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AMPHIBIAN CWCS
SPECIES (25 SPECIES)
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Common name |
Scientific name |
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Desmognathus ochrophaeus |
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Hyla gratiosa |
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Hyla avivoca |
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Desmognathus welteri |
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Plethodon kentucki |
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Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis |
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Scaphiopus holbrookii |
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Hemidactylium scutatum |
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Hyla versicolor |
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Aneides aeneus |
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Hyla cinerea |
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Ambystoma talpoideum |
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Rana areolata circulosa |
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Desmognathus fuscus |
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Rana pipiens |
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Plethodon cinereus |
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Rana sphenocephala |
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Plethodon ventralis |
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Desmognathus conanti |
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Ambystoma barbouri |
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Eurycea guttolineata |
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Amphiuma tridactylum |
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Plethodon wehrlei |
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Siren intermedia nettingi |
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Rana sylvatica |
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CLASS AMPHIBIA
Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus
ochrophaeus
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S4 G5 S4
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Upland areas -
primarily mountainous regions - from New York southward into
Comment Tennessee (Conant and Collins 1991). Occurs more or less continuously in
suitable habitat
throughout the Cumberland Mountains in extreme southeastern
Kentucky; scattered
populations occur elsewhere in eastern Kentucky; known
from a total of
about 16 counties (J.R. MacGregor
Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend Unknown rangewide;
unknown but possibly declining in Kentucky due to the
Comment recent increase in mountaintop removal surface
mining in the Cumberlands. In
addition there seems
to be an ongoing general Desmognathus decline in
northeastern
Kentucky for which additional investigation and documentation is
needed. The mountain dusky salamander is known
historically from single sites
in Carter County and McCreary County and has
not been seen at either of
these locations
despite much searching over the past 20 years.
This species is
not tracked by
Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Somewhat of a
habitat specialist in Kentucky; the best habitat includes moist
Life History banks, streamheads,
seeps, wet spots, and cool moist forests at the highest
elevations on Black
Mountain and other high peaks in the Cumberlands.
Elsewhere in eastern
Kentucky the mountain dusky salamander is found in cool
mucky seeps and wet
areas near waterfalls, or in close association with dripping
rock faces and wet crevices along shaded
sandstone or shale cliffs (including
coal mine
entrances).
Key Generally GOOD in the Cumberland Mountains, but
only FAIR elsewhere in
Habitat eastern Kentucky; populations seem to be
declining in the northeast. The
Daniel Boone
National Forest cliffline management policy will help maintain
habitat for
populations that inhabit public lands in the Cliff Section of the
Cumberland
Plateau.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Harlan County -
Black Mountain
2. Leslie County -
Daniel Boone National Forest
Guilds caves, rock shelters, and clifflines, Cumberland
highland forest, running water,
upland forest.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamander Desmognathus
ochrophaeus
Statewide AlleghenyMountainDuskySalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining and mountaintop removal.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (without cliffline buffers) and drying of forest
floor/leaf litter.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Due to Surface Mining.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Barking Treefrog Hyla gratiosa
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend The barking treefrog
is widespread in southeastern U.S. (Conant and Collins
Comment 1991). An
isolated population at the northwestern edge of the range occurs in
the Western
Pennyroyal Karst Plain (Woods et al. 2002) of Kentucky and
Tennessee including portions
of 8 western Kentucky counties (Redmond and
Scott 1996, Kentucky
State Nature Preserve Commission 2004, J.R.
MacGregor
Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Rangewide
populations are apparently stable. In
our area, Kentucky State
Comment Nature Preserves Commission monitoring data
shows recent records (1984-
2004) for all 8
known Kentucky counties. Barking
treefrogs breed rather
sporadically in
seasonal and permanent ponds that are located primarily in open
agricultural habitats, and several years may
pass in a given area between
breeding
events. It is quite difficult to track
population trends accurately
within individual
colonies.
Habitat / Adult barking
treefrogs are generally found only in agricultural areas in
Life History Kentucky; most
observations are for calling males or tadpoles at breeding
ponds. A few adults can sometimes be found crossing
wet roadways on rainy
evenings. It is likely that most adults burrow into the
soil and remain
underground for much
of the year, but this remains to be demonstrated.
Radiotracking
studies are needed to determine the habitat requirements of the
adults.
Key Habitat condition overall is probably GOOD
within its limited range in
Habitat Kentucky; the amount of cropland and pasture in
this area seems to be
relatively stable
with little or no imminent threat from development or urban
expansion.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Caldwell County
2. Caldwell County
3. Logan County
Guilds grassland/agricultural, standing water.
Statewide BarkingTreefrog.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Barking Treefrog Hyla gratiosa
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5F Low population densities
5H Isolated populations (low gene flow)
5K Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting,
or breeding
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Premature dry-up of breeding pools.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Habitat
loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/graded).
3F Urban/residential development. Fragmentation by highways/urbanization
(NatureServe 2004).
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Contamination by
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Fragmentation by
highways/urbanization
(NatureServe 2004).
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Bird-voiced Treefrog Hyla avivoca
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend The bird-voiced
treefrog is widespread in southeastern U.S., extending
Comment northward along the Mississippi and lower Ohio
River lowlands into western
Kentucky (Conant and
Collins 1991). This species occurs in
about 15 counties
in the Jackson
Purchase and Western Coal Field in western Kentucky
(Kentucky State
Nature Preserve Commission 2004, Kentucky Herpetology
Database 2004, J.R.
MacGregor herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend The rangewide population
trend is unknown but is probably stable.
The bird-
Comment voiced treefrog is uncommon to rare in Kentucky
and may be declining; some
populations (e.g.,
those in Ballard County) have vanished since the 1960’s.
Comprehensive survey
work is needed in the state. There are
recent (1984-
2004) records from
14 counties (Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission
2004; J.R. MacGregor
data).
Habitat / Adults are largely
arboreal and occur in and near cypress swamps, various
Life History swampy woodlands
with some standing water, and bottomland hardwood
forests. Calling males often perch above standing
water in buttonbush or
tangled vines. Tadpoles develop in warm shallow waters with
emergent
vegetation (J.R.
MacGregor).
Key Habitat condition overall is FAIR.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Hickman County
2. Hickman County
3. Caldwell County
and Hopkins County
Guilds Emergent and
shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland.
Statewide Bird-voicedTreefrog.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Bird-voiced Treefrog Hyla avivoca
Conservation Issues
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc).
loss/conversion of
bottomland hardwoods
3F Urban/residential development. fragmentation by highways/urbanization
(NatureServe 2004)
3K Surface mining
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. wetland fragmentation
(mining/agriculture),
fragmentation by highways/urbanization (NatureServe
2004)
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Black Mountain Salamander Desmognathus welteri
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G4 S4 G4 S4
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Nearly endemic to
eastern Kentucky, extending into adjacent portions of West
Comment Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee (Conant and Collins
1991). Historically
known from 29
counties in eastern Kentucky, primarily in the Cumberland,
Kentucky, and
Licking River drainages; rare and local in the Little Sandy and
Big Sandy systems
and apparently ranges no further north than Rowan, Elliott,
Floyd, and Pike
counties (J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend The Black Mountain
salamander has been documented since 1984 in at least 20
Comment counties in eastern Kentucky. Numbers are declining at numerous sites in
northeastern
Kentucky in the Morehead/Laurel Creek Gorge area in Rowan and
Elliott counties and
possibly in the Big South Fork area (McCreary County) as
well. However, the species is regularly encountered
in suitable habitat in Red
River Gorge and
nearby, in the Cave Hollow area (Lee County), and on Black
Mountain (Harlan
County). This species is not tracked by
Kentucky State
Nature Preserves
Commission.
