Limitations of regulated “buffer zones” for the conservation of marbled salamanders

Upland Habitat Quality and Historic Landscape Composition Influence Genetic Variation of a Pond-Breeding Salamander

“…Populations of wetland species will go extinct if either the wetland or surrounding upland habitat is severely degraded or lost. Therefore, management must focus on preserving both habitat types [17,18]. However, although this management philosophy will maintain local populations in the short term, it ignores the long-term, evolutionary perspective.…”

“…However, although this management philosophy will maintain local populations in the short term, it ignores the long-term, evolutionary perspective. To conserve wetland species in the long term and regionally, we not only need to conserve upland buffers surrounding wetlands, but also we must preserve ecological connectivity among these breeding populations [17,18]. This not only allows for recolonization when local population extinctions occur, but also allows for maintenance of genetic diversity across the landscape via within-population processes and low-level dispersal rates among populations [20].…”

“…However, these buffers may not include the types of terrestrial habitat required by organisms that use the aquatic habitats [9,16]. Some investigators have suggested that a minimum amount of terrestrial habitat (termed "core habitat") is needed around wetlands to maintain local populations [15][16][17][18]. For example, Semlitsch [18] suggested that a core terrestrial habitat encompassing an area within a 164-m radius of a wetland is necessary to maintain at least 95% of most Ambystoma populations and other species of amphibians with low vagility.…”

“…Information about the extent of genetic variation of populations in combination with maintenance of minimum habitat requirements may be useful for better understanding and improving conservation status of amphibians in fragmented habitats [23,24]. Although many researchers have estimated the size of minimum core habitats [17,18], additional studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between the genetic variability of amphibian populations and the likelihood that those populations can persist in fragmented habitats. Our objectives were to use geographical information system (GIS) data and genetic analyses to (1) examine the relationship between genetic variability of Ambystoma maculatum (spotted salamander) and the amount of forest cover surrounding a wetland within recommended core terrestrial habitat and at a larger scale; and (2) determine if historic or contemporary landscapes better explain current genetic variability.…”

The Importance of Maintaining Upland Forest Habitat Surrounding Salamander Breeding Ponds: Case Study of the Eastern Tiger Salamander in New York, USA

“…We hypothesized that adult female tiger salamanders would travel greater distances into the upland forested habitat during emigration than males, potentially biasing zones of protection that are based on averaging emigration distances across both sexes [25,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Second, we hypothesized that a percentage of juveniles would travel farther than the adults, since some juveniles disperse to other wetlands from the natal wetland, rather than simply emigrating, creating a need for safe dispersal routes connecting wetlands [50,51]. Third, we predicted that the distance moved by juveniles would vary by body size, because larger juveniles could have more energy reserves and be less vulnerable to dehydration during movement [52,53].…”