Core terrestrial habitat for conservation of local populations of salamanders and wood frogs in agricultural landscapes

Pond-breeding amphibians require aquatic and terrestrial habitats to complete their lifecycles, and preservation of both habitats is necessary for maintaining local populations. Current wetland regulations focus primarily on aquatic habitats, and criteria to define critical upland habitats and regulations to protect them are often ambiguous or lacking. We examined the association between the presence of seven pond-breeding amphibian species and the landscape composition surrounding 54 wetlands located within the Till Plains and the Glaciated Plateau ecoregions of Ohio, USA. We quantified landscape composition within 200 m of the wetland (“core terrestrial zone”) and the area extending from 200 m to 1 km from the wetland (“broader landscape context zone”). We constructed binary logistic regression models for each species, and evaluated them using Akaike Information Criterion. Presence of spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), Jefferson's salamander complex (A. jeffersonianum) and smallmouth salamanders (A. texanum) was positively associated with the amount of forest within the core zone. Presence of wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) was positively associated with the amount of forest within the core zone and the amount of forest within the broader landscape context zone. Presence of tiger salamanders (A. tigrinum tigrinum) was negatively associated with the cumulative length of paved roads within 1 km of the site, and presence of red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus v. viridescens) was negatively associated with the average linear distance to the five nearest wetlands. Overall salamander diversity was positively associated with the amount of forest within the core zone, and negatively associated with the presence of predatory fish and cumulative length of paved roads within 1 km of the site. Our results confirm the strong association between the structure of surrounding upland areas and amphibian diversity at breeding ponds, and stress the importance of preserving core terrestrial habitat around wetlands for maintaining amphibian diversity.     

Serum complement activity in the three-toed amphiuma (Amphiuma tridactylum)

Some animals routinely endure serious injuries from predators or during intraspecific territorial conflicts. Such is the case for Amphiuma tridactylum, an aquatic salamander that lives in an environment rich in potentially infectious microbes, apparently with rare or no pathogenic infection. Some vertebrates possess innate immune mechanisms, but whether this is the case for Amphiuma is unknown. To assess this potential, plasma from 19 A. tridactylum was pooled and used for characterisation of serum complement activity. The ability of A. tridactylum plasma to hemolyse unsensitised sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) was titer-dependent, with low activity observed even at high plasma titers. The kinetic characterisation of SRBC hemolysis revealed that significant activity could be measured within 10 min of incubation, and maximal activity occurred within 60 min. The SRBC hemolysis by A. tridactylum plasma was also temperature-dependent, with maximal activity at 30 °C. In addition, this activity was sensitive to mild heat treatment, with 96% of activity inhibited by incubation at 56 °C for 30 min. The SRBC hemolysis could also be inactivated by pretreatment of the plasma with proteases, indicating that this activity was protein dependent. The activity required divalent metals ions, with activity inhibited by EDTA, citrate, or phosphate. However, the chelator-inhibited activity could be restored by the addition of excess Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺, but not Cu²⁺ or Ba²⁺, indicating specificity of the divalent metal ion requirement. The sensitivity to heat, proteases, and divalent metal ion chelators strongly suggests that A. tridactylum plasma-mediated hemolysis of SRBCs is mediated by the serum complement system of proteins.     

Recent decline and potential distribution in the last remnant area of the microendemic Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Native populations of the axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum), a microendemic salamander from Central Mexico, have seen alarming decline in the last decades owing to habitat loss caused by urban growth. The last remnant of its distribution is in a highly heterogeneous urban-rural water system in the Xochimilco region, at the southern edge of Mexico City. We developed a model of the species local distribution based on its ecological niche, using occurrence data and ad hoc limnetic variables via the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP), to identify suitable areas for the species and prioritize conservation efforts. Results indicated that potential distribution of the axolotl in Xochimilco is limited to 11 sites in six reduced, isolated, and scattered areas, located mostly in zones where traditional agriculture (chinampas) is the primary land use. Recent surveys found only a single organism in the whole study region, in one of the predicted sites, suggesting a critical situation for the long-term survival of the axolotl in the wild, and demanding urgent actions toward habitat and population restoration. This study also illustrates the utility of niche modeling approaches for aquatic systems at a fine scale.     

大鲵水霉病的特征及产生原因探究

野生大鲵数量日益锐减,为了保护其资源,一方面对栖息地进行保护,另一方面,进行增养殖以有效地扩大其资源。在大鲵的增养殖过程中,水霉病是危害大鲵的一种常见病害。通过对养殖大鲵水霉病的外形观察和镜检,对养殖设施的考察,探究大鲵水霉病的特征及产生原因,提出预防的方法。     

Pond area and distance from continuous forests affect amphibian egg distributions in urban green spaces: A case study in Sapporo,Japan

We examined factors that affect egg distributions of amphibians, which are currently declining globally, in urban areas. We counted the number of egg masses of two amphibian species (Hynobius retardatus and Rana pirica) in ponds in urban green spaces during two years (2011 and 2012) and investigated the effects of local and landscape factors on them. Forest area in green spaces and pond area had positive effects, and distance from continuous forests in the suburbs and the rate of pond shore protection had negative effects on the number of eggs. Among these factors, distance from continuous forests and pond area had strong effects on egg distributions. These results suggest the importance of water habitat size and the need for colonization by amphibians from surrounding continuous forests. To conserve urban amphibian assemblages, the preservation of ponds with sufficient area and continuous forests close to urban habitats would be important.     

