2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/25/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | ROAD MORTALITY OF SALAMANDERS DURING BREEDING MIGRATIONS TO A RIVER FLOODPLAIN POOL | Virtual Platform

ROAD MORTALITY OF SALAMANDERS DURING BREEDING MIGRATIONS TO A RIVER FLOODPLAIN POOL

Each spring many salamanders are killed on roadways as they cross in mass to floodplain and vernal pools for breeding, yet mortality rates are rarely quantified. To address this research need, we measured road mortality of spotted (Ambystoma maculatum) and four-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum) during their annual spring breeding migration to a large floodplain pool in western Pennsylvania. We estimated mortality as the proportion of observed salamanders on the road that had been killed by vehicles. Salamanders migrated exclusively on rainy nights in late March and early April when air temperatures were 8.9 to 13.3°C. We counted 231 individuals on the road representing 10 amphibian species, of which 126 were spotted and 30 were red-toed salamanders. Maximum road crossing rate was 44 salamanders/hr over the 300-m road section surveyed, and maximum mortality rate was 10 salamanders/hr. The two most frequently killed salamander species were spotted and four-toed salamanders, with mortality rates of 10.3% and 23.3%, respectively. Other species experiencing mortality were northern red and red-backed salamanders, as well as eastern newts and frogs (killed frogs were unidentifiable). Our study shows that roadways can cause substantial mortality in amphibian populations.

Urban
Movement
Landscape

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Presenters/Authors

David J. Janetski (), Indiana University of Pennsylvania, janetski@iup.edu;