天然针阔混交林的成熟性     

塔里木荒漠绿洲过渡带植物种间关联性分析

采用2×2联列表,应用方差比率(VR)、χ2检验、种间关联指标和Pearson相关系数、Spearman秩相关系数检验等方法研究了塔里木荒漠绿洲过渡带植物群落种间关系,测定了8个主要种群种间关联性。结果表明:胡杨、柽柳和甘草、骆驼刺重要值较大(49.78%、31.21%、11.99%、11.86%),它们是构成乔木层、灌木层及草本层的优势种。植物群落大多数种对(78.57%)呈中性关联,负关联的种对数(6)多于正关联(0),种间联结松散,物种趋向于独立分布。植物群落总体关联性为显著负关联(0.568 8),不同检验方法对种对间的检验结果均为正负关联比1,反映出塔里木荒漠绿洲过渡带正处于不稳定的演替前期阶段,易受外界因素干扰而演替。乔灌木层为不显著的正关联,而乔灌木-草本层和草本-草本主要物种间呈显著负关联。因此,塔里木荒漠绿洲过渡带植被恢复应选择乔灌木作为恢复目标。     

Differential use of shelter holes by sympatric species of blennies (Blennidae)

Comparative use of shelter use by three sympatric species of combtooth blenny (Ecsenius stictus, Glyptoparus delicatulus, and Salarias patzneri) was studied among micro-atolls in the lagoon at Lizard Island (14°42′S, 145°30′E), northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Blenny species used different sized holes; however, the average diameter and depth of holes used by the smallest and largest species differed by only 4 and 25 mm, respectively, indicating interspecific differences in suitable refuge can be very subtle. Both hole diameter and depth were positively related to total length of fish, suggesting use of holes relates to interspecific differences in body size. Total abundance of blennies was best explained by a general linear model that included either the number of holes or total habitat area on individual micro-atolls, predictor variables that were positively correlated with each other. However, the relative importance of variables differed among the three species, feeding area being most important for S. patzneri, feeding area and number of holes for E. stictus, and variance in hole diameter being the best explanatory variable for G. delicatulus abundance. The number of blenny species on a micro-atoll was best explained by variance in hole diameter, emphasizing the influence of refuge size variety in fish diversity. It is likely that subtle habitat partitioning, which relates to interspecific differences in body size, contributes to the co-existence of blenny species within the same microhabitat, but presence of holes is unlikely to regulate abundance of these fish.     

Aquatic plant community invasibility and scale-dependent patterns in native and invasive species richness

Invasive species richness often is negatively correlated with native species richness at the small spatial scale of sampling plots, but positively correlated in larger areas. The pattern at small scales has been interpreted as evidence that native plants can competitively exclude invasive species. Large-scale patterns have been understood to result from environmental heterogeneity, among other causes. We investigated species richness patterns among submerged and floating-leaved aquatic plants (87 native species and eight invasives) in 103 temperate lakes in Connecticut (northeastern USA) and found neither a consistently negative relationship at small (3-m2) scales, nor a positive relationship at large scales. Native species richness at sampling locations was uncorrelated with invasive species richness in 37 of the 60 lakes where invasive plants occurred; richness was negatively correlated in 16 lakes and positively correlated in seven. No correlation between native and invasive species richness was found at larger spatial scales (whole lakes and counties). Increases in richness with area were uncorrelated with abiotic heterogeneity. Logistic regression showed that the probability of occurrence of five invasive species increased in sampling locations (3 m2, n = 2980 samples) where native plants occurred, indicating that native plant species richness provided no resistance against invasion. However, the probability of three invasive species' occurrence declined as native plant density increased, indicating that density, if not species richness, provided some resistance with these species. Density had no effect on occurrence of three other invasive species. Based on these results, native species may resist invasion at small spatial scales only in communities where density is high (i.e., in communities where competition among individuals contributes to community structure). Most hydrophyte communities, however, appear to be maintained in a nonequilibrial condition by stress and/or disturbance. Therefore, most aquatic plant communities in temperate lakes are likely to be vulnerable to invasion.     

