Salamander Chronicles

In early October I took two field ecology students, Aleesha Tartell and Megan Zdybowicz, down to my field sites in order to gather data from my iButton and HOBO microstation dataloggers.  The trip only lasted 5 days but we still managed to get a lot accomplished.  In addition to gathering data from all of my data loggers and then redeploying each of them, we also completed both Aleesha’s and Megan’s independent  field ecology project.  The trip involved a substantial amount of driving which ended up totaling around 32 hours in the car.  It was also a little colder than I expected so we were not as successful locating salamanders as I would have liked.  However, we did manage to make some interesting finds. The biggest discovery of the trip was that bears (or some other medium/large mammal) really likes plastic. The research coordinator for the Smokys had warned me about this which is why I buried the majority of my data loggers.  Unfortunately, two of my HOBO microstations were attacked despite my protective efforts.  Only one of them was totally missing.  I at least  like to think that some bear got a bit of enjoyment out of my expensive equipment before losing it in the woods somewhere. That makes the several hundred dollars lost less painful. Overall, it was a good trip and I retrieved a large amount of data  and I hope that Aleesha and Megan enjoyed the experience.  Again, because I am so late on this update, I am just including some of the interesting photos from the trip without extensive comment.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUGUST 2012

First off, this is long over due. As soon as I returned from this trip I had to get ready for my next trip to the west coast for the World Congress of Herpetology (post to come later) hence the delay in my final summer field work update.

Round two of 2012 field work started on July 16th at the Peaks of Otter Campsite off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.  I was lucky enough to have the assistance of the wonderful Kaili Boarman during this stretch of work. This trip was a long sprint, bouncing from field site to field site.  We did not stay at any site more than 2 days and we typically moved every day to  a different campsite. Quick outline of the schedule:

• July 16th – 18th: Peaks of Otter and Rocky Knob, Blue Ridge Parkway National Park, Virginia
• July 18th – 19th: Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee
• July 20th – 21st: Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina
• July 22nd – 26th: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina

There were three primary goals for this trips:1) place data loggers along the Blue Ridge Parkway and in the Great Smoky Mountains, 2) collect more preliminary data, and 3) scout new field sites for next season.

The first part of the trip was a blast from the past as I had visited these sites 6 years ago on a John Carroll herpetology class field trip. My main goal was to find the Peaks of Otter salamander (Plethodon hubrichti).

However, I did not realize until too late that the Peaks of Otter salamander is primarily found in areas adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were able to find a few species in micro-habitat plots such as this red spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and a two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera), but the Peaks of Otter salamander evaded us. We did however see a pretty cool moth outside the bathroom of the campsite.

 

 

 

On our way out of Peaks of Otter we stopped at a location I had in my class field notes from 2006. Surprise, surprise, several Peaks of Otter salamanders with only a couple minutes of searching! I will need to get some additional permits for next year apparently.

 

Rocky Knob was at too low of an elevation to easily find salamanders in the middle of July so we simply placed a data logger station and continued on to Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee to a location I had not been to before. We stayed at a nice quiet campsite called Backbone Rock right next to a stream . It was right next to a road but still very peaceful.

 

 

 

I was hoping to find Weller’s (Plethodon welleri) and Yonahlossee (Plethodon yonahlossee) salamanders in this area, but because it was the middle of July I was not disappointed when we did not find any. Next year should be much more productive as I was also able to find some known localities from researches I met on the trip. We found some common species, collected some much needed preliminary data, and saw some gorgeous mushrooms (photo taken by Kaili).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also had a visitor stroll up on us while collecting data on Iron Ridge Trail, a big black bear! I was bent over recording soil moisture for one of the plots when my assistant Kaili noticed something down the trail. “Vinny, there’s a bear.” said in the calmest voice possible. I looked down the trail and noticed what had to be a 350+ lb bear walking into the trail and starting to head towards us. My immediate reaction, “How can I hide all this expensive equipment very quickly”. Luckily, as soon as the bear realized we were there he took off down the hill faster than I thought was physically possible. It was a nice adrenaline rush.