Habitat / The Black Mountain salamander
is more of a habitat specialist than most
Life History Kentucky
Desmognathus; it is largely a resident of clear high-gradient mountain
streams and is most
common in rocky headwater creeks in cool moist forested
ravines on Black
Mountain and other high peaks in the Cumberlands.
Elsewhere in eastern
Kentucky the Black Mountain salamander is primarily
found in shaded
spring-fed streams. This species is
intolerant of silt; it is often
associated with
small waterfalls and wet entrances to caves and abandoned coal
mines.
Key Habitat condition is generally GOOD in the
Cumberland Mountains, but only
Habitat FAIR elsewhere in eastern Kentucky; populations
seem to be declining in the
northeast. The Daniel Boone National Forest cliffline
management policy and
buffer strips to
maintain forest cover along stream corridors will help maintain
habitat for
populations that inhabit public lands in the Cliff Section of the
Cumberland
Plateau.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Powell County
2. Lee County
3. Harlan County -
Black Mountain
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Black Mountain Salamander Desmognathus welteri
4. Letcher County
Guilds Cumberland highland
forest, running water, upland forest.
Statewide BlackMountainSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Unexplained population declines.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining and mountaintop removal.
3M Timber harvest
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Due to surface mining
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Cumberland Plateau Salamander Plethodon kentucki
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G4 S4 G4 S4
G-Trend Decreasing
G-Trend Nearly endemic to
eastern Kentucky, extending into adjacent portions of West
Comment Virginia, Virginia, and Tennessee (Conant and
Collins 1991). The Cumberland
Plateau salamander
has been found in 31 counties and occurs nearly throughout
eastern Kentucky
(J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Population trends
seem to be variable in Kentucky. This
salamander appears to
Comment be doing well at several sites in southeastern
Kentucky including Garrett
(Floyd County),
Black Mountain (Harlan County), Pine Mountain above
Bledsoe (Harlan
County), Limestone Cave (Whitley County), Pine Mountain
Wildlife Management
Area (Letcher County), and Cumberland Gap National
Historical Park
(Bell County) (all data from J.R. MacGregor 2000-2004 except
Cumberland Gap
information from Third Rock 2003). In
some sections of
northeastern
Kentucky, however, it has all but disappeared from many
locations for no
apparent reason (J.R. MacGregor 2000-2004 data for Carter,
Elliott, and Rowan
Co). The Cumberland Plateau salamander
has also declined
rather dramatically
at several locations near Huntington, West Virginia where it
was formerly
abundant (R. Highton, pers. comm. 2002).
Recent (1984-2004)
records exist for 24
Kentucky counties (J.R. MacGregor data).
This species is
not tracked by
Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / The Cumberland
Plateau salamander is completely terrestrial.
Adults and
Life History juveniles live in
wooded areas; females deposit small clusters of eggs in summer-
fall in underground
retreats. As with other species of
Plethodon, all larval
development takes
place within the egg and thus there is no free-living aquatic
larval stage. Populations are highest on ridges and steep
slopes with mature
forest cover,
numerous shaded rock outcrops, abundant leaf litter and/or woody
debris on the surface, and (often) rocky or
gravelly soils (J.R. MacGregor).
This species is
somewhat of a habitat specialist; it seems dependent to a large
degree upon rock
crevices; many good populations occur in/along/near shaded
clifflines,
outcrops, caves, rock shelters, and the entrances of abandoned coal
mines. It also occurs in and under decaying logs,
under loose bark on dead trees,
within split trees/logs, in old sawdust piles,
in cavities and crevices in living
trees, and in
burrows on steep hillsides.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Cumberland Plateau Salamander Plethodon kentucki
Key Habitat condition is generally GOOD in many
areas in southeastern Kentucky,
Habitat but perhaps only FAIR in an overall view if one
considers the unexplained
population declines
that have taken place in some areas.
Habitat condition is
generally good on
most public lands; Daniel Boone National Forest cliffline and
cave management
policies will probably ensure that forest cover is maintained
in some of the best
habitat in the Cliff Section and Rugged Eastern Area of the
Cumberland Plateau.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Harlan County -
Black Mountain
2. Harlan County -
Pine Mountain
3. Harlan County -
Daniel Boone National Forest
4. Floyd County
5. Whitley County -
Pine Mountain
6. Letcher County
Guilds caves, rock shelters, and clifflines, Cumberland
highland forest, upland forest.
Statewide CumberlandPlateauSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Unexplained population declines.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Loss of habitat from surface mining and mountaintop
removal
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (without clifflines buffers and causing the drying
of forest floor leaf
litter. Loss of CWD in lowland woods.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Surface mining causing habitat
fragmentation.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Eastern Hellbender Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis alleganiensis
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G3G4 S3 G3 S3
T3T4
G-Trend Decreasing
G-Trend Primarily throughout
most of the Ohio River drainage (including Tennessee and
Comment Cumberland systems) from southern New York to
northern Alabama and
southern Illinois;
isolated populations in Missouri and Arkansas (Conant and
Collins 1991). Recorded from about 60 counties statewide;
occurs in all major
river systems in
Kentucky except for those located to the west of the
Tennessee River
(Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky State
Nature Preserves
Commission Database 2004, J.R. MacGregor Herpetology
Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Apparently declining
rangewide; Kentucky status is unknown but the
Comment hellbender is probably declining in at least
some areas. Recent (1984-2004)
records are
available from at least 25 counties in the Licking, Kentucky/Red,
Cumberland, and
Green/Barren River drainages; no comprehensive field surveys
have been conducted for hellbenders in
Kentucky.
Habitat / Occurs in rivers and
large streams; known from the major river systems in
Life History Kentucky including
the Ohio, Licking, Kentucky, Green, Barren, Cumberland.
No systematic
surveys have been done here. Apparently
requires reasonably
good water quality;
much literature points to the idea that hellbenders do best in
cool, high quality streams with available
large flat rocks or rock ledges available
to serve as diurnal
retreats.
Key Habitat condition is generally FAIR to
POOR.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Rowan County
2. Pulaski County
3. Allen County
Guilds running water.
Statewide EasternHellbender.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Eastern Hellbender Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis alleganiensis
Conservation Issues
Aquatic habitat degradation
2B Gravel/sand removal or quarrying (e.g., mineral
excavation). Gravel
dredging.
2C Construction/Operation of impoundments
(migration barrier).
Construction of
dams/reservoirs.
2D Woody debris removal
2F Riparian zone removal
(Agriculture/development).
Loss/conversion of
riparian forest and
channelization/riparian wetland loss.
Biological/ consumptive uses
5J Incidental mortality due to commercial
fishing/musseling (mortality and
overharvest). Fishing/troutlines/limb lines
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Unexplained population declines.
Point and non-point source pollution
4B Waste water discharge (e.g., sewage
treatment). Degradation or pollution of
streams/rivers.
4C Toxic chemical spills
4K Industrial waste discharge/runoff. Degradation or pollution of
Siltation and increased turbidity
1A Coal mining
1B Agriculture.