大鲵的生物学特性与人工养殖技术

大鲵是我国特有的濒危两栖物种,具有很高的食用、药用价值,对于科学研究具有巨大的潜在贡献。本文对大鲵的生物学特性及人工养殖技术进行了研究,旨为这一珍稀物种的进一步保护、开发利用提供有价值的参考。     

水温对幼鲵生长影响的初步研究

研究了不同时间段泉水和河水对幼鲵(Andrias davidanus)生长的影响。结果显示:幼鲵在不同时间和不同地点增重存在差异。第二阶段幼鲵平均日增重极显著高于第一阶段(P<0.01)。1号点(泉水)幼鲵平均增重和日平均增重极显著高于2号点(河水)幼鲵(P<0.01);第一阶段1号点日平均水温极显著高于2号点(P<0.01),最低温度较河水高6.95℃,且1号点水温变化较小。结果表明,水温是影响幼鲵生长的重要因素之一。     

Long-term effects of experimental forest harvesting on abundance and reproductive demography of terrestrial salamanders

Both observational and experimental studies have documented drastic reductions in salamanders after forest harvesting. Yet, the amount of time until salamander populations rebound and the factors limiting recovery after harvesting are unknown. We compared the effects of six oak regeneration practices to a control, representing a disturbance gradient from no treatment to silvicultural clearcut, on the relative abundance and reproductive demography of terrestrial salamanders through 13-years post-harvest. Following the experimental disturbance, relative abundance of terrestrial salamanders in treatments that opened the canopy were significantly and persistently lower than in either untreated control stands or midstory herbicide treatments. In general, this trend persisted through 9-13 years after treatment. Changes to demography of commonly captured salamanders varied by species, but Plethodon cinereus had a greater proportion of juveniles in unharvested treatments 7-13-years post-harvest, and Desmognathus ochrophaeus had a greater proportion of juveniles and a greater number of eggs/female in unharvested treatments 1-6-years post-harvest. Population modeling of P. cinereus indicated that adult survival had the greatest elasticity of the vital rates. Further, >60 years may be needed before P. cinereus reduced by the observed decline could reach pre-harvest levels of abundance. Of the treatments with canopy disturbance, the group selection harvest had the greatest abundances of salamanders 7-13-years post-harvest, but when coupled with future stand entries, the volume of wood fiber extracted, costs of harvesting, reduced sprouting of oaks, and soil disturbances, this method may not have the best balance of ecological and economic sustainability in central Appalachian hardwood forest.     

有尾两栖动物皮肤的比较研究

本文对我国特产的有尾两栖动物黑斑肥螈（ Ｐａｃｈｙｔｒｉｔｏｎ ｂｒｅｖｉｐｅｓ） ,中国瘰螈（ Ｐａｒａ ｍｅ ｓｏｔｒｉｔｏｎ ｃ ．ｃｈｉｅｎｓｉｓ） 和东方蝾螈（ Ｃｙｎｏｐｕｓ ｏｒｉｅｎｔａｌｉｓ） 的皮肤及其颗粒腺进行了比较观察。结果表明,由于生活环境的不同,３ 种动物皮肤的结构和厚度有一定的差异,东方蝾螈和中国瘰螈的皮肤角化程度高,皮肤表面粗糙,有小疣粒和窿突;而肥螈的皮肤较光滑,颗粒腺聚集形成背嵴和耳后腺,尾部颗粒腺非常丰富,具有重要的防御天敌功能,也是可持续利用的药用资源。     

Efficacy of riparian buffers in mitigating local population declines and the effects of even-aged timber harvest on larval salamanders

Headwater streams are an important and prevalent feature of the eastern North American landscape. These streams provide a wealth of ecosystem services and support tremendous biological diversity, which is predominated by salamanders in the Appalachian region. Salamanders are ubiquitous throughout the region, contributing a significant biomass that supports ecological and ecosystem processes. One of the greatest threats to salamanders is loss of headwater-riparian habitat through timber harvest. In this study, we measured larval salamander abundance at five headwater streams with different riparian buffer widths retained following logging. By sampling larval salamanders using leaf litter bags, we assessed the impacts of even-aged timber harvest on aquatic larval salamander abundances, where it was found that larvae are negatively impacted by increased stream sedimentation and a decrease in riparian buffer width. We found that retention of a 9-m buffer was effectively no different than complete removal of all riparian forest, and as such, current regulations to protect headwater streams are ineffectual. Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between the 30 m buffer treatment and uncut control treatments suggesting that a 30 m or larger riparian buffer may assuage the in-stream effects of riparian timber harvest. Management guidelines for Appalachian forests should be revised to accommodate the biology of plethodontid salamanders.