Distribution and Habitat of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander, Eurycea cirrigera, in Will County, Illinois: Implications For Population Management and Monitoring

Authors

David Mauger, Forest Reserve District Will County
Timothy Bell, Chicago State University
Eric L. Peters, Chicago State University

Document Type

Research

Keywords

Eurycea cirrigera, habitat, distribution, amphibian inventory, amphibian monitoring

Abstract

The southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) was found to occur at numerous localities within the Kankakee River State Park in Will County, Illinois. The species is restricted to small drainages within the Kankakee River valley that have flow consisting of groundwater that discharges at seeps or springs at or within the valley bluff. Cooler water temperatures and possibly other conditions that are associated with water derived from seep or spring sources may be important factors in determining salamander abundance. This is particularly relevant to larval habitat. These observations suggest that the spring or seep-fed larval habitat may be the primary limiting factor that may explain why the distribution of E. cirrigera is restricted in northern Illinois. It is proposed, that from a conservation management perspective, individual drainages or "spring runs" may best be considered as subpopulations of a metapopulation that are vulnerable to both deterministic and stochastic extinction. Educational field trips conducted by faculty of Chicago State University in 1996 and 1997 have provided preliminary data of relative population size and environmental conditions at some sites. With further refinement and standardization, these census techniques may have high potential for long-term monitoring to assess population status or detect decline. The inventory and census strategies that were used may also be adapted for use with other streamside salamander species that have similar life history traits and habitat requirements.

Publication Date

September-December 2000

Journal Title

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

107

Issue

3-4

First Page

168

Last Page

174

Copyright

© Copyright 2000 by the Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Mauger, David; Bell, Timothy; and Peters, Eric L. (2000) "Distribution and Habitat of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander, Eurycea cirrigera, in Will County, Illinois: Implications For Population Management and Monitoring," Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS, 107(3-4), 168-174.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/jias/vol107/iss3/20