06/18/13

SALAMANDERS IN CRISIS! An Overview of Why Salamander Conservation is Needed

Guest blog by Matt Ellerbeck, founder of Save the Salamanders

Although they are rarely given much thought, and often overlooked when they are, salamanders are in a terrible crisis. Around half of all the world’s salamander species are listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). These species are all facing a high risk of extinction. A further 62 species have been designated as near-threatened with populations rapidly dwindling. This means they are quickly getting closer to threatened status and to the brink of extinction. Sadly for some salamanders it is already too late, as both the Yunnan Lake Newt (Cynops wolterstorffi) and Ainsworth’s Salamander (Plethodon ainsworthi) have already gone extinct.

Salamanders have been on the earth for over 160 million years, and the terrible state that they now find themselves in is due to the detrimental acts of humans. Even those species that are not experiencing population declines deserve attention and conservation to ensure that they remain healthy and stable.

One of the biggest issues affecting salamanders is the loss of their natural habitat. Many areas that were once suitable for salamanders to live in have now been destroyed for developmental construction and agriculture. Habitats of all kinds are being lost at an alarming rate. Wetlands are drained, forests are logged and cut down, and waterfronts are developed. Salamanders are literally losing their homes and they are losing them rapidly. The expansion of urban areas threatens the suitable habitats that still remain.

Where natural habitats do still exist, they are often fragmented or degraded. Fragmentation occurs when healthy areas of habitat are isolated from one another. These fragmented areas are known as habitat islands. Salamander populations are affected since gene flow between the populations is prevented. This increases the occurrence of inbreeding, which results in a decrease in genetic variability and the birthing of weaker individuals.

Fragmented populations where inbreeding occurs often ends in a genetic bottleneck. This is an evolutionary event where a significant percentage of the population or species is killed or otherwise prevented from reproducing. Habitat fragmentation is also harmful because it often eliminates crucial requirements in the area which are critical to the survival of salamander populations. Such areas include spaces that can be utilized for thermoregulation, prey capture, breeding, and over-wintering. Without such habitat requirements populations dwindle.

Breeding sites, often in the forms of vernal pools are particularly important. The loss of such areas in the form of habitat destruction can negatively affect the entire population and its reproductive output. According to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), there is some evidence that certain salamander species have individuals that return to the pond in which they were born once they reach maturity. Therefore, destruction of a breeding pond may result in loss of the entire population returning to that site. Habitat complexity is also important as it offers shelter to salamanders from both predators and human persecution.

Degradation occurs when the natural habitat has been altered and degraded to such a degree that it is unlikely that any remaining salamanders species would be able to survive. Developments and agriculture near fragmented habitats put salamanders at serious risk. As amphibians, salamanders have extremely absorbent skins. Industrial contaminants, the introduction of sedimentation into waterways, sewage run off, pesticides, oils, and other chemicals and toxic substances from developmental construction sites and human settlements can all be absorbed by salamanders. This can quickly lead to deaths. They can also cause widespread horrific deformities to occur. A study conducted at Purdue University found that out of 2,000 adult and juvenile salamanders 8 percent had visible deformities.

According to Save The Frogs, Atrazine (perhaps the most commonly used herbicide on the planet, with some 33 million kg being used annually in the US alone) can reduce survivorship in salamanders. Many products are sold with the claim that they are eco-friendly. However, these should be viewed with caution. For example, according to N.C Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Roundup and many other surfactant-loaded glyphosate formulations are not labeled for aquatic use. When these formulations are applied to upland sites according to label instructions, the risk to surfactant-sensitive species is considered low. While this may be the case for fish it does not necessarily apply to amphibians. Salamanders that breed in water also routinely use non-aquatic areas and could easily be exposed to glyphosate formulations that contain harmful surfactants through direct application and not just incidental drift.

Habitat destruction and degradation can also effect the availability of prey items, causing unnatural declines in appropriate food sources.

Habitats are often isolated and cut off from one another by the roads and highways that now run through them. Countless numbers of salamanders are killed on roads and highways every year when they are hit by vehicles. Salamanders that are migrating to breeding and egg-laying sites often must cross over roads to reach such areas. Here many of the mature members of the breeding population are killed. Removing members of the breeding populations greatly limits reproductive output, this makes it incredibly hard for salamander numbers to rebound.

