|Scientific Name:||Ambystoma maculatum|
|Species Authority:||(Shaw, 1802)|
Salamandra punctata Lacépède, 1788
|Taxonomic Source(s):||Frost, D.R. 2014. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6 (27 January 2014). New York, USA. Available at: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html. (Accessed: 27 January 2014).|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Least Concern ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group|
|Facilitator/Compiler(s):||Green, C., Sharp, D. & Garcia Moreno, J.|
Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, large number of subpopulations and locations, large population size, and use of varied and altered habitats.
|Previously published Red List assessments:||
|Range Description:||This species occurs throughout most of the eastern USA and adjacent southern Canada; west to eastern Iowa and eastern Texas (Conant and Collins 1991).|
Native:Canada (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec); United States (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin)
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||Total adult population size is unknown but is very large, surely greater than 100,000 and probably exceeds 1,000,000. Overall, its sub-populations are relatively stable, though there are some local declines due to habitat loss.|
|Current Population Trend:||Stable|
|Habitat and Ecology:||This species can be found in hardwood and mixed forests, vicinity of swamps and vernal pools; usually underground or under soil surface objects except during the breeding period. In New York, distribution apparently is influenced by soil pH (Wyman 1988). Eggs are usually attached to submerged stems or other objects in vernal pools and semi permanent or permanent ponds in or adjacent to forest. In many areas, the species breeds mainly in ponds inaccessible to predatory fishes; however on the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA, spotted salamanders breed in sloughs or backwater lowland areas along streams that frequently contain or are easily colonized by predatory fishes that opportunistically feed on amphibian larvae (Semlitsch 1988). Eggs may be laid in ponds when they are ice-covered if salamanders already are present in the pond (States et al. 1988). Egg masses often exhibit an aggregated dispersion pattern.|
|Use and Trade:||There are no records of this species being utilized.|
|Major Threat(s):||Threats to local sub-populations include intensive timber harvesting practices that reduce canopy closure, understorey vegetation, uncompacted forest litter, or coarse woody debris (moderately to well-decayed) in areas surrounding breeding sites (deMaynadier and Hunter 1999). Negative impacts of intensive timber harvesting extend at least 25-35 m into uncut forest (deMaynadier and Hunter 1998). Many sub-populations are becoming increasingly isolated as deforestation and loss of vernal pools reduce gene flow among demes (Petranka 1998). This might result in inbreeding depression and reduce the probability of re-establishment of extirpated sub-populations. Local sub-populations might be heavily impacted by excessive mortality of adults caused by vehicles on roads near breeding sites. Roads negatively impact salamander abundance in roadside habitat and might serve as partial barriers to movement (deMaynadier and Hunter 2000). Embryo mortality generally decreases as pH deceases below 6.0, though in some areas successful reproduction has occurred at a relatively low pH (Cook 1983, Blem and Blem 1989). In central Pennsylvania, low pH was associated with deleterious sub lethal effects on larvae (Sadinski and Dunson 1992). High concentrations of various chemical elements, unfavourable temperatures, or low oxygen content might result in reproductive failure; see Blem and Blem (1991) and Albers and Prouty (1987). De-icing salts that contaminate roadside vernal pools result in reduced embryonic survival (Turtle 2000).|
Needed conservation measures include protection of vernal pools and adjacent wooded areas extending up to at least 200-250 meters from the pools. Also, regulatory agencies should attempt to minimize forest fragmentation. The species could benefit from regulations that minimize acid deposition.
Better information on trends would be useful.
|Citation:||IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2015. Ambystoma maculatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T59064A56540295. . Downloaded on 27 May 2016.|
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