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Natural Logjams as Pathways for Terrestrial and Semi-Aquatic Wildlife Biodiversity on Purchase College Campus
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Jackson, Allyson K.
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Spring 2025
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2025
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Large wood is generally acknowledged as an important component of stream restoration initiatives around the world. Since the 1980’s large wood has been introduced to watersheds, due to its vital role in river ecosystems and maintaining functional riparian zones. Fluvial wood has been observed supporting stream processes through maintenance of floodplain connectivity, stabilization of riverbanks, and its influence on fluvial geomorphology, sediment deposition, and fish and macroinvertebrate habitats. Only a handful of studies have examined the ways that large wood supports terrestrial animals as they traverse riparian ecotones. We examined wildlife biodiversity and behavior across 9 log complexes along the Blind Brook Stream at Purchase College, New York using trail camera imagery from 20 October 2024 - 14 December 2024. Our footage captured a variety of rodents, small-medium sized mammals, meso-carnivores, birds, and semi-aquatic species, some of which have not been previously documented through terrestrial camera traps on Purchase campus. The most common behaviors exhibited by animals associated with large wood complexes included crossing, brief contact, food handling, and foraging. Although resting, grooming, excreting, mating, scent marking, and interspecific interactions were also observed. Our findings suggest that in-stream wood supports wildlife biodiversity and activity along a narrow urban stream, underscoring the potential importance of large wood additions in watersheds.
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