(Ascaphus Truei), Red-Legged Frogs (Rana
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Amphibian Distribution Summary Mendocino Redwood Company Distribution of Coastal Tailed Frogs (Ascaphus truei), Red-Legged Frogs (Rana aurora and Rana draytonii), and Southern Torrent Salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) on Mendocino Redwood Company Forestlands. Fisheries Department Mendocino Redwood Company, LLC PO Box 489 Fort Bragg, CA 95437 Amphibian Distribution Summary Mendocino Redwood Company INTRODUCTION This report summarizes the results of the current distribution of coastal tailed frogs (Ascaphus truei), red-legged frogs (Rana aurora and Rana draytonii), and southern torrent salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) on Mendocino Redwood Company forestlands. All of the acreage owned by MRC with suitable habitat was surveyed for the presence of these species. Coastal Tailed Frogs (Ascaphus truei) Coastal tailed frogs are uniquely adapted to life in cold, fast-flowing, high-gradient, perennial mountain streams and to some extent utilize trout-bearing streams (Nussbaum et al. 1983). Coastal tailed frogs prefer streams with dense, shaded habitat, low sediment loads, cool temperatures, high ambient humidity levels, and high water quality over much of their range (Bury and Corn 1988, Corn and Bury 1989, Welsh 1990, Hayes 1996). Diller and Wallace (1999) examined larval distribution of coastal tailed frogs related to channel bed characteristics. Larvae were “positively associated with cobble, boulder, and gravel substrates with lower embeddedness, and negatively associated with fine substrates.” Coastal tailed frogs are restricted to a narrow range of habitat types, in part because it requires cold temperatures and has one of the narrowest ranges of temperature tolerances of any frog species. This species typically lives in waters between 5o to 16oC (41o to 61oF) (Marshall et al. 1996). Cool water temperature, especially during the warm egg- laying season, is critical to reproduction. Coastal tailed frog embryos have the narrowest temperature tolerance range 5o to 18oC (41o to 64oF) and the lowest lethal temperature limit among North American frogs (Brown 1975). Streams with water temperatures above 15oC (59oF) for extended periods are not suitable for reproduction (Hayes 1996). Coastal tailed frogs are known to occur from the central coast of British Columbia (Dupuis et al. 2000), through western Oregon and Washington, and south to northern California. Within California, coastal tailed frogs occur in the northwestern portion of the state from Del Norte County south to southern Mendocino County and as far east as the southwest portion of Shasta County (Bury 1968, Stebbins 1985, Jennings and Hayes 1994). From the Rogue River system in Oregon south, this species has not been recorded outside of coastal forest areas, presumably due to its narrow habitat requirements (Bury 1968, Welsh et al. 1993). Coastal tailed frog distribution in California is patchy and restricted to areas having a very specific set of habitat conditions. Prior to the study, our knowledge of coastal tailed frog distribution within Mendocino County was incomplete or non-existent. The completion of this study has defined the distribution of coastal tailed frogs for the entire MRC ownership (235,000 acres), which accounts for a large percentage of land within Mendocino County. In addition, the result of MRC’s coastal tailed frog distribution study has expanded the previously documented southern range of the species. Amphibian Distribution Summary Mendocino Redwood Company Red-Legged Frogs (Rana aurora and Rana draytonii) There are two recognized species of red-legged frogs found on MRC ownership: California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) and northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora). Until recent studies the taxonomic relationship and geographic range of the two species was unclear. Confusion in identification also occurred where the distributions of the two species overlap in northern California (Green 1985, Hayes and Krempels 1986). Recent investigations determine that the species are genetically distinct from one another and are no longer considered a subspecies (Shaffer et al. 2004). Northern red-legged frogs occur from Big River in Mendocino County, California north along the Pacific coast to Sullivan Bay, British Columbia (Stebbins 1985, Shaffer et al. 2004). The historical range of the California red-legged frog include Pacific slope drainages from Mendocino County, California inland to the vicinity of Redding in Shasta County and south to Baja California, Mexico. Currently, California red-legged frogs are primarily found in small coastal drainages from Mills Creek in Mendocino County south to Santa Barbara County. The narrow integration zone of the