Next we headed to yet another area I had never been before, Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. Unfortunately, the majority of the sites I had permission to use for research were lower elevation so I was not able to collect as much data as I would have liked. However, I was able to scout several new locations for next year at higher elevations including locations near Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi river. We found several cool species and I am very excited about working in these areas next spring. It was especially cool to see Plethodon montanus right next to Desmognathus sp..

 

The final leg of the trip was spent back in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We needed to set up 4 data logger stations as well as collect as much data as possible in only 4 short days. Once again we stayed at Purchase Knob which was a great treat after a week of camping. We also saw some cool non-salamander animals such as some gorgeous butterflies on a pile of dung and a basking garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).

 

 

 

 

We returned to the majority of field sites that I visited earlier in the summer and found many of the same species with one additional surprise species, spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus)! Kali flipped the spring salamander under some bark 50 feet from a stream. It was a nice change after the large quantities of small Plethodon, Eurycea, and Desmognathusspecies typically encountered (last four photos).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall this was another great trip. I was able to gather some preliminary data (not as much as I would have liked, but enough). I was also able to set up all of my data logger stations. Finally, I was able to scout new locations to ensure next year is very productive. Most importantly I was able to figure out issues with my original data collection methodology and fix a lot of minor problems. Those minor problems could have compounded and made next year a nightmare if I was not able to address them in a limited field season such as the one I had this year.

Just a few of the problems I plan on fixing before next year include getting permission to collect tissue samples to ensure correct identification of all salamanders (Desmognathus sp. can be tricky!), setting up a solar panel charging station to help with powering my equipment without requiring staying at a motel or finding an outlet to charge all my devices, obtaining more storage space for my car to keep my equipment better organized, and most importantly making adjustments to the variables I record to maximize the potential of the data I collect. I am very excited for next year all ready!

I will end this post like I ended my first field work post, with a few panorama shots from the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUNE 2012

Well, this will certainly be a very busy summer.

My goal is to scout my field locations and to collect some preliminary data.  Most data collection will be limited to higher elevation field sites because lower elevation salamanders are much less active and primarily not on the surface during these hot/dry summer months. As a result of delayed permits and the World Congress of Herpetology I am limited to 3 weeks of field work.  This first stretch lasted from June 11th-June17th and was fairly successful.

The trip started with a 7 hour drive to the Crosby campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Cosby is on the Tennessee side and is at a fairly low elevation (~650 m).  As both a pro and a con, it was raining when I arrived at the campground (pro for salamanders /con for setting up my tent). I was greeted with a nice box turtle crossing the road leading to the campground as I arrived most likely moving because of the nice warm rain.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky for me, high elevation sites were in the works for the next 4 days…

During the remaining 5 nights I would be staying at Purchase Knob Research Station on the North Carolina side of the park.  I knew nothing about Purchase Knob before arriving so I was not expecting anything too fancy.  Well, I was mistaken.  The station was big, clean, comfortable, and had an amazing view.  Besides myself there were only 4 other researchers at the station.  Additionally, they were doing night surveys (of salamanders, because everyone loves salamanders) so essentially I had the place to myself every night.  The one downside was that driving to my sites took almost 3 hours round trip every day.

Enough about the lame non-salamander stuff.  I visited 4 field sites in higher elevation locations (>900 m).  Each field site produced a cornucopia of salamander abundance and diversity.

The first site I visited was the Thomas Ridge trail off of route 441 that runs straight through the park and connects North Carolina and Tennessee.  This site was over 1400 m so I was really hoping for some Plethodon jordoni.  Much to my enjoyment I found a P. jordoni under the first log I flipped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things were looking up.  After setting up my 1 m plot and collecting microhabitat data I managed to find another P. jordoni in the plot!  The disappointment from the first 2 days was quickly fading. I was able to complete 4 plots and found several more P. jordoni.  The last plot however produced something that I was dreading a little, a nice Desmognathus.  Now, if you know salamanders, you know the species of the Desmognathus genus are quite difficult to identify.  I am pretty sure that given the elevation I was at that this was a Desmognathus ocoee however I am not confident on that assessment.