| A unit of Lasting Forests
evolving since March 30, 1999 |
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A Total Forest Management Plan
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Since salamanders are poorly known and little management has been attempted and some are reported declining, it is essential that study and special care be given to land use practices as that might affect this group of animals. They are poorly protected by a combination of cooperative agreements, management recommendations, and monitoring protocols. Several agreements and protocols (for monitoring populations)have been strategically delayed. Timeliness is needed, at least on private lands.
1. The objectives must be stated. They may relate strongly to:
Without an objective (or set of them, as shown here), no adaptive management can be implemented.
2. Salamander species are numerous. Richness can be an objective. A sport or "club" for people interested can be created with memebrs scoring the numbers seen for personal pride or minor competition. There are likely to be found, for example, 13 species on the Havens Wildlife Management Area near Salem, Virginia. These are:
3. Surveys of species present are needed. The nominal resource needs to be established as
4. Surveys are not easily replicated (area, observer, weather, timing, season, all with product-rule probability). Different survey techniques may be biased towards certain species. Some species have very seasonally constrained above-ground activity (e.g., Ambystoma maculatum). Use night searches, with lights, by experts, over an extended period in the warm season. Include searches in known likely spots. Randomization is silly. Record location, date, and animals found per unit of search time.
5. Develop standard survey areas.
6. Identification aids are needed. Produce local ones.
7. Color photos may be distributed for free with advertising or educational messages (or sold) or used to attract gifts for research and organizational support.
8. Multiple CD-ROM images can be useful in speeding quality identification.
9. Foot trails can be the means to move people through habitats to areas where salamanders are abundant.
10. Conduct "night walks" to allow visitor-users to find salamanders. Salamanders are generally nocturnal.
11. Salamander watching is seasonal. Seasonal occurrence (phenology) needs to be studied so first days, peak, and end periods can be advertised for potential users.
12. Salamander richness and abundance need to be studied over time. Some reports suggest amphibians (around the world) are disappearing from a wide variety of habitats.
13. Salamanders of many species live in caves, ponds, streams, and terrestrial moist environments. These are the major named faunal spaces. Rich areas will have all of these present. Each requires different management. [Life group management is needed; see 15 below.]
14. Species-specific management is desired and possible. Limited time and funds will prevent an individual from managing for many different species (they will group them), but teams of people with computer aids can manage very precisely for many individual species. [Do not be confused: multi-species, guild, or key species approaches are not the same as the simultaneous, species-specific management of many species on the same management area or ownership.]
15. Life group management is essential in salamander resource system management. The conspicuous life groups are:
The (species x life group) management needs create an impressive challenge.
*The word "newt" applies only to members of the family Salamandridae which has greater diversity in Europe and Asia and some in western North America than in this region.
Eggs
16. Since some amphibians and their eggs have an aquatic stage, reductions seem correlated with acid rain, pesticides, pollutants, and ground water losses. They have, however, a success record of over 250 million years. Perhaps their loss may suggest that extreme events or conditions have occurred recently (e.g., ultra-violet light increase due to depletion of the ozone layer). Fish stocking has claimed some populations. Learn to recognize mortality in egg masses from a local expert as soon as possible in order to assess the quality of breeding habitat.
17. Many salamander adults return to water to lay eggs. The egg environment differs by species. Without a species-specific knowledge or objective, create egg-laying places such as
18. There are two gross types of egg laying, primitive (large numbers laid in water) and advanced (small clusters attached by a pedicel to some support). Guarding of eggs by adult may occur in both types.
The egg-laying surfaces differ:
Female newts (of some species) in ponds lay eggs singly and wrap them in the leaves of aquatic plants. The red-spotted newt does this. (Other native salamanders probably do not do this.) Other locations and example species:
Larvae
19. Larvae hunt in shallow ponds and lakes. Newts rarely inhabit running water. Maximize sunlight and minimize silt.
20. Aquatic newts feed on aquatic insects, small crustaceans, snails, leeches, and zooplankton. Large newts eat tadpoles, crayfish, and small fish.
21. The juveniles, of those in an aquatic larval stage, remain in the pond until mid-summer. Metamorphosis occurs in late summer and fall.
