Distribution of Salamanders in Warm Spring

• Kiersten Biddle

  Juniata College

  Author

• Adam Bush

  Juniata College

  Author

• Gillian Cunningham

  Juniata College

  Author

• Christina D’Amato

  Juniata College

  Author

• Joseph Walsh

  Juniata College

  Author

Warm springs are a form of thermal springs that house a variety of salamanders, including Northern dusky salamanders (Desmognathus fuscus), spring salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), and two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata). These salamanders live in warm springs to help them thermoregulate and keep their skin moist. They also rely on the warm spring microhabitat to survive. We visited a warm spring in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to observe the number and species of salamanders we could find in six 15-meter interval plots down the stream. We observed how the substrate changed as we traveled down the stream. We began at the head of the stream with a rock-filled, gravelly, and sandy substrate with mid-sized boulders, lots of vegetation, including duckweed, and a well-covered canopy. As we moved down the stream, the vegetation and coverage dissipated, and it became sandier with few rocks and duckweed. In addition, the stream narrowed as we moved further. Additionally, we took water quality and temperature at each site. After observing different types of salamanders through each plot of stream, we found a total of 7 Northern dusky salamanders, 18 Two-lined salamanders, and 6 Spring salamanders, for a total of 31 salamanders. Our results imply that these microhabitat changes downstream result in different species abundance and richness for salamanders.

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