Stream sedimentation also from mining/coal washing.
1C Road construction
1D Urbanization/Development General Construction
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining/mountaintop removal.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
CLASS Amphibia
Eastern Spadefoot Scaphiopus
holbrookii
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S4 G5 S4
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Data from across the
range indicates that the overall population trend is thought
Comment to be stable to decreasing but populations are
very difficult to monitor due to the
irregular and
unpredictable breeding habits of this species.
The Eastern
Spadefoot is a wide-ranging species known from about 24 states in
the eastern,
midwestern, and southeastern U.S. and is listed by state heritage
programs in about
half of these (Conant and Collins 1991; U.S. Geological
Survey/National
Amphibian Atlas accessed 3/15/2010; NatureServe accessed
3/11/2010). Still, relatively little hard information is
available on the distribution
and abundance of
this highly fossorial animal. Adults
call only during brief,
irregular breeding
episodes during periods of heavy rain but otherwise spend
much of their time
underground (Lannoo 2005). State
Conservation Statuses
(NatureServe,
accessed 3/11/2010) are as follows: S1 in Connecticut, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, and West Virginia; S2 in Arkansas, Indiana,
Massachusetts, and
Missouri; S2/S3 in New York, S3 in Illinois; S4 in Delaware,
Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, and Virginia; and S5 or unranked in Alabama,
Florida, Georgia,
Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee.
Eastern Spadefoots
are believed to have been extirpated from portions of their
original range due
to habitat destruction (McCoy 1982; Klemens 1993).
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend The Eastern
Spadefoot has been added to the Kentucky State Wildlife Action Plan
Comment for three reasons: (1) its overall distribution
and abundance are poorly known in
comparison with
other native anurans; (2) most of the documented breeding sites
are temporary pools that in recent years have
usually gone dry before the
tadpoles have
transformed into froglets; and (3) complete larval die-offs from
disease have been
observed at 2 different breeding ponds that have been
monitored regularly
by the state herpetologist.
Eastern Spadefoots
have been documented from at least 37 Kentucky counties
ranging from
Greenup, Lawrence, and Floyd in eastern Kentucky westward to
Carlisle County at
the base of the loess bluffs bordering the Mississippi River.
Some of these records
date back into the 1930’s, and many are based on single
specimens. No records are available from the Bluegrass
Region or Western Coal
Field but this
species does occur at least sparingly in all other sections of
Kentucky. Within the past 10 years breeding
sites have been
found in Rowan, Powell, Rockcastle, Laurel, McCreary, Meade,
Hart, and Edmonson
counties. Massive tadpole die-offs have
been noted at
breeding ponds in
Rockcastle and Edmonson counties during this time, indicating
that diseases such
as Ranavirus may be impacting this species in Kentucky.
Several breeding
sites that were monitored in Edmonson County from 2004-2009
have gone dry before the tadpoles could
complete their development – this is not
unusual for a species
that often uses temporary pools for reproduction but in
combination with
disease it may contribute to the extirpation of local populations
over time (JRM
unpublished data).
Habitat / Eastern Spadefoots occur in both open and
forested habitats in uplands or
Life bottomlands that have friable sandy to loamy
soils. Breeding takes place largely
History in temporary pools – even in low sections of
flooded fields – and occasionally in
permanent ponds
(Hansen 1958, Pearson 1955, Lannoo 2005).
At least 2 of the
breeding ponds that
are being monitored at Mammoth Cave National Park are old
constructed farm
ponds that were likely present when land for the park was
purchased in the
1930’s (JRM personal observation). Eggs
are attached to
submerged or
floating vegetation; hatching and larval development periods vary
with temperature but
tend to be relatively rapid in comparison with other anurans.
In Kentucky, metamorphs have appeared as
early as 30 days after the eggs
were laid (JRM
personal observation). The Eastern
Spadefoot can breed at just
about any time from
March-October in Kentucky but most breeding takes place
from May-July (JRM
personal observation). Breeding activity
is primarily
initiated by heavy
rains, and populations at some locations breed very
infrequently. One Powell County breeding site was used only
twice in seven
years. A breeding pond in Edmonson County, on the
other hand, was used 4
times in a single
year but went dry each time before the tadpoles were able to
transform (JRM
personal observation).
Key Laurel County (breeding site in a natural vernal
pool along KY 192 NE of
Habitat Baldrock); Edmonson County (Mammoth Cave
National Park (several breeding
sites continue to be
regularly used and likely produce numerous young during
some years).
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands,
grassland/agricultural, standing water,
upland forest.
Statewide
Eastern_Spadefoot.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Four-toed Salamander Hemidactylium
scutatum
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S4 G5 S4
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Widespread in
forested sections of the eastern U.S. from southern Canada to
Comment Florida, Alabama, Mississipii, Louisiana ,
Arkansas, and Oklahoma; the range is
largely discontinuous and many populations are
isolated (Conant and Collins
1991). Recorded from 44 Kentucky counties; most
commonly found in eastern
Kentucky but also
known from Jefferson-Bullitt (Caperton Swamp and
Bernheim Forest),
Edmonson-Hart (Mammoth Cave area), Caldwell-Christian
(Dripping Springs
Escarpment and Dawson Springs Seep Swamp), and
Calloway (Blood
River bottoms) counties (J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps
2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Four-toed salamander
populations seem to be more or less stable here in
Comment Kentucky; new locations are still being
discovered at a regular rate and post-
1984 records exist
for at least 35 counties. The Jefferson
County colony at
Caperton Swamp seems
to have disappeared during the construction of I-71
(Burt L. Monroe,
Jr., now deceased, pers. comm. to J.R. MacGregor ca 1972),
and the colony in
the Blood River area of Calloway County has never been
relocated since its
original discovery. This species is not tracked by Kentucky
State Nature
Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Adult four-toed
salamanders live primarily in upland forests; good populations
Life History also occur in wet
woodlands along floodplains and terraces border some large
streams and
rivers. Egg clusters are laid in late
winter and early spring and are
usually attended by females;
nests are located near the edges of ponds,
woodland pools,
seeps, or sluggish boggy headwater streams in which the larval
development takes place after hatching. Most nests are hidden in mosses, but
some are also found
in clumps of grasses or sedges, in and under chunks of
decaying wood, or in
leaf litter. Most Kentucky sites are in
areas with acid
soils. Natural vernal ponds on broad flat sandstone
ridges and wet areas located
along old mine benches seem especially favored
as nesting areas.
Key Habitat condition is generally GOOD overall.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Adair County
2. Powell County
3. Menifee County
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Four-toed Salamander Hemidactylium
scutatum
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, running
water, standing water, upland
forest.
Statewide Four-toedSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss from urban development.
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining and mountaintop removal.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (drying of forest floor/leaf litter.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. From surface mining.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Gray Treefrog Hyla versicolor
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S2S3 G5 S2
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend The eastern gray
treefrog and its close relative (Cope’s gray treefrog) form a
Comment species complex that is widespread in eastern
North America (Conant and
Collins 1991). Although the diploid species (Hyla
chrysoscelis) can be found
throughout the
state, the range of the tetraploid species (Hyla versicolor) barely
extends into Kentucky from the north. Breeding colonies are known from 3
counties in the Fort
Knox area and 2 counties in the Ashland area in extreme
northeastern
Kentucky (Kentucky State Nature Preserve Commission 2004,
J.R. MacGregor
Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Eastern gray
treefrog populations appear to be stable both rangewide and in
Comment Kentucky.