22. Salamanders eat more insects than birds (a peculiar comment from the literature). Their ecological role is suggested in the following quoted abstract:
Energy flow through salamander populations in the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem is about 11,000 kcal/ha/yr (=46,000 kJ/ha/yr). This is 0.02% of the net primary productivity, and is 20% of the energy flow through bird and mammal populations. Salamanders are efficient (60%) at converting ingested energy into new tissue and produce more new tissue annually than do bird populations.
Salamanders are insignificant agents as "sinks" for nutrients or as agents for nutrient cycling in the ecosystem. Sodium is the possible exception, as an amount equivalent to >8% of the Na in annual litter fall passes through salamander populations; all other nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P, N, S, and Zn) are <1%.
Calcium content of salamanders is > that of most of their invertebrate prey. There is some evidence that invertebrates rich in Ca content, such as snails and mites, are necessary components of the diet of salamanders. Salamander tissue is higher in protein content than that of birds and mammals and represents a source of high-quality energy for potential predators.
Salamanders have restricted home ranges and are not significant agents in the movement of nutrients into or out of the system.
Burton and Likens. 1975. ECOLOGY 56: 1068-1080
Adults
23. Adults eat flies, Diptera; beetles, Coleoptera; ants, Hymenoptera; millipedes, Diploda; springtails, Collembola; and insect larvae, earthworms, spiders, and other salamanders.
24. Plethodon salamanders, adults and larvae, are terrestrial. They burrow in the ground during cold or dry weather.
25. The mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) which does not occur regularly in Virginia lays eggs on land in winter in areas that will be flooded during spring rains.
26. Crayfish can be managed to provide burrows -- which are used by Desmognathus fuscus.
27. A wooden box filled with mixed deciduous leaves placed in the forest floor will provide good habitat, constantly moist.
28. Mulch -- sawdust piles -- and dead log sites can be created. Depression in the forest filled with leaves or sawdust is an excellent habitat.
29. Conifer and lichen litter are very poor habitats. (There are 1-2 species exceptions however.)
30. Clear-cut areas are poor (temperature and moisture). Logging should be restricted so that less than 25% of known habitat in the area is cut every 10 years.
31. Predators may need to be removed or larvae and plants protected (e.g., by wire net) from them. These include bullfrog, American toad, snapping turtle, painted turtle, garter snake, grass snake, raccoon, stickleback, and water shrew.
32. A practical R and D project is needed such as one with the following objectives:
Title : A Unified Expert- and Geographic-Information System for Mountainous Virginia Salamanders. Objectives:
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33. Keep records (e.g., counts per square meter within 50 x 1 meter trnasects (or in 200-400square meter permanent plots) or in time-constrained searches.
34. Quantify increases in observers, hours spent, user-perceived quality of hours experienced.
35. Promote local sales of books and related equipment.
36. Try to determine maximum populations as an upper standard and to prevent over-investment of time and money.
37. Encourage timber harvest (as needed) adjacent to areas to which animals may move. (assuming [not tested] that some will do so; dispersal is probably limited; provide the opportunity.) Discourage firewood gathering in salamander-special areas.
38. Encourage timber harvest practices which reduce erosion/siltation.
39. In areas to be logged or otherwise "developed", exploit the population fully for research on food habits, display specimens, laboratory studies. Use removal rate studies in such areas to estimate maximum populations (see 36 above). Consider collecting and moving individuals.
40. Seek "listing" of threatened species.
41. Seek area preservation (with managerial options for the long run) for threatened species.
42. Salamanders are a large component of the faunal biomass of forested area and need to be considered for management as a major food supply, perhaps limiting, for other fauna.
43. Manage spring seeps, creating spring boxes and "guzzlers" to assure moisture well distributed over an area.
44. Because suitable sites are small, it is likely that a multi-map-layer GIS can be useful in finding sites and creating sites having all of the factors in which the animals are found (See the work of Scott Klopfer, MS thesis, Va Tech, 1997).
