Endangered Species
By Sara Wall
The Green Salamander
The green salamander, also known as Aneides aeneus, is the only FE listed species of amphibians in North Carolina.
Location in NC
Green salamanders can be found in two distinct population clusters in North Carolina— one on the Transylvania/Henderson boundary and the other in Macon, Jackson and Transylvania counties.
What Caused the Green Salamander to Be Considered Endangered
Since tracking green salamanders is very difficult, not much is known about the exact abundance/range of them in NC. Some researchers think that the population declined between the 1970s and the 1990s; still, there are biologists that are uncertain if their population have declined at all, and if they did, what contributed to the decline. Some contributions that are thought to cause the decline are as follows:
- Green Salamanders rarely crosses over barriers such as lakes, roads, and rivers, which leads to lower migration between different populations, meaning that there is inbreeding
- Habitat loss
- Over-collecting
- Disease
- Drought
What Is Being Done To Protect Them
- It is recommended that at least 100 metres should always be left around outcrops where there is evidence of green salamanders
- Conduct further research
Sources
- http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/protected_species.pdf
- http://www.ncwildlife.org/GoogleSearchResults.aspx?q=green+salamander
- http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/protected_species.pdf
- http://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/FactSheets/nongame_greensalamander_lores.pdf
- http://www.arkive.org/green-salamander/aneides-aeneus/
- http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/salamanders/green-salamander/green_salamander.php