Although the diploid Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)
occurs throughout
the state, Hyla versicolor was not discovered in the Fort
Knox area until the
mid-1980’s and the Ashland population was only
discovered in
2000. No range expansions or
contractions have been noted in
either population;
this species and Cope’s gray treefrog occur together and
often use the same
breeding ponds at the same time of the year.
Habitat / Both species of gray
treefrogs are more or less arboreal but can persist in
Life History weedfields, shrubby
areas, and thickets as well as along tree-lined fencerows
and in forests. Breeding sites include permanent and seasonal
ponds (and tire
ruts) in either
forested or open habitats.
Key Habitat condition is apparently GOOD; this
species is nearly ubiquitous in
Habitat Kentucky within its limited range.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Meade County
2. Hardin County
3.
Breckinridge-Hardin-Meade counties
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, standing
water, upland forest.
Statewide GrayTreefrog.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Gray Treefrog Hyla versicolor
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5B Predation from native species. introduction of predatory fish into breeding
ponds (Phillips et
al. 1999).
5F Low population densities
5H Isolated populations (low gene flow)
5K Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting,
or breeding. Habitat loss
(agriculture -
breeding sites filled/grades).
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Habitat
loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/grades).
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss due to urban
expansion/development
also urban expansion into limited areas.
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Contamination by
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Wetland fragmentation
(mining/agriculture).
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Green Salamander Aneides aeneus
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G3G4 S4 G3 S4
G-Trend Decreasing
G-Trend Appalachian
Mountains from extreme southwestern Pennsylvania to north-
Comment central Alabama and extreme northeastern
Mississippi; isolated population in
Blue Ridge Mountains
(Conant and Collins 1991). Widely
distributed in
eastern Kentucky (37
counties) where populations are nearly continuous along
sandstone clifflines
in the Cliff Section of the Cumberland Plateau; a small
outlier in Casey
County and another much further to the west near the Ohio
River in
Breckinridge County that matches up with otherwise-isolated sites in
southern Indiana
(J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Probably stable;
documented in 30 counties since 1984 and probably still
Comment occurs in all historic counties in
Kentucky. This species is not tracked by
Kentucky State
Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Generally a habitat
specialist dependent upon humid rock crevices; most
Life History populations occur
along and near shaded sandstone cliffs and outcrops
(including sandstone
caves and rock shelters). Also found in
limestone cliffs
and shale cliffs
(including coal mine entrances) to a limited degree; sometimes
found in limestone
caves if sandstone occurs nearby. Also
occurs in decaying
logs, under loose
bark on dead trees, within split trees/logs, in old sawdust
piles, and in
cavities and crevices in living trees.
Key Habitat condition is generally GOOD. Generally stable; the Daniel Boone
Habitat National Forest cliffline management policy will
ensure that forest cover is
maintained on public
lands in the Cliff Section of the Cumberland Plateau.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Powell County
2. Breckinridge
County
3. Whitley County
Guilds caves, rock shelters, and clifflines, Cumberland
highland forest, upland forest.
Statewide GreenSalamander.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Green Salamander Aneides aeneus
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Unexplained population declines.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining/mountaintop removal.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (without cliffline buffers).
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Green Treefrog Hyla cinerea
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Increasing
G-Trend The green treefrog
is widespread in southeastern U.S.; its range extends
Comment northward along the Mississippi and lower Ohio
River lowlands into western
Kentucky (Conant and
Collins 1991). Green treefrog
populations are known
from about 12-13
Kentucky counties. In the late 1970’s
and early 1980’s it
spread from the
Mississippi River area (Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, and Ballard
Co) throughout the
Jackson Purchase; in recent years the range has expanded
further and the
species now occurs along the shorelines of Kentucky and
Barkley Lakes as
well as eastward along the Ohio River at least into
Breckinridge County
(J.R. MacGregor 2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserve
Commission 2004,
Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004).
S-Trend Increasing
S-Trend Green treefrog
populations are increasing both in Kentucky and elsewhere,
Comment especially in the northern portion of the
range. In Kentucky, the green treefrog
was known in the
1970’s only from a few isolated colonies in counties
bordering the
Mississippi River. Since that time, the
range has expanded
throughout the
Jackson Purchase area and Land Between The Lakes National
Recreation Area and
eastward along the Ohio River into Breckinridge County.
Recent records
(1984-2004) exist for all counties that are known to harbor green
treefrogs in Kentucky (J.R. MacGregor data,
Kentucky State Nature Preserve
Commission 2004).
Habitat / Green treefrogs
occur in and near cypress swamps and other wetland habitats
Life History with abundant cover
in the form of emergent herbaceous vegetation, and seem to
prefer areas that are more or less open. They may also require adjacent
bottomland forests
for hibernation. Calling males often
perch on low vegetation
near standing water; tadpoles develop in warm
shallow waters.
Key Habitat condition overall is GOOD. The amount of suitable habitat for the
Habitat green treefrog appears to be stable to
increasing in Kentucky.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Fulton County
2. Hickman County
3. Ballard County
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Green Treefrog Hyla cinerea
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested
wetland.
Statewide GreenTreefrog.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3F Urban/residential development. Fragmentation by highways/urbanization
(NatureServe 2004).
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Wetland fragmentation
(mining/agriculture),fragmentation
by highways/urbanization (NatureServe
2004).
3T Suppression of disturbance regimes. Natural reforestation of open
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Mole Salamander Ambystoma talpoideum
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend Widespread in
Piedmont and Coastal Plain of southeastern U.S.; scattered in
Comment upland areas northward into Illinois, Kentucky,
and Virginia (Conant and
Collins 1991). Recently discovered in southwestern IN (M.
Lodato, pers.
comm. 2004). Known from about 15 Kentucky counties; occurs
mostly in the
Jackson Purchase,
Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, and in
the western
Mississippian Plateau. Also an old
University of Kentucky
museum specimen
exists from Bagget’s Pond in McLean County (J.R.
MacGregor
Herpetology Maps 2004). Mole salamanders
were introduced into
ponds on the Dourson
Farm in Powell County and continue to persist there in
low numbers (D.
Dourson, pers. comm.). More field survey
work is needed for
the mole salamander, particularly in the
Western Coal Field and western
Mississippian
Plateau where road cruising on rainy evenings may yield
additional data.
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend Mole salamander
populations that occur in bottomland hardwood forests in the
Comment Jackson Purchase are probably declining due to
continuing habitat loss as a
result of wetland
conversion and/or degradation.
Populations that breed in
small ponds in
upland woods are likely faring better except in areas where
development is
taking place (J.R. MacGregor data). This
species has been
recorded since 1984
in 14 of 15 historic counties (exception: McLean County in
the Western Coal Field). The mole salamander is no longer tracked by
Kentucky State
Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Adults are
fossorial; some may construct their own burrows while others move
Life History into small mammal
tunnels, old root channels, and similar underground retreats;
most populations are
associated with native forest but at least one colony near
Lamasco is located
within a loblolly pine plantation.
Breeding takes place in a
variety of aquatic
situations including vernal pools, ponds, ditches, shallow
swamps, and low
spots in swampy woodlands; most known breeding sites in
Kentucky are located
within or close to forested areas. Some
populations that
breed in permanent
ponds here are paedomorphic but mass transformations
may occur when water
levels drop during prolonged dry periods (J.R.
