Project Results

The results showed that Maxent modeling is able to accurately predict suitable habitat for Plethodon montanus. This demonstrates that future conservation projects should utilize GIS modeling in predicting where rare species may be found and what habitat types they prefer.

About This Project

The Southern Appalachian Mountains are know as the "Salamander Capitol of the World." Salamander populations are at risk, however, due to a changing world. Keeping up with their abundance is a top priority for conservationists and researchers. In this project I will attempt to determine the abundance of rare salamander species in Roan Mountain and Rocky Fork State Parks in Tennessee. This will allow us to assess the state of these rare salamander populations and the environments they inhabit.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The Southern Appalachian Mountains are extremely rich in herpetofauna, being nearly unparalleled in the world for salamander diversity. Salamanders play a vital role in a forest ecosystem and are often the most abundant group of vertebrates inhabiting them. Despite their importance, salamanders are on the decline globally due to disease, habitat loss, and global climate change. Due to their sensitivities to change, salamanders are often seen as an indicator of an environment’s integrity. Indicator species are able to give early signs of environmental problems. Species surveys and population estimates of vulnerable species give conservationists the information they need to determine an environment’s ecological stability.

What is the significance of this project?

Rocky Fork and Roan Mountain State Parks are in the upper elevations of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and contain swaths of unaltered second-growth forests. Both parks are known to feature extensive salamander populations. These parks are also contained within the ranges of three species identified as species of “greatest conservation need” by the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA), Plethodon richmondi, Plethodon montanus and Plethodon yonahlossee. The current system utilized by the state to rank species conservation need relies on individual occurrence data for each species . Since no extensive surveys have been performed in these areas the state agencies may be vastly underestimating the number of individuals present.

What are the goals of the project?

There will be two goals for this project. The first will be to do an extensive species list for the salamanders located within the parks. The second goal will be to ascertain salamander abundance for the species of greatest conservation need within the parks. To achieve these objectives, the occurrence data for all species found will be mapped using ArcGIS, and to determine population abundance for the species of greatest conservation need several area constrained plots will be created. A N-mixture model will then be used to analyze count data to determine population abundance. This information will be given to state conservation agencies so they can better target their conservation areas.