Roads present an additional problem because they represent a form of habitat loss. The roads that run through natural areas also fragment the existing populations, drastically making them smaller in size. This limits the gene flow and genetic diversity between the isolated populations on either side and this greatly increases the chances of extirpation. When salamanders attempt to cross roads to travel between the populations, or to critical breeding/birthing sites it greatly increases their chances of being hit and killed by vehicles.

The Wetlands Ecology and Management (2005) population projections for spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) life tables imply that an annual risk of road mortality for adults of greater then 10% can lead to local population extirpation. Unfortunately, it is estimated that mortality rates can often be as high as 50 to 100%, which means populations are at extreme risk of extirpation and extinction due to road mortality. Wyman (1991) reported average mortality rates of 50.3 to 100% for hundreds of salamanders attempting to cross a paved rural road in New York State, USA. Given that this figure pertains to a rural area from over a decade ago, it is fair to assume that even higher mortality rates occur as their has been in increase in cars and roads over the years. Reducing road mortality is paramount to preserving salamander species.

Being hit and killed by vehicles is not the only threat that roads create for salamanders. Chemical run-off from vehicles contaminate roadside ditches and pools. These sites are often utilized by salamanders for breeding and birthing. According to Steven P. Brady (2012) survival in roadside pools averaged just 56%, as compared to 87% in woodland pools. Thus, an average of 36% fewer individual embryos survived to hatching in roadside versus woodland pools.

Salamanders are also threatened when they are harvested from the wild. Salamanders are taken for the pet trade, for food markets, and for use as fishing bait.

There is much about salamanders that scientists do not know. Aspects of the biology, ecology, and lifestyles of many species is a mystery. This undoubtedly means human interference is negatively affecting salamanders in ways in which we don’t even know. The intricate relation between all species and the vital roles they play within eco-systems is also being altered. Such alterations can have serious consequences to not just salamanders, but many other animals as well (including humans).

To find out how you can help please see: www.savethesalamanders.com

About Matt Ellerbeck and Save the Salamanders:

Over the years he has observed hundreds of salamanders in their natural habitats. This interest eventually led to Matt becoming a Salamander Advocate and Conservationist.

Matt also has considerable experience and expertise in regards to salamanders and their care. He has cared for and observed numerous species. These include forms belonging to the genera Plethodon, Ambystoma, Necturus, Notophthalmus, Hypselotriton, Pleurodeles, Taricha, Salamandra, Hemidactylium, Eurycea, Pseudotriton, Amphiuma, Siren, and Paramesotriton. Matt is also in possession of a license to keep Specially Protected Amphibians in Captivity for the purpose of education, which has been granted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Along with wildlife preservation, Matt also believes in the ideals of Environmentalism, Deep Ecology, Biocentrism, Ecocentrism, and anti-Speciesism; and draws from these various movements to help salamanders.

Matt is committed to continuing his efforts to help salamanders. His love and concern for these animals is second to none!

04/7/13

Kihansi Spray Toads: Once Extinct in the Wild, Now Reintroduced to their Native Habitat

Female Kihansi Spray Toad with her young toadlet. Courtesy of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Photo: Julie Larsen Maher

Recently more than 2,000 Kihansi spray toads (Nectophrynoides asperginis), an amphibian species that was declared extinct in the wild in 2009, made the long journey from Toledo, Ohio, and Bronx, New York, to Africa. They were returning to their native habitat in the Kihansi Gorge in Tanzania.

These tiny toads are unique in that they live in a micro-habitat—it was created by the spray of nearby waterfalls in the Kihansi Gorge and covers only five acres. This is the smallest range of any known vertebrate species.

In 1990, a hydroelectric dam was constructed that reduced the spray of the falls by 90 percent and so lessened the mist zone that the toads needed for survival. The toad population was also devastated by the chytrid fungus, which has devastated amphibian populations worldwide.

As the toad populations were declining, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Bronx Zoo, and later the Toledo Zoo, in agreement with the Tanzanian government (and with the help of numerous organizations—see below), removed 500 toads from the gorge and brought them to the US. Special microhabitats were created for the toads and both zoos were able to breed them successfully.

Now over 2,400 toads have been successfully released in the wild. Before being released, scientists from the University of Dar es Salaam and Sokoine University of Agriculture certified the area as being free from chytrid fungus.