MacGregor
data). The scattered series of isolated
rainfall-driven forested
wetlands located in
shallow sinkholes on the karst plain in southern Logan,
Todd, Christian, and
eastern Trigg counties form an interesting and important
population center
for the mole salamander in Kentucky.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Mole Salamander Ambystoma talpoideum
Key Habitat condition is generally FAIR in the
Jackson Purchase.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Logan County
2. Fulton County
3. Lyon County
Guilds Emergent and
shrub-dominated wetlands, forested wetland, standing water,
upland forest.
Statewide MoleSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5B Predation from native species. Fish getting into breeding ponds.
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Loss of
bottom
hardwoods/associated wetlands.
3K Surface mining
3M Timber harvest
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Northern Crawfish Frog Rana areolata
circulosa
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G4T4 S3 G4 S3
G-Trend Decreasing
G-Trend The northern
crawfish frog is discontinuously distributed in prairie regions and
Comment along the prairie-forest interface in the lower
midwest (Conant and Collins
1991, Minton
2001). The Kentucky distribution
includes 10 counties in the
Jackson Purchase and
Western Coal Field; extant populations occur in
Livingston County
and through much of the Jackson Purchase (Kentucky State
Nature Preserve
Commission 2004; J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend This frog is not
doing well rangewide. The crawfish frog
(Rana areolata) as a
Comment species is listed as "near threatened"
by the Global Amphibian Assessment as
of November 29,
2004. Minton (2001) noted that R. a.
circulosa was once
plentiful in
southwestern Indiana in the 1970’s but has since declined to the
point where it is
now listed as "Endangered" by IN.
Similar trends have been
reported in other
parts of the range. The northern
crawfish frog seems to be
doing well in some
portions of its range in Kentucky (i.e., at West Kentucky
Wildlife Management
Area in McCracken County) but may be disappearing
elsewhere. Recent (1984-2004) records exist from
Livingston County (J.R.
MacGregor and BPB
data) and from 6 counties in the Jackson Purchase region
(Hendricks 1991; Hendricks
pers. comm.) but none have been verified in
Hickman County or
the Western Coal Field in the past 20 years.
These frogs
are explosive
breeders and can be easily located only during the short but rather
unpredictable early
breeding season; during some years the proper weather
conditions never
come about and no breeding takes place.
Much additional
survey work is
warranted.
Habitat / Adults
characteristically spend most of their time underground in crayfish
Life History burrows, sometimes
emerging at night to feed. Most Kentucky
colonies are
associated with
prairie soils (W. D. Hendricks, pers. comm.) and occur
primarily in
pastures and other grassland habitats.
Breeding ponds can be either
seasonal or permanent and are primarily
located in agricultural landscapes. Our
general lack of knowledge concerning the
habitat requirements of adult northern
crawfish frogs outside the breeding season
warrants the gathering of additional
data by the use of
radiotelemetry on lands managed by state and/or federal
agencies (i.e. West
Kentucky Wildlife Management Area or Clarks River
National Wildlife
Refuge).
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Northern Crawfish Frog Rana areolata
circulosa
Key Habitat condition overall is FAIR.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. McCracken County
2. Marshall County
3. Livingston County
Guilds grassland/agricultural,
standing water.
Statewide NorthernCrawfishFrog.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5F Low population densities
5H Isolated populations (low gene flow)
5K Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting,
or breeding. Loss of suitable
breeding ponds and habitat loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/graded).
5L Parasitism and disease. Egg/tadpole mortality/die-off.
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Premature dry-up of breeding pools and ice
damage to eggs at
breeding pools.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Habitat
loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/graded).
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss (urban
expansion/development,
expansion into very limited range and
fragmentation by
highways/urbanization.
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Contamination by
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Fragmentation by
highways/urbanization.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS Amphibia
Northern Dusky Salamander Desmognathus fuscus
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5T5 S5 G5 S5
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend Apparently stable at
a rangewide scale, but local declines in Northern Dusky
Comment Salamander populations have been documented in some
portions of the range.
Petranka (1998)
refers to this salamander as one of the most common species in
North America.
The Northern Dusky
Salamander occurs in about 19 states in the eastern,
Midwestern, and
southeastern United States (U.S. Geological Survey/National
Amphibian Atlas,
accessed 3/15/2010). State heritage
programs list this species
as S4, S5, or
unranked throughout its range as follows: Connecticut (S4),
Delaware (S5),
District of Columbia (S5), Indiana (S4), Kentucky (S5), Maine
(S5), Maryland (S5),
Massachusetts (S4S5), New Hampshire (S5), New Jersey
(SNR), New York
(S5), North Carolina (S5), Ohio (SNR), Pennsylvania (S5),
Rhode Island (S4),
South Carolina (SNR), Tennessee (S5), Vermont (S5),
Virginia (S5), and
West Virginia (S5) (NatureServe, accessed 3/11/2010).
Despite this rosy
assessment, there appear to be problems in some areas.
Urbanization has
wiped out populations in portions of the Midwest and New
England (Lannoo
2005); stream scouring [from rapid runoff], siltation, and loss
of ground cover are
likely among the major reasons for low densities of this
species in urban
areas (Petranka 1998). Surface mining
has been implicated in
the elimination of
Northern Dusky Salamanders from many small streams in
portions of the
Appalachian region (Petranka 1998). “Dusky salamanders are
sensitive to stream
pollution and siltation. Desmognathus
fuscus larvae are
absent from many
streams draining coal strip mines in Kentucky and
Tennessee… stream
siltation and high metal concentrations appear to be the two
primary factors in
reducing or eliminating Desmognathus from these streams…”
(Gore 1983). Perhaps the most disturbing recent report
concerning this species
has come from Acadia
National Park in Maine: “We investigated and reviewed the
current and historic distribution of Northern
Dusky Salamanders in Acadia
National Park
(ANP)…during 1938-2003. Historical data
indicated that Northern
Dusky Salamanders
were once widespread and common in ANP.
We conducted
intensive surveys for stream salamanders
during 2000-2003 and observed only
two adult Northern
Dusky Salamanders on one stream. No eggs
or larvae were
observed…This
investigation is the first to document the decline of a stream-
dwelling amphibian
species in a national park with widespread mercury
contamination of its
surface waters.” (Bank et al 2006).
Another study
coauthored by some
members of this group (Bank, Crocker, Connery, and
Amirbahman 2007)
reported high levels of mercury in the tadpoles of green frogs
and bullfrogs from several ponds within Acadia
National Park. The source of
the mercury is
believed to be atmospheric deposition from solid waste
incinerators and
other facilities upwind from the park.
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Decreasing in at
least some sections of Kentucky. The
Northern Dusky
Comment Salamander is being added to the Kentucky
Wildlife Action Plan on the basis of
documented
population declines in the Mammoth Cave National Park region
(MacGregor 2007) and
large sections of the state impacted by surface mining
(i.e. see Gore
1983), and suspected declines in Rowan and Elliott counties in
northeastern
Kentucky (MacGregor, unpublished data).
Barbour (1971)
considered the Northern Dusky Salamander to be an abundant
species in the
state, writing that “…Nearly every little woodland stream in
Kentucky supports a
population.” Data gleaned from numerous
museum
collections and
biologists’ field notes shows that this species has been
documented from
about 80 Kentucky counties and ranges across the state from
the Cumberland River
in Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg counties eastward to the
Virginia and West
Virginia borders. The only large gaps in
the Kentucky range
are in portions of
the Bluegrass Region and Western Coal Field.
