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Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus

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Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population Carolinian population in Canada Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population – THREATENED Carolinian population – ENDANGERED 2007 COSEWIC COSEPAC COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF COMITÉ SUR LA SITUATION ENDANGERED WILDLIFE DES ESPÈCES EN PÉRIL IN CANADA AU CANADA COSEWIC status reports are working documents used in assigning the status of wildlife species suspected of being at risk. This report may be cited as follows: COSEWIC 2007. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population and Carolinian population) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. viii + 32 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). Previous reports: COSEWIC 2001. COSEWIC assessment and update status report on the Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 15 pp. Alvo, R. and J. Bonin. 1998. COSEWIC status report on the mountain dusky salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus in Canada in COSEWIC assessment and status report on the mountain dusky salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. 1-39 pp. Production note: COSEWIC would like to acknowledge Tricia Markle for writing the update status report on the Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population and Carolinian population) in Canada, prepared under contract with Environment Canada, overseen and edited by David Green, Co-chair of the COSEWIC Amphibians and Reptiles Species Specialist Subcommittee. For additional copies contact: COSEWIC Secretariat c/o Canadian Wildlife Service Environment Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Tel.: 819-953-3215 Fax: 819-994-3684 E-mail: COSEWIC/[email protected] http://www.cosewic.gc.ca Également disponible en français sous le titre Ếvaluation et Rapport de situation du COSEPAC sur la Salamandre sombre des montagnes (Desmognathus ochrophaeus) (population des Grands Lacs et du Saint-Laurent et population carolinienne) au Canada – Mise à jour. Cover illustration: Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander — Photo by David M. Green. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada 2007 Catalogue No. CW69-14/512-2007E-PDF ISBN 978-0-662-45970-5 Recycled paper COSEWIC Assessment Summary Assessment Summary – April 2007 Common name Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander – Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population Scientific name Desmognathus ochrophaeus Status Threatened Reason for designation This is a small and secretive salamander, with aquatic larvae, that inhabits forested brooks, cascades, springs, or seeps where there is abundant cover in the form of crevices between stones, leaf litter, or logs. This species has a very small range of less than 100 km2 in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence faunal province in a single locality at the northernmost edge of the Adirondack Mountains. At this locality, the salamanders occupy some 8 to 10 streams and seeps with a total area of occupancy of under 10 km2. All of these streams emanate from a single water source. The locality is isolated from any other population of the same species; the nearest other locality is about 90 km away in New York State. Its minute range makes this salamander highly susceptible to stochastic events, and the species would easily become endangered if major changes to its habitat were to take place. The major threats to this salamander in Great Lakes/St. Lawrence faunal province are any that could affect the water table and dry out seeps and springs in its habitat, degrade groundwater flow and quality or deplete groundwater reserves. Logging at the single water source could destroy terrestrial habitat by increasing siltation in streams and altering hydrological regimes. Occurrence Quebec Status history Designated Special Concern in April 1998. Status re-examined and designated Threatened in November 2001. In April 2007, renamed to Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander (Great Lakes /St. Lawrence population) and designated Threatened. Last assessment based on an update status report. iii Assessment Summary – April 2007 Common name Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander – Carolinian population Scientific name Desmognathus ochrophaeus Status Endangered Reason for designation This is a small and secretive salamander, with aquatic larvae, that inhabits forested brooks, cascades, springs, or seeps where there is abundant cover in the form of crevices between stones, leaf litter, or logs. This species’ entire range in the Carolinian faunal province consists of a single, cascading stream in the Niagara Gorge, occupying no more than about 0.005 km2. The locality is isolated from any other population of the same species, the nearest being about 22 km away in New York State. Surveys to date have located and identified some 22 individuals and indicate a total adult population that is probably fewer than 100 individuals. Its minute range makes this salamander highly susceptible to stochastic events and the species would easily and rapidly become extirpated if any change to its habitat were to take place. The major threats to this salamander in the Carolinian faunal province are any activities that could affect the water table and dry out the spring that supplies its habitat, degrade groundwater flow and quality or deplete groundwater reserves. Occurrence Ontario Status history This newly recognized population not previously assessed by COSEWIC was designated Endangered in April 2007. Last assessment based on an update status report. iv COSEWIC Executive Summary Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus ochrophaeus Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population Carolinian population Species information The Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus, is a small, slender salamander belonging to the family Plethodontidae (lungless salamanders). Mature salamanders average 70 to 100 mm in total length. Adults typically have a light stripe down their back that extends from the head to the tail. This stripe is straight-edged and varies in colour from grey, brown, tan, yellow, and orange, to red depending on age and sex. The stripe also commonly contains a row of chevron- shaped dark spots down the middle. Distribution Desmognathus ochrophaeus is found commonly throughout the Appalachian Mountain System of eastern North America. In Canada, the entire known distribution consists of two isolated locations along the Canada/U.S. border, one in Quebec and one in Ontario. Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamanders were first discovered in Quebec in 1988, and are found on the north side of Covey Hill, at the northernmost edge of the Adirondack Mountains in extreme southwestern Quebec. The Quebec range is likely restricted to the northernmost edge of the Adirondack Mountains, an area of roughly 20 km (east to west) x 5 km (north to south). A second distinct Canadian population was discovered in the Niagara Gorge of southern Ontario in 1989 (Kamstra 1991), although it was not recognized as D. ochrophaeus until 2004. The total distribution of D. ochrophaeus in the Ontario site is limited to just over half a hectare. Habitat Desmognathus ochrophaeus is generally found within the vicinity of forested brooks, mountain cascades, springs, or seeps. It uses this habitat to forage, as well as for overwintering and brooding. Shelter is provided in wet cavities along stream edges or seeps, or under stones, leaf litter, or logs. v Biology Desmognathus ochrophaeus is nocturnal. Salamanders remain hidden beneath cover objects during the day. They emerge at night to forage and feed on a variety of invertebrates. During the colder winter months, they hibernate in underground retreats. Mating and egg laying occurs in the fall and spring following an elaborate courtship ritual. The female lays a clutch of eggs in a moist depression and remains with the eggs until hatching. The larval stage may last up to 8 months and requires moist conditions but not necessarily a body of water. Population sizes and trends There are not currently adequate data to indicate sizes and trends of the two D. ochrophaeus populations in Canada. Limiting factors and threats For both Quebec and Ontario, the main threats to this species are those that could affect the water table, either through human activities or climatic variations. Fluctuations in water flow, or contamination of water sources, are likely to have large impacts. In Quebec, physical barriers (e.g., roads, cultivated fields) could compromise the species' movements. Logging at and around the Quebec locality could also pose a threat to this species by destroying terrestrial habitat, increasing siltation, and by altering hydrological regimes. In Ontario, any human activity that could alter the quantity, quality, or temperature of the water supply, or impose change to the surrounding forest habitat could be detrimental. Furthermore, because of their minute ranges, both populations are highly susceptible to stochastic environmental events. Special significance of the species The species has no direct economic value and little cultural significance to the Aboriginal community. However, it has intrinsic value as part of Canada’s natural heritage, and is of interest to herpetologists and naturalists. Because of its secretive habits and nocturnal activity, it is unlikely to
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