two species is located from Big River south to Mills Creek in Mendocino County (Jennings and Hayes 1994, Shaffer et al. 2004). Both species populate MRC ownership and are treated with equal forestry protection measures; hence the northern red-legged frog and the California red-legged frog are now collectively referred to as red-legged frog. Red-legged frog breed in coastal lagoons, permanent or temporary pools, marshes, ponded or backwater portions of permanent or intermittent streams, and artificial impoundments such as stock ponds, irrigation ponds, and sedimentation ponds (Stebbins 1985, Jennings and Hayes 1994, USFWS 1997). Ponds with emergent vegetation, undercut banks, semi-submerged rootwads, and/or dense cover from woody riparian vegetation may offer cover from predation and higher quality breeding habitat (USFWS 1997). The absence of emergent and riparian vegetation, however, does not rule out the possibility that a site can be used for breeding (USFWS 1997). When breeding occurs in temporary ponds or intermittent streams, water is usually available for a period of at least 4–6 months. Eggs are deposited on strong stems of emergent or aquatic vegetation (Nussbaum et al. 1983), particularly cattails and bulrushes, but also on the stems of sedges and overhanging willow branches (Hayes and Jennings 1988, USFWS 1997). Red-legged frogs are likely to exist in metapopulations on the landscape. These metapopulations are dependent on the existence of numerous breeding sites across the landscape for long-term viability (Welsh et al. 1998). Because of this, it is recommended that suitable breeding locations (i.e., still water habitats, such as ponds and lakes) should be managed as red-legged frog habitat even if reproduction by the species at a certain location is not observed in any given year (Welsh et al. 1998). Since American bullfrogs negatively impact red-legged frog populations (Hayes and Jennings 1986), it is important that breeding locations be free of this introduced species where possible. Amphibian Distribution Summary Mendocino Redwood Company Southern Torrent Salamanders (Rhyacotriton variegatus) Southern torrent salamanders occur primarily in cold permanent springs, seeps, small streams, and the wetted margins or side channels of larger streams within conifer dominated forests with dense canopy cover (Anderson 1968, Stebbins 1985, Bury 1988, Jennings and Hayes 1994, Diller and Wallace 1996, Welsh and Lind 1996, Nussbaum and Tait 1977). Welsh and Lind (1992) found that southern torrent salamanders in northwestern California were strictly associated with headwater streams and low order tributaries, although somewhat larger streams may be used selectively. Incidental observations by Diller and Wallace (1996) indicated that some of the highest densities of southern torrent salamanders occur in isolated seeps and springs. Within streams, larval southern torrent salamanders were reported to occur primarily within the streambed substrates of low-flowing water and shallow, backwater pools and to avoid swiftly flowing reaches. Adults occur both within streams, often side-by-side with larvae within coarse substrates and in streamside habitats, including the splash zones of rocky tumbling channels and waterfalls (Welsh and Lind 1992, 1996 and Welsh and Ollivier 1998). The southern torrent salamander has the southernmost distribution of the four species belonging to the genus Rhyacotriton (Good and Wake 1992). It is found in the Coast Ranges from the Little Nestucca River in northwestern Oregon to Point Arena in southern Mendocino County, California (Stebbins 1985, Good and Wake 1992, Jennings and Hayes 1994). Cool to cold water temperatures may be the most critical component of southern torrent salamander habitat. Southern torrent salamanders are most often found at sites with water temperatures of 8-13ºC (46-55ºF) (Welsh and Lind 1996). They have been encountered at sites in the range of 5-16ºC (41-61ºF) (Diller and Wallace 1996, Welsh and Lind 1996) and become thermally stressed at 17.2ºC (63ºF) (Waters and Welsh, unpublished data, as cited in Welsh and Lind 1996). Welsh et al. (2001) reported that in the two Mattole River reaches containing southern torrent salamanders, MWMT averaged 14.5ºC and MWAT averaged 13.8ºC. The maximum summer temperature at which the species occurred was 15ºC. METHODS The distribution of these amphibian species was determined through a stratified sampling approach. To provide a good geographic distribution of sampling, one or more Calwater planning watersheds (with significant ownership) were selected from each of the 9 Inventory Blocks owned by MRC. In the case of coastal tailed frogs and southern torrent salamanders a minimum of 10 surveys were conducted in each of the planning watersheds, except when the planning watershed did not contain 10 appropriate sites or where