West of the
Cumberland River
this species is replaced by the closely-related Spotted Dusky
Salamander
(Desmognathus conanti).
The best-documented
decline in the Northern Dusky Salamander in Kentucky has
taken place at Mammoth Cave National Park
(MCNP), a 70,000-acre block of
land that has seen
very little disturbance since the time that much of the area was
purchased for
protection in the 1930’s. Museum
specimens and field note
records in MCNP
files for this salamander from springs and spring-fed creeks
within the park date
back as far as 1929; many additional collections and
observations were
made through the 1930’s and these salamanders continued to
be found in
abundance at least until 1961. In the
early 1980’s, Marilyn Hale, a
graduate student at
the University of Louisville, conducted an amphibian survey at
MCNP and was able to document Northern Duskies
in very low numbers and at
only two locations
within the park (Hale 1984). More
recently, MacGregor
(2007) searched
nearly every previously known Northern Dusky Salamander
location within the
park and was able to locate only a single specimen in a rocky
spring in the head
of Big Hollow – an area where the species had been seen
abundantly in
1961. All of these springs and headwater
streams that were
surveyed still
contain Southern Two-lined Salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera),
Longtail Salamanders
(E. longicauda), and Red Salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber)
but the Northern
Dusky Salamanders have virtually disappeared.
Other serious
declines appear to
have taken place in the areas near Morehead in northeastern
Kentucky but the
historic locality data is so vague that good documentation of
population changes
is difficult. Coal is largely absent
from this region and there
has been little or
no mining activity.
Habitat / Barbour (1971) wrote
that: “…they are far more abundant under the stones and
Life logs along small woodland streams…springs and
spring runs are commonly
History inhabited.
Information from NatureServe (accessed 3/11/2010) described the
habitat as follows:
“Rock-strewn woodland streams, seepages, and
springs…usually near
running or trickling water…hides under leaves, rocks, or
other objects in or
near water, or in burrows. Eggs are laid near water under
moss or rocks, in
logs, and in stream-bank cavities. Larval stage usually aquatic.”
Northern Dusky Salamanders remain fairly
common in many areas in eastern
Kentucky where there
are rocky woodland streams that have not been severely
impacted by coal
mining and other mineral extraction activities.
Key Carter County (along
Cave Branch at Carter Caves State Resort Park).
Habitat
Guilds Caves, rock
shelters, and clifflines, Forested wetland, Running water, Upland
forest.
Statewide Northern_Dusky_Salamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Aquatic habitat degradation
2B Gravel/sand removal or quarrying (e.g., mineral
excavation). Degradation of
headwater stream
habitat by gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture
and development, alteration or loss of springs
and seeps, and valley fills.
Adults and aquatic
larvae are affected.
2E Stream channelization/ditching. Degradation of headwater stream habitat by
gravel mining,
stream channelization, agriculture and development, alteration
or loss of springs
and seeps, and valley fills. Adults and
aquatic larvae are
affected.
2F Riparian zone removal
(Agriculture/development). Degradation
of headwater
stream habitat by
gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture and
development,
alteration or loss of springs and seeps, and valley fills. Adults
and aquatic larvae
are affected.
2I Periodic cessation or removal of spring flows or
seeps. Degradation of
headwater stream
habitat by gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture
and development, alteration or loss of springs
and seeps, and valley fills.
Adults and aquatic
larvae are affected.
2M Valley fills.
Degradation of headwater stream habitat by gravel mining,
stream
channelization, agriculture and development, alteration or loss of
springs and seeps,
and valley fills. Adults and aquatic
larvae are affected.
Biological/ consumptive uses
5H Isolated populations (low gene flow). Biological and consumptive factors
likely to be
affecting this species in Kentucky include low gene flow between
isolated populations (particularly in the
Bluegrass Region)
5L Parasitism and disease. Biological and consumptive factors likely to
be
affecting this
species in Kentucky include emerging
diseases such as chytrid
fungus.
5O Bait collection.
Bait collection may affect local populations but does not
seem to be a major
factor in the current decline.
Point and non-point source pollution
4A Acid mine drainage other coal mining impacts . Impacts to headwater
stream ecosystems
from coal mining, oil and gas drilling, and highway runoff
(deicing salts, etc.).
4D Oil and gas drilling operations associated runoff. Impacts to headwater
stream ecosystems
from coal mining, oil and gas drilling, and highway runoff
(deicing salts, etc.).
4I Runoff from transportation routes (deicing salt,
gas, others). Impacts to
headwater stream
ecosystems from coal mining, oil and gas drilling, and
highway runoff
(deicing salts, etc.).
Siltation and increased turbidity
1A Coal mining.
Siltation and increased turbidity from coal mining, agriculture,
road construction,
urbanization, timber harvest, and certain recreational
activities such as
horseback riding and ATV use. Such
activities can
smother larvae in
headwater streams.
1B Agriculture.
Siltation and increased turbidity from coal mining, agriculture,
road construction,
urbanization, timber harvest, and certain recreational
activities such as
horseback riding and ATV use. Such
activities can
smother larvae in
headwater streams.
1C Road construction. Siltation and increased turbidity from coal
mining,
agriculture, road
construction, urbanization, timber harvest, and certain
recreational
activities such as horseback riding and ATV use. Such activities
can smother larvae
in headwater streams.
1D Urbanization/Development General Construction. Siltation and increased
turbidity from coal
mining, agriculture, road construction, urbanization,
timber harvest, and
certain recreational activities such as horseback riding
and ATV use. Such activities can smother larvae in
headwater streams.
1E Silviculture.
Siltation and increased turbidity from coal mining, agriculture,
road construction,
urbanization, timber harvest, and certain recreational
activities such as
horseback riding and ATV use. Such
activities can
smother larvae in
headwater streams.
1F Recreational activities (atv, horseback
riding). Siltation and increased
turbidity from coal
mining, agriculture, road construction, urbanization,
timber harvest, and
certain recreational activities such as horseback riding
and ATV use. Such activities can smother larvae in
headwater streams.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3J Bridge/Highway construction/maintenance. Terrestrial habitat degradation in
areas bordering
headwater streams, springs, and seeps by road construction,
– populations become
fragmented and unique essential microhabitats such as
springs and seeps
are lost or degraded.
3K Surface mining.
Terrestrial habitat degradation in areas bordering headwater
streams, springs,
and seeps by surface mining – populations become
fragmented and
unique essential microhabitats such as springs and seeps are
lost or degraded.
3M Timber harvest.
Terrestrial habitat degradation in areas bordering headwater
streams, springs,
and seeps by timber harvest, become fragmented and
unique essential
microhabitats such as springs and seeps are lost or degraded.
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides,
herbicides, acid rain).
Terrestrial habitat
degradation in areas bordering headwater streams, springs,
and seeps by various kinds of water pollution
– populations become
fragmented and
unique essential microhabitats such as springs and seeps are
lost or degraded.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Terrestrial habitat degradation in
areas bordering
headwater streams, springs, and seeps by cause populations
become fragmented
and unique essential microhabitats such as springs and
seeps are lost or
degraded.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats. Terrestrial
habitat degradation
in areas bordering headwater streams, springs, and seeps
by cause populations
become fragmented and unique essential microhabitats
such as springs and
seeps are lost or degraded.