Effects of Landscape Composition and Wetland Fragmentation on Frog and Toad Abundance and Species Richness in Iowa and Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Abstract: Management of amphibian populations to reverse recent declines will require defining high-quality habitat for individual species or groups of species, followed by efforts to retain or restore these habitats on the landscape. We examined landscape-level habitat relationships for frogs and toads by measuring associations between relative abundance and species richness based on survey data derived from anuran calls and features of land-cover maps for Iowa and Wisconsin. The most consistent result across all anuran guilds was a negative association with the presence of urban land. Upland and wetland forests and emergent wetlands tended to be positively associated with anurans. Landscape metrics that represent edges and patch diversity also had generally positive associations, indicating that anurans benefit from a complex of habitats that include wetlands. In Iowa the most significant associations with relative abundance were the length of the edge between wetland and forest ( positive) and the presence of urban land (negative). In Wisconsin the two most significant associations with relative abundance were forest area and agricultural area ( both positive). Anurans had positive associations with agriculture in Wisconsin but not in Iowa. Remnant forest patches in agricultural landscapes may be providing refuges for some anuran species. Differences in anuran associations with deep water and permanent wetlands between the two states suggest opportunities for management action. Large-scale maps can contribute to predictive models of amphibian habitat use, but water quality and vegetation information collected from individual wetlands will likely be needed to strengthen those predictions. Landscape habitat analyses provide a framework for future experimental and intensive research on specific factors affecting the health of anurans.     

Territory characteristics and coexistence with heterospecifics in the Dartford warbler <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sylvia undata</Emphasis> across a habitat gradient

The study of successional gradients may help to understand the relative influence of habitat structure and competition on territory characteristics. Here, we evaluate the effects of vegetation cover, conspecific and heterospecific densities, and distance to the nearest neighbor on territory size, shape, and overlap in insectivorous birds. We studied these effects along a gradient of postfire habitat regeneration in which foliage cover and densities of focal species varied several-fold. We delineate 197 territories (minimum convex polygons) of the shrub-dwelling Dartford warbler (Sylvia undata) and 255 of the syntopic Sardinian (Sylvia melanocephala), subalpine (Sylvia cantillans) and melodious (Hippolais polyglotta) warblers at three plots in NE Catalonia (Spain and France) in 1987–2005. After accounting for the effect of the number of locations used to delineate polygons, generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) showed a reduction in territory area of the Dartford warbler as conspecific density increased and distance to nearest neighbor decreased, in accordance with the contender pressure hypothesis for territory size regulation. Heterospecific density was not included in the final model of territory size and the effect of habitat structure was marginal. Territory roundness was positively correlated with its size and with conspecific density, probably in relation to energetic constraints, and negatively with heterospecific density. Territorial exclusion was almost complete among Dartford warblers, whereas interspecific territory overlap was extensive and tended to increase with heterospecific density and with structural diversity along the gradient. Our results support the hypothesis that Mediterranean warbler coexistence derives from ecological segregation and not from interspecific territoriality.     

Species richness patterns along environmental gradients in island land molluscan fauna

The relationship between species richness and environmental variables may change depending on habitat structure, dispersal ability, species mixing, and community adaptation to the environment. It is crucial to know how these factors regulate the environment-diversity relationship. The land molluscan fauna of the Ogasawara Islands in the West Pacific is an excellent model system to address this question because of the high species endemicity (> 90%), small area, and simple habitat structure of the islands. I examined relationships among indigenous species composition, richness, and habitat condition, and especially productivity and forest moisture on the island of Anijima. Two major communities of snails could be distinguished by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA): one group dominated in a moist habitat with high productivity, and the other group dominated in a dry habitat with low productivity. However, species richness became highest at the intermediate condition between the habitats in which the two snail communities were dominant, so that species richness showed a hump-shaped relationship with moisture and productivity. In contrast, the species richness of the snail community in the moist habitat showed a monotonically positive correlation, and that in the dry habitat showed a monotonically negative correlation with moisture and productivity. Thus, the greater species richness in intermediate moisture and productivity resulted from the ecotone effect or community overlap at the transitional areas, where faunas with different ecologies can meet in a single site. These findings suggest that hump-shaped productivity-diversity relationships in land Mollusca would reflect the ecotone effect as a result of the mixing of species adapted to either fertile habitats or sterile habitats.     

毛竹混交林主要种群多维生态位特征

应用生态位空间分割法，分别考虑资源利用率与否测定毛竹混交林多维资源空间中主要种群多维生态位宽度及多维生态位重叠，结果表明：考虑资源利用率与否对多维生态位宽度的测定有较大的影响，毛竹混交林中主要种群的多维生态位宽度与物种的生物学特性及竞争力密切相关，同一生境中物种的多维生态位重叠可通过生态位分化而减少竞争，研究毛竹混交林主要种群多维生态位特征对毛竹混交林营造具有指导作用．表8参24．     

Concordance between short-term experiments and long-term censuses in tide pool fishes

Sixteen years of annual censuses (1990-2005) of an assemblage of tide pool sculpins at Tatoosh Island, Washington, USA, revealed relative constancy in the numbers of recruits and adults. However, the dominant species as a recruit (Clinocottus globiceps) was always replaced numerically as an adult by another species (Oligocottus maculosus). When mechanisms of coexistence were evaluated, little support was found for either a lottery model, because competitive interactions are hierarchical, or a storage-effect model of coexistence, because the relative ranking of recruitment varied little among years and did not covary among species with environmental variables such as ocean temperature, upwelling indices, or an estimator of ocean productivity (oyster condition index). There was also little evidence of niche partitioning based on habitat affinities. Additionally, predation-mediated coexistence had little support, given that the competitive dominant did not have the greatest rates of mortality. Instead, a competition-colonization trade-off may contribute to the coexistence of these species, where C. globiceps always recruits in the greatest numbers, while O. maculosus dominates the adult assemblage via competitive processes. The importance of post-recruitment processes in this assemblage is further suggested by some negative associations among species, the presence of density dependence, some habitat affinities, and previously published experimental work that demonstrated the competitive dominance of O. maculosus over C globiceps.     