45. Permanent pools usually have fish which are major predators on salamander eggs and larvae. Vernal pools are much more important for successful Ambystoma breeding. Increasing pools of intermittent streams will improve conditions for salamanders. Stair-stepped streams with protected, vegetated banks can be readily created, and should be (for many reasons).
46. Continued resistance to regional broad-spectrum, long-lasting pesticide applications, global warming, acid rain deposition, and ozone release all are needed.
47. Prevent and rapidly control forest fires. Prescribed burns may be conducted in up to 5% of the known occupied habitats. As fuel loads build, large intense catastrophic fires may destroy salamanders unlike fires of a typical low-intensity nature.
48. Increase nutritional organic matter by harvesting timber when leaves are on the trees and leaving tops.
49. Combine slash and brush in tepee-like piles with woody debris in contact with the forest floor. Good conditions, but over the long-run is the difficult-to-get condition.
50. Display salamanders in terrariums for a few hours, then return them to collection sites. Everyone need not destroy a log to find a species for his or her life list. Just knowing it was recently collected nearby provides a nearly natural sighting record.
51. Restrict traffic, even fishing, or other disturbance during short critical periods.
52. Add limestone to select low pH areas; place limestone boulders in stream segments.
53. Protect riparian vegetation.
54. Tally species "richness" as part of a biodiversity enhancement strategy (for whatever public relations benefits it may bring).
55. Keep records on the time and costs involved and observe population or use changes as a function of the invested resources.
Small temperature cahnges within a region may unite populations that are now separate.Global warming or draught may restrict salamanders to high elevations within their range where hospitable conditions may persist.
Creation of channels in decaying wood (by moles and shrews) allows salamanders great access to all parts of a log. Rotted root channels may be the only pathway to low soil depths.
Some salamanders are directly related to the type understory.
Salamanders are "ectotherms" witha permeable body covering and had to develop structures, form, and behavior (e.g., clumping to reduce moisture loss) to cope with the annually inevitable loss of body moisture while maintaining a moist skin for gas exchange. Small salamanders have greater rates of water loss than larger salamanders due to their greater proportion of exposed surface area.
Food processing time is long in cold areas. This is an advantage to salamanders that consume many insects with abundant chitin. Chitin is poorly digested by most amphibians except the salamanders.
Predators include snakes, passerine birds, raccoons, skunks, and shrews. Parasitism (from nematodes) is high. Captive Plethodonts may live to 20 years. Large salamanders may be 10 years old.
Densities are likely to be about 0.05 per square meter. P. glutinosus has reported densities of 0.004 to 0.84 per m2. When a surface count is made, the population estimate should be divided by from 0.02 to 0.32 since the these are the proportions in the top 2.5 cm of soil.
Grazing can have harmful effects due to soil compaction.
Without baseline studies, it is impossible to determine "trends" in salamander populations. Numbers can fluctuate widely over time on disturbed and undisturbed sites and thus getting a clear trend will be difficult. Getting size classes may provide additional insights into trends over simple counts.
Maintaining a stable forest floor base of large decomposing wood may be essential.
References
Ramotnik, C.A. 1997. Conservation assessment of the Sacramento Mountain salamander. USDA For. Serv. Gen Tech Rep RM-GTR-293, Ft. Collins, CO 19pp.
Wilson, C.R. 2001. Status of the Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) in the Blue Ridge Mountains. M.S. Thesis. Appalachian State University. Boone, North Carolina. (Full-Document / MS Word 2000) (Abstract)
In 2002, Gary Cassabona asked for references on GIS and salamanders.From Scott Klopfer: I did a little work with predicting salamander distributions in VA using climate. My master's thesis can be viewed at: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-7197-113632/ by clicking the link at the bottom of the page. I looked at the statewide distribution of 3 species using climate variables calculated largely from topography. I have also done some work with the Virginia Gap Analysis Program and the Upper Tennessee Aquatic Gap Analysis Program where we used topography to model some of these species to varying degrees of success. The most refined models are not yet built, but indications are that, at least in SW Virginia, topographic variables could model some species of salamanders quite well.