Unknown factors/variables
7A Unknown
threats. They nearly disappeared from
springs and spring-fed
creeks in the
vicinity of Mammoth Cave National Park where they once
could be found in
abundance. Similar declines are
suspected in NE
Kentucky. The exact
causes of these declines remain unknown.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Northern Leopard Frog Rana pipiens
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Decreasing
G-Trend The northern leopard
frog is a widely distributed species in the northern,
Comment midwestern, and northeastern U.S. The range extends southward through the
Bluegrass Region of
Kentucky (Conant and Collins 1991). It
is known
historically from at
least 22 Kentucky counties extending westward from
Mason County to
Carroll County along the Ohio River and southward into
Mercer, Jessamine,
and Madison counties (Kentucky State Nature Preserve
Commission 2004,
J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Northern leopard
frog populations have declined dramatically throughout large
Comment sections of the range, but the species does seem
to be holding its own at least in
some areas. The available data indicates that northern
leopard frogs are
declining here and
have become scarce or extirpated in many Bluegrass counties
in Kentucky. Although new sites are being found with some
degree of
regularity, most of
these have not been monitored long enough to generate any
long-term data. Recent records (1984-2004) exist for northern
leopard frogs in
only 10 Kentucky
counties; all others (12 counties) are considered historical.
The northern leopard
frog was a common species in rural Jessamine County
through most of the
1970’s but disappeared abruptly in 1980 (J.R. MacGregor
data); it was also
common during the 1960’s in Mason County, when a number
of specimens were
collected and deposited at the University of Kentucky, but
many years have
passed since a live individual has been seen there as well.
Habitat / Adult northern
leopard frogs are most often found in low meadows, grassy
Life History fields, and pastures
bordering ponds, swampy areas, and sluggish streams. At
least some tree
cover is usually present nearby, but the frogs seem to do most
of their insect
hunting in the open areas. Typical
breeding sites are seasonal or
permanent ponds
located in pastures or old fields; submerged and emergent
vegetation are
usually present in these ponds. Swamps
and oxbows serve as
excellent breeding
habitat but these are scarce in the highly modified landscapes
of the
Bluegrass. On the Kentucky River
Wildlife Management Area in Owen
and Henry counties,
northern leopard frogs have been documented in 2003 and
2004 as calling from
several areas of recent origin (2 moist soil units and a
shallow flooded
field behind a beaver dam). Tadpoles were
present in the moist
soil units later in the season but not at the
beaver dam where fish predation is
likely posing a
problem.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Northern Leopard Frog Rana pipiens
Key Habitat condition overall is UNKNOWN. However, many ponds that appear
Habitat suitable for use as breeding sites are
unoccupied, and there are often long
distances between
known breeding colonies.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Scott County
2. Franklin County
3. Owen and Henry
counties
4. Madison County
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands,
grassland/agricultural, standing water.
Statewide NorthernLeopardFrog.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5B Predation from native species. Competition/predation by bullfrogs
(NatureServe 2004).
5K Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting,
or breeding. Loss of suitable
breeding ponds and habitat loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/graded).
5L Parasitism and disease. Disease problems (adult die-offs).
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Premature dry-up of breeding pools and ice
damage to eggs at
breeding pools.
Populations in Indiana have declined drastically (Minton
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Habitat
loss (agriculture -
breeding sites filled/grades).
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss (urban
expansion/development),
urban expansion into very limited range and
fragmentation by
highways/urbanization.
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Contamination by
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Fragmentation by
highways/urbanization
(NatureServe 2004).
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Redback Salamander Plethodon cinereus
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N S G5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Widespread
throughout northeastern U.S. and adjacent Canada, barely extending
Comment into northern Kentucky (Conant and Collins
1991). The northern redback
salamander is known
only from a limited area of northern Kentucky in portions
of Boone, Kenton,
and Owen counties; there is also a single specimen from
Fleming County in
the University of Louisville collection (Kentucky
Herpetology Database
2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission
Database 2004, J.R.
MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Northern redback salamanders
tend to be quite abundant in good habitat.
Comment Populations appear to be doing well along Eagle
Creek in Owen County and at a
few recently visited sites in Boone and Kenton
counties (J.R. MacGregor field
data 2000-2004), but
no organized monitoring has been done to check on the
condition of most
populations. Urban and industrial
development continues to
impact potential
habitat at a rapid rate in northern Kentucky, and this species is
almost certainly on the decline in that region
of the state. Efforts to locate
additional specimens
in Fleming County have thus far been unsuccessful (J.R.
MacGregor data).
Habitat / The northern redback
salamander is completely terrestrial.
Adults and juveniles
Life History live in wooded
areas; females deposit small clusters of eggs in early summer in
underground retreats
or within decaying stumps and logs.
Larval development
takes place within
the egg and thus there is no free-living aquatic larval stage.
Populations are
highest on ridges and steep slopes with mature forest cover,
abundant leaf litter
and/or woody debris on the surface, and (often) rocky or
gravelly soils (J.R.
MacGregor). These salamanders appear to
be able to persist
in low numbers in developed areas as long as
some forest cover, adequate
access to
underground winter/dry weather retreats, and leaf litter or other
surface debris
remain available.
Key Habitat condition at the present time is only
FAIR, and the prognosis for the
Habitat foreseeable future is generally POOR.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Owen County
2. Boone County
3. Boone County
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Redback Salamander Plethodon cinereus
Guilds upland forest.
Statewide RedbackSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss and fragmentation from
development.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (drying of forest floor/leaf litter).
3Q Invasive/exotic plants (including fescue). Exotic shrubs (Lonicera maackii).
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Fragmentation from
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Southern Leopard Frog Rana sphenocephala
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S5 G5 S5
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend The southern leopard
frog is widely distributed in the southeastern U.S.
Comment (Conant and Collins 1991). Southern leopard frogs are known from about
70
counties extending
throughout all of southern and western
Kentucky (to the
south and west of
the Bluegrass) with a northeastern extension through the
eastern Knobs into
Carter, Lewis, and Greenup counties; the species is
generally absent
from the rugged terrain of eastern Kentucky and from the
Bluegrass Region
(J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Populations are
probably stable both rangewide and throughout much the
Comment species’ range in Kentucky. The southern leopard frogs in Carter, Lewis,
and
Greenup counties and
taxonomically perplexing - southern leopard frogs in this
area seem somewhat
intermediate between this form and the northern leopard
frog - and appear to
be in decline. The southern leopard frog
is considered to be
a common species here and records are not
tracked by Kentucky State Nature
Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Adult southern
leopard frogs are most often found in meadows, grassy fields,
Life History pastures, and other
open habitats near ponds, swamps, and streams and in edge
habitats bordering
bottomland forests. Like northern
leopard frogs, these frogs
seem to do most of
their insect hunting in the open areas.
Typical breeding
sites are seasonal
or permanent ponds, road ruts, and shallow swamps and
other wetlands
located in or near open areas. Submerged
and emergent
vegetation will
usually be present in these ponds.
Key Habitat condition overall is GOOD, except for
the disappearing population in
Habitat the northeastern part of the state where it is
POOR.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Greenup County
2. Ballard County
3. Adair County
Guilds Emergent and shrub-dominated wetlands, forested
wetland,
grassland/agricultural,
standing water, upland forest.