Food resource partitioning in a Mediterranean demersal fish assemblage: the effect of body size and niche width

We investigated the effects of body size, feeding strategy and depth distribution on the trophic resource partitioning among the 26 dominant fish consumers in a fish assemblage on the central Mediterranean shelf-break. The fish assemblage was structured in two major trophic guilds: epibenthic and zooplanktonic feeders, according to the position of each predator along the benthos–plankton gradient. Within each main guild, the species were segregated along a prey-size or fish-size gradient into five further guilds. Fish size and prey size were strongly correlated, indicating that the prey-size niche can be well explained by predator size. Fish consumers showed a significant negative correlation between the similarity in prey type and the similarity in depth distribution; most species with similar trophic preferences segregated along the depth dimension. The only predators overlapping in both food and depth preferences were those with a more specialist trophic behavior. These results suggest that fish body size and depth preferences are the two main niche dimensions, explaining a large part of the coexistence between the Mediterranean shelf-break fish consumers.     

Conservation of Insect Diversity: a Habitat Approach

Abstract: Neither time nor resources exist to design conservation plans for every species, particularly for little-studied, noncharismatic, but ecologically important taxa that make up most of biodiversity. To explore the feasibility of basing conservation action on community-level biogeography, we sampled a montane insect community. We addressed three issues: (1) the appropriate scale for sampling insect communities; (2) the association of habitat specialization—perhaps a measure of extinction vulnerability—with other ecological or physical traits; and (3) the correlation of diversity across major insect groups. Using malaise traps in Gunnison County, Colorado, we captured 8847 Diptera (identified to family and morphospecies), 1822 Hymenoptera (identified to morphospecies), and 2107 other insects (identified to order). We sampled in three habitat types—meadow, aspen, and conifer—defined on the basis of the dominant vegetation at the scale of hundreds of meters. Dipteran communities were clearly differentiated by habitat type rather than geographic proximity. This result also holds true for hymenopteran communities. Body size and feeding habits were associated with habitat specialization at the family level. In particular, habitat generalists at the family level—taxa perhaps more likely to survive anthropogenic habitat alteration—tended to be trophic generalists. Dipteran species richness was marginally correlated with hymenopteran species richness and was significantly correlated with the total number of insect orders sampled by site. Because these correlations result from differences in richness among habitat types, insect taxa may be reasonable surrogates for one another when sampling is done across habitat types. In sum, community-wide studies appear to offer a practical way to gather information about the diversity and distribution of little-known taxa.     

Landscape-level influences of terrestrial snake occupancy within the southeastern United States

Habitat loss and degradation are thought to be the primary drivers of species extirpations, but for many species we have little information regarding specific habitats that influence occupancy. Snakes are of conservation concern throughout North America, but effective management and conservation are hindered by a lack of basic natural history information and the small number of large-scale studies designed to assess general population trends. To address this information gap, we compiled detection/nondetection data for 13 large terrestrial species from 449 traps located across the southeastern United States, and we characterized the land cover surrounding each trap at multiple spatial scales (250-, 500-, and 1000-m buffers). We used occupancy modeling, while accounting for heterogeneity in detection probability, to identify habitat variables that were influential in determining the presence of a particular species. We evaluated 12 competing models for each species, representing various hypotheses pertaining to important habitat features for terrestrial snakes. Overall, considerable interspecific variation existed in important habitat variables and relevant spatial scales. For example, kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula) were negatively associated with evergreen forests, whereas Louisiana pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni) occupancy increased with increasing coverage of this forest type. Some species were positively associated with grassland and scrub/shrub (e.g., Slowinski's cornsnake, Elaphe slowinskii) whereas others, (e.g., copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix, and eastern diamond-backed rattlesnake, Crotalus adamanteus) were positively associated with forested habitats. Although the species that we studied may persist in varied landscapes other than those we identified as important, our data were collected in relatively undeveloped areas. Thus, our findings may be relevant when generating conservation plans or restoration goals. Maintaining or restoring landscapes that are most consistent with the ancestral habitat preferences of terrestrial snake assemblages will require a diverse habitat matrix over large spatial scales.