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Stacy Smith, graduate student at Warnell School of Forest Resources is studying the native salamanders of Thompson Mills Forest. Her research focuses on the forest's two major streams, Lee Creek and Bosco Creek where she has established study plots and identified several members of this interesting group of amphibians. Read on for Stacy's description of her work and for photographs of salamanders.

The purpose of my study is to look at how salamanders use their habitat. This information will allow predictions on the effects of habitat loss and habitat protection measures on salamander populations. Stream health is an important issue and salamanders are one indicator of stream condition. The semi-aquatic nature of the salamander species in this project makes them not only excellent indicators of stream health, but also of the health of areas surrounding streams. It is important to determine what influences salamander populations and communities because knowledge of these variables is necessary to determine the best management strategies to protect salamanders and to predict the impact of land use activities on these animals. I plan to study salamanders in their natural environment, paying special attention to how they use the habitat that is available to them, how they distribute themselves in the stream, and how they interact with each other.

This study will include the spotted dusky salamander, Desmognathus conanti; the seal salamander, Desmognathus monticola; the two-lined salamander, Eurycea cirrigera; the three-lined salamander, Eurycea guttolineata; the red salamander, Pseudotriton ruber; and the spring salamander, Gyrinophilus porphyriticus. Slimy salamanders, Plethodon glutinosus, occur in more terrestrial situations, but will be included when encountered.

The spotted dusky salamander is a commonly found, semi-aquatic salamander. Adults range from six to fourteen centimeters in total length. In general, they occur in forested habitats in and along the margins of small streams with rocks, logs, moss, and other cover. Younger spotted dusky salamanders generally occur close to streams and adults remain in burrows in surrounding streambanks. Breeding is reported in both autumn and spring. Nests with 13 to 24 eggs are found from mid-July to mid-October. Nests are in damp, sheltered places. Eggs hatch in five to seven weeks and hatchlings are gilled and must stay in streams. After about 13 months, individuals lose their gills and become adults. These salamanders are carnivores that eat a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates.

Adult two-lined salamanders range from 6.4 to 11 centimeters in total length. Adults typically reside in moist situations along the margins of small, rocky streams, but also may occur on the forest floor far from running water Breeding takes place in the winter. Eggs are attached to the underside of submerged rocks, logs, or plants and are cared for by the female. The abundance of in-stream rocks suitable as nests can be a limiting factor in the number of two-lined salamanders in a stream. The number of eggs per nest ranges between 11 and 15. The larval, or gilled, period generally lasts from one to three years. Their diet is similar to that of the spotted dusky salamander.

Three-lined salamanders are often found near swamps and range from 9 to 20 centimeters in total length. They occur under logs and surface cover near the margins of shaded seepages, springs, streams, bogs, swamps, and vernal pools, but may be found a considerable distance from water. Few nests have been found and it is thought that nests are underground. The larval period is less than one year.

The red and the spring salamanders are larger and less abundant stream species. Adults of the red salamander occur in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats in or near headwater streams, seeps, and spring-fed bogs. They range from 11 to 18 centimeters. The red salamander is abundant in or near thick accumulations of leaf litter in streams and underneath a variety of other cover objects in or near aquatic and adjacent terrestrial habitats. Eggs are deposited singly on the underside of objects in shallow water in fall or early winter. Prey found in stomachs of red salamanders include salamanders, earthworms, snails, slugs, spiders, millipedes, and other invertebrates.

The spring salamander is rare, but when present, individuals occur in springs, semi-permanent seepages, small streams, and wet roadside ditches. This large salamander ranges from twelve to twenty two centimeters. Eggs are laid in summer and fall. Forty to 66 eggs are attached to the undersides of partially submerged rocks. Few nests have been found. They diet of the spring salamander includes insects and other invertebrates, but they are mostly known as a predator of other salamanders.