Dan's Papers - April 10, 2009 -

At 7:30 in the evening on the last Saturday in February, my wife and I stood in the parking lot of The South Fork Natural History Museum reading (by flashlight) the information sheets on Ambystoma Tigrinium provided by Crystal, a graduate of the Southampton University marine biology program and SOFO nature educator. Herpetologist and museum president, Andy Sabin was about to lead us into the night woods in search of the largest of our native terrestrial salamanders, the endangered eastern tiger salamander. People of all ages listened as Andy gave an animated description of these wondrous amphibians. I was especially impressed by the rapt attention afforded him by the many children present. This was a great adventure for them - a walk through the woods in the dark, a visit to a vernal pond, and getting an "up-close" look at the alien creatures that Andy and Crystal scooped out of the water.

The tiger salamander is an amphibian. Amphibians usually have aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. Two well-known members of the amphibian class are frogs and salamanders. The tiger salamander is dark brown or black, marked with yellow or olive blotches. They belong to a group of burrowing amphibians known as mole salamanders and spend most of their life underground. They have broad heads, shaped like a shovel, with blunt, rounded snouts that enable them to burrow underground to stay cool and moist and to escape predators. The adult has glands that produce a toxic secretion as another defense that repels predators. Eastern tiger salamanders are nocturnal. They come out of their burrows on cool or wet nights in the spring and fall. They sleep all summer (aestivation) and winter (hibernation) in their burrow. Tiger salamanders require vernal pools. These ponds fill in the spring (vernal means spring), but dry up late in the summer. This prevents the establishment of predatory fish populations. Consequently, breeding ponds are typically only two to four feet deep. Breeding season in New York State is February through March. Tiger salamanders use their tails to propel them through the water; on land the tails can act as a whip to deter predators.

Tiger salamanders come out of their burrows approximately two to three weeks each year in order to lay their eggs in vernal ponds. On Long Island, the tiger salamander emerges from its burrow in February or March to migrate at night, usually during rain, to the breeding ponds. The males will enter the ponds first, leaving pheromones to attract the females. Once at their breeding grounds, these salamanders engage in an elaborate pushing, nose-rubbing courtship dance during which the male deposits sperm packets on the bottom of the pond. The female takes these into her body and the eggs are fertilized internally. After laying a clear gelatinous egg mass, it swells to fist-size. Females may lay multiple egg masses with 20 to 50 eggs per mass. The eggs hatch in 30 to 45 days. The gilled larvae look like fish, and feed on microscopic insect larvae and zooplankton in the water. This stage lasts until late July or early August. The adult diet consists of worms, snails, beetles, centipedes, grubs, slugs and insects found on the forest floor and under logs. The average lifespan of the tiger salamander in the wild is 12 to 15 years.

This salamander can be found along the east coast from New York to northern Florida, west from Ohio to Minnesota and southward through eastern Texas to the Gulf. In New York, the tiger salamander is found only on Long Island, confined to eastern Nassau County and Suffolk County. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation lists it as an endangered species. Andy explained that he has a special permit allowing him to handle endangered species. Without this State DEC issued permit, it is illegal to disturb these endangered animals. Endangered species are species in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant part of their range. Their protection is mandated by the United States Endangered Species Act. Pesticides and other contaminants, development, disturbance at ponds, introduction of predatory fish into permanent pools and recreational activities (especially off-road vehicles) threaten breeding sites, year round habitation and annual reproduction. Increased construction of roads has also bisected the habitat, jeopardizing migrating adults.

In June, Andy will lead an annual hike to see the immature salamanders before they leave the pond. The salamander expeditions are just a few of the many events sponsored by SOFO. To find out more about this wonderful museum and its educational programs, visit sofo.org or call 631-537-9735.