This is the first time that an amphibian that was extinct in the wild has been returned to its native habitat.

Organizations involved in reintroducing the kihansi toad to the wild include the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, the Toledo Zoo, Tanzanian government, World Bank, University of Dar Es Salaam, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Wildlife Division and Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania Electric Supply Company, and local Tanzanian villagers all took part.

Sources:

Scientific American
All Africa.com
Hudson Valley Press

02/11/13

Eco-Interview: Matt Ellerbeck, Save the Salamanders

In this post, we are pleased to feature Matt Ellerbeck, a salamander advocate and conservationist, who created the Save the Salamanders project.

Matt Ellerbeck, aka The Salamander Man, is a man with a mission: he is striving to raise awareness of the threats that salamanders face, and to educate people on effective actions that they can take to help alleviate these threats. The actions include behavioral changes, land stewardship, and habitat management efforts. To bring his message of salamander conservation and protection to the public, Matt utilizes several platforms: media appearances, awareness campaigns, social networking, the distribution of informative fact sheets, and educational presentations/lectures.

Matt also aims to help salamanders by diligently collecting observational records of these animals in the wild. These records are sent to various organizations to help gain a better understanding of salamander populations, ranges, and habitats.

He hopes that through awareness and education, people will develop a sense of empathy and concern for salamanders, and in turn will have a desire to become active in their recovery. For those who do want to contribute to the conservation & protection of salamanders, his site contains much information on how to become active.

As Matt describes his mission:

Everything that I do, I do because I sincerely believe it will help contribute to the conservation & betterment of salamanders, which is my ultimate goal and ambition! Salamanders are the focal point of my life. There is not a day that goes by that I am not doing something salamander related, whether it’s presenting educational lectures on salamander conservation, writing articles, giving interviews, or collecting observations of salamanders in the wild. When I am not doing such activities I am planning and prepping for such efforts. A good portion of every day also goes towards the care of the many salamanders that I live with. These salamanders take turns accompanying me during my lectures and presentations to act as education animals and ambassadors for their kind.

Below is a video interview with Matt in which he discusses his mission:

10/18/12

Axoloti: Treasured by Ancient Aztecs and Modern Scientists

We recently read an alarming statistic: it’s possible that only one hundred axolotl salamanders (Ambystoma mexicanum) exist in the wild. Why should anyone care that a strange Mexican salamander may soon be extinct in its native habitat?

It turns out that this salamander is a remarkable creature. It intrigued the ancient Aztecs because of its strange looks and regenerative powers and was believed to be a manifestation of the god Xolotl, who like Charon in Greek mythology, was the ferryman of the dead to the underworld. To the Aztecs, the salamander’s regenerative power was like that of the lake system that sustained them.

Most salamanders are able to regenerate body structures to some extent. But the axolotl is unique in that it can regenerate not only limbs, but also its jaws, spinal cord, and more. After these body parts regenerate, there is no evidence of scarring. Axolotls can even receive transplanted organs from other individuals and accept them without rejection. They are one thousand times more resistant to cancer than mammals. This, of course, has made them of great interest to scientists who study them in captivity.

The axolotl is also one of the few animals that exhibit neoteny, that is, it retains its juvenile characteristics, such as the external gills, which gives the creature its cute looks.

By th1098 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

But this animal, despite its “smile,” has a lot to be unhappy about. Its only habitat is the canal system of Xochimilco in Mexico, which is what is left from what was an extensive lake and canals that connected most of the Aztec settlements of the Valley of Mexico. These canals, along with artificial islands called chinampas, attract tourists and other city residents who ride on colorful gondola-like boats around the hundred or so miles of canals. This canal and chinampa system, as a vestige of the area’s pre-Hispanic past, has made Xochimilco a World Heritage Site.

Unfortunately the canals are polluted with both garbage and fecal matter, as well as industrial fertilizers. Other problems include the damage by introduced plant and animal species. Carp and tilapia fish, for example, introduced in the 1960s, eat the eggs of the axototl.

The axolotl faces long odds for survival. It seems that only a complete regeneration and clean up of the historic canals will save this animal that is often considered a metaphor for the soul of Mexico.

Information for this post came primarily from an article and blog post from the LA Times and a Scientific American blog post. Note: the axototl is also know as the ajolote.