From Gary Casabona "Using a GIS model to as
sess terrestrial salamander response to alternative forest management plans" by Eric J. Gustafson, Nathan L. Murphy, and Thomas R. Crow. They have developed a model which they used to predict salamander abundance based on the hypothesis that vegetation and topography determine site moisture and thus control salamander abundance. I used this paper for a GIS project and applied the model to a section of Allegheny National Forest, PA with results that were in the ball park with personal observations of some profs. I hope the paper helps you out a bit. Tim Jeffcoat, Clarion University of PA biology grad student
As for using GIS data to predict distribution/abundance of salamanders, I
know of some work like that done by NCASI and Weyerhaueser Co. in the
Pacific Northwest, although I can be no more specific than that. To get the
details though, you could contact either Tony Melchiors of Weyerhaueser
(tony.melchiors@weyerhaeuser.com) or Bently Wigley of NCASI
(wigley@clemson.edu).
Dr. Michael S. Mitchell, Assistant Leader (Wildlife) Project Title: Standardized monitoring methods for amphibians in national parks and associations in time and space between amphibian abundance and environmental stressors
Project Summary: Amphibian declines world-wide have created a need for more extensive and standardized monitoring of amphibian populations and for elucidating underlying causes of amphibian declines. In response to concerns about amphibian populations, a study evaluating and validating amphibian survey techniques was initiated in Shenandoah and Big Bend National Parks under the auspices of PRIMENet.
The goals for the project are to document spatial and temporal variation in amphibian populations and associations between amphibian populations and natural and anthropogenic environmental factors in the Parks. We will (1) evaluate bias, precision, and efficiency for several sampling methods for amphibians, (2) conduct validation studies to determine the relationship between capture indices and adjusted population estimates using capture-recapture and other techniques, 3) evaluate temporal and spatial variation in amphibian populations in association with environmental features, and (4) implement park-wide monitoring programs that will provide baseline data on amphibian populations.
Gustafson, E. J., N. L. Murphy, and T. R. Crow. 2001. Using a GIS model
to assess terrestrial salamander response to alternative forest management
plans. Journal of Environmental Management 63:281-292.
The article includes indices of slope position and relative site moisture.
You can request a reprint from Eric at egustafson@fs.fed.us
Wayne E. Thogmartin, PhD
Statistician (Biology) - Avian/Habitat Modeling
USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
575 Lester Avenue
Onalaska, WI 54650
608.783.7550 Ext 44
wthogmartin@usgs.gov
www.umesc.usgs.gov/staff/bios/wet0.html
Randy Kautz, Florida Fish & Wildlife
Conservation Commission (850/488-6661). He and Jim Cox did the Closing
the Gaps project several years ago. As part of that Gap"analysis they
did a species model for flatwood salamander. I have discussed with Randy
the possibility of re-running this model again with newer and hopefully
better data (due to better available data). Jim Cox, who has since moved on to different job not with the Commission, actually ran the initial models, but Randy has plenty of
experience and knowledge in species modelling. Lead:U. of Ga's School of Froest Resources, early 1990s,Kathy Barker was one
I think the work focused on the Southern Appalachians.
Johnny Stowe,
Heritage Preserve Manager,
Certified Wildlife Biologist,
SC Registered Forester # 1584,
Wildlife Diversity Section,
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources,
P.O. Box 167 , Columbia, SC 29202 USA,
803-734-4037 , jstowe@scdnr.state.sc.us
This Web site is maintained by R. H.
Giles, Jr.
Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences
108 M. White Smith Hall
Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849 ph: 334.844.9250
mike_mitchell@auburn.edu,
www.forestry.auburn.edu/mitchell,
www.ag.auburn.edu/alcfwru
Principal Investigators: Robin E. Jung ,
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
12100 Beech Forest Rd.,
Laurel, MD 20708-4038,
Phone: (301) 497-5875,
email: robin_jung @usgs.gov
Sam Droege, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
John R. Sauer, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center,
Parks: Big Bend National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Acadia National Park
Paul A. Lang - Ecologist/GIS ,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ,
Panama City Field Office , Ph.: 850/769-0552 x230 , paul_lang@fws.gov,
1601 Balboa Ave.,
Panama City, FL 32405
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Last revision January 17, 2000.