02/5/12

Good news for endangered California frogs

We were happy to learn that a few days ago the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously to designate two species of native yellow legged frogs inhabiting high-elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada and Southern California mountain ranges as threatened and endangered species under the state’s Endangered Species Act. The commission acted after the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition outlining the decline.

photo courtesy National Park Service. Department of the Interior

According to the Center, the population of Sierra Yellow legged frogs has decreased by 75% in recent decades. Reading about these frogs, we were struck by how they are a symbol of the challenges that frogs face worldwide. But they aren’t facing one challenge—they seem to be facing almost all of them:

Introduction of nonnative species: Stocking of nonnative trout in high-elevation Sierra lakes has been the main cause of the species’ decline. The trout eat tadpoles and juvenile frogs and alter the food web of the aquatic ecosystems on which the native frogs depend. The Department is recommending no trout stocking in the state without a fish management plan, and no further stocking of trout in areas that would conflict with protecting yellow-legged frogs.

Pesticides: Recent research has linked pesticides that drift from agricultural areas in the Central Valley to declines of native amphibians in the Sierra Nevada. Pesticides and other pollutants can directly kill frogs and also act as environmental stressors that render amphibians more susceptible to diseases, including a chytrid fungus that has recently ravaged many yellow-legged frog populations.

Loss and degradation of habitat: Grazing, logging, water diversions, off-road vehicles and recreational activity are allowed in frog habitat.

Climate change: Climate change has brought warmer temperatures, decreases in runoff, shifts in winter precipitation in the Sierra from snow to rain, and habitat changes that are rendering frog populations more vulnerable to drought-related extinction events.

A recent settlement agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, which will also speed protection decisions for 756 other species, requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2013 to make a decision about whether to add the Sierra frog to the federal endangered list.

See the Center for Biological Diversity for more information about these frogs and about the other endangered species they are working to protect.

12/1/11

The Painted Hula: A Frog Hits Prime Time

The amphibian crisis is an environmental issue that hasn’t really hit the mainstream yet. Most people we talk to are surprised to hear that an entire class of animals is in deep trouble, with one-third of amphibian species facing extinction. So we were very happy when Rachel Maddow did a piece two weeks ago on her show about the newly discovered Hula painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer) (see video below).

Painted Hula Frog from Y Net News Website

Here’s the story of the hula painted frog, from Conservation International’s website:

The frog was discovered in Israel’s Lake Hula, one of the world’s oldest documented lakes, which provided fertile hunting and fishing grounds for humans for tens of thousands of years.

In the early 1950s, the lake and surrounding marshes were drained as a way of tackling malaria. But the costs for doing this were high. Among other environmental problems, draining the lake led to the near extinction of an entire ecosystem and the unique endemic fauna of the lake, including the Hula painted frog. Ironically, species such as the painted frog feed on mosquitoes that carry malaria.

Concern over the draining of Hula grew among the people of Israel, leading to the formation of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and a movement to reflood the Hula Valley. It took 40 years for the protesters’ voices to be heard, but in the mid 1990s, parts of the valley were reflooded.

While much of the ecosystem was restored, not all species re-appeared and it was believed to be too late for the Hula painted frog; the species was declared extinct in 1996 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The frog became a poignant symbol for extinction in Israel.

Only three adult Hula painted frogs had ever been found. Two of these were collected into captivity in the 1940s, but the larger one ate the smaller one, leaving just one specimen to remember the species by.

The enigmatic frog was selected as one of the “top ten” species during the Search for Lost Frogs last year, highlighting the global importance of this species. It was lost but not forgotten.

Recently, however, Nature and Parks Authority warden Yoram Malka was conducting his routine patrol of the Hula Nature Reserve when something jumped from under him. He lunged after it and caught it: he was holding in his hand the first Hula painted frog seen since the 1950s.

To quote the CI site:

This rediscovery is the icing on the cake of what is a major victory for conservation in Israel: the restoration of a rare and valuable ecosystem. Because Israel has given the Hula Valley a second chance to thrive, the Hula frog has gone from being a symbol of extinction to a symbol of resilience.

Mazel tov, Dr. Moore! And thanks, Rachel, for reporting the story.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Frogs Are Green

Environmental Organization Helping to Bring Awareness About Frog Decline Around The World

Category Archives: Amphibian habitat loss