Statewide SouthernLeopardFrog.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Southern Leopard Frog Rana sphenocephala
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5K Lack of suitable habitat for spawning, nesting,
or breeding. Habitat loss
(agriculture -
breeding sites filled/grades).
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
6G Stochastic events
(droughts, unusual weather, pine beetle damage, flooding
etc.). Premature dry-up of breeding pools and ice
damage to eggs at
breeding pools.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc).
Loss/conversion of
bottomland hardwoods and habitat loss (agriculture -
breeding sites
filled/graded).
3F Urban/residential development. Habitat loss (urban expansion/development
and urban expansion into very limited range
(affects isolated Rana
sphenocephala
populations along Ohio River in northeast Kentucky).
3K Surface mining
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Contamination by
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Wetland fragmentation
(mining/agriculture).
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Southern Zigzag Salamander Plethodon ventralis
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G4 S4 G4 S4
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend The southern zigzag
salamander ranges from south-central Kentucky southward
Comment into central Alabama (Highton 1997). The species is known from 19 Kentucky
counties; it occurs from Cumberland and
Whitley north into the Knob region of
Estill, Garrard, and Lincoln, west to the
eastern edges of Green and Metcalfe
counties (J.R.
MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend This newly-described
species is apparently doing well; new populations are
Comment continuing to be discovered (J.R. MacGregor
data) as additional fieldwork is
done to work out the
contact zone between this species and the eastern zigzag
salamander (P.
dorsalis) and to determine the extent of its range in the
southeastern portion
of the state. It seems most common in
McCreary County
and in the Mississippian limestone regions of
Jackson, Lincoln, Rockcastle,
Pulaski, Adair,
Clinton, and Wayne counties. Recent
(1984-2004) records exist
for all Kentucky
counties within the known range (J.R. MacGregor data). This
species is not
tracked by Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / The southern zigzag
salamander is completely terrestrial.
Adults and juveniles
Life History live in wooded
areas; females deposit small clusters of eggs in early summer in
underground
retreats. Larval development takes place
within the egg and thus
there is no
free-living aquatic larval stage.
Populations are highest on ridges and
steep slopes with
mature forest cover, abundant leaf litter and/or woody debris
on the surface, and
(often) rocky soils or much outcropped rock (J.R.
MacGregor
data). It is more or less a habitat
specialist; most populations occur
along shaded clifflines and rock outcrops
(including caves and rock shelters). It
is also quite common in abandoned limestone
quarries.
Key Habitat condition for this species is generally
GOOD. Daniel Boone National
Habitat Forest cliffline and cave management guidelines
should ensure that forest cover
is maintained in
some of the best habitat throughout the southern portion of the
Cliff Section of the Cumberland Plateau.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. McCreary County
2. Lincoln County
3. Jackson and
Rockcastle counties
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Southern Zigzag Salamander Plethodon ventralis
Guilds caves, rock shelters, and clifflines, upland
forest.
Statewide SouthernZigzagSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual reuse
of fields, etc)
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (without cliffline buffers) and drying of forest
floor leaf litter.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Surface mining causing
fragmentation.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS Amphibia
Spotted Dusky Salamander Desmognathus conanti
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5T5 S3 G5 S3
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend Apparently stable on
a rangewide scale, but local declines in Spotted Dusky
Comment Salamander populations have been documented in
some portions of the range. At
the present time, the extensive contact zone
between the Northern and Spotted
Dusky Salamanders
has not been thoroughly documented and the ranges of these
two very similar species have not been
completely worked out in many areas,
including southern
Illinois (Bonett 2002).
Spotted Dusky
Salamanders occur in about 9 states, ranging from extreme
southern Illinois
(?) and western Kentucky southward and eastward into eastern
Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and northwestern Florida
(U.S. Geological
Survey/National Amphibian Atlas, accessed 3/15/2010). Five
state heritage
programs within its range list this species as S5 as follows:
Alabama (S5),
Georgia (S5), Louisiana (S5), Mississippi (S5), and Tennessee
(S5), but it is
listed as an S1 species in Arkansas, S2 in Illinois, and S3 in
Kentucky and is
unranked in Florida (NatureServe, accessed 3/11/2010).
Populations along
Crowley’s Ridge in eastern Arkansas seem to have disappeared
(Lannoo 2005).
Other local populations have been extirpated or reduced as a
result of
urbanization (near Atlanta, GA – Orser and Shure 1972) and stream
siltation and
sedimentation due to the effects of construction and farming
(Petranka
1998). A recent study completed at Eglin
Air Force Base in
northwestern Florida
(Means and Travis 2007) showed that Spotted Dusky
Salamanders had
declined in numbers by 68% between an early survey during
1969-1975 and a
second survey of the same ravines by the same researcher in
1997-1998. Salamander capture rates in 26 ravines
sampled both times fell from
13.56/hour during
the initial survey to 4.66/hour during the follow-up study.
During the same
study, Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus)
numbers fell from 8.65/hour to 0 – showing
total extirpation – while catch per
unit effort remained
nearly unchanged between the survey periods for both the
Southern Two-lined
Salamander and Red Salamander. The areas
surveyed for
salamanders were
forested ravines and steepheads that had not been logged or
otherwise visibly
disturbed between survey periods.
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend The Spotted Dusky
Salamander is being added to the Kentucky Wildlife Action
Comment Plan due to its ecological similarity to the
Northern Dusky Salamander, its limited
range in our state
that includes at least two small, isolated, fragile populations,
and the unexplained
declines that have occurred in other parts of the range
(Crowley’s Ridge in
Arkansas and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida).
The Type Locality
for the Spotted Dusky Salamander is a small unnamed spring-
fed stream located
about 2 miles south of Smithland in Livingston County
(Rossman 1958.
Spotted Dusky
Salamanders are known from 7 counties in western Kentucky.
The largest
populations occur between the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in
Livingston County,
at Land Between the Lakes (LBL) in Lyon and Trigg counties,
and in the Blood River drainage in
southeastern Calloway County. Additional
populations are
scattered and isolated; a colony occurs in the Terrapin Creek
drainage in Graves
County near the Calloway County line; another occupies
several small
springs near the Tennessee River in northeastern McCracken
County; and a small
colony occupies seepage habitats near Laketon in Carlisle
County. The McCracken County and Carlisle County
populations appear to be
very vulnerable to
extirpation. A formerly healthy
population of Spotted Dusky
Salamanders
inhabiting a spring-fed woodland stream on the west side of LBL
was eliminated
during the relocation and reconstruction of highway 68/80 during
2008-2009 (JRM,
personal observation).
Habitat / Populations in
Livingston, Lyon, and Trigg counties occupy small rocky spring-
Life fed creeks in forested habitats. Populations along the Blood River and
Terrapin
History Creek occur in cold springs, seeps, and lowland
spring-fed streams along the
floodplain in close
association with another SWAP species, the Three-lined
Salamander (Eurycea
guttolineata). Extensive logging
activity north of Grubbs
Road in Calloway
County in the mid-2000’s resulted in extensive sediment
deposits at some
downstream locations. The imperiled McCracken County
colony occupies at
least 2 small gravelly streams within the city limits of
Paducah. The highly imperiled Carlisle County colony
occurs in seepage habitat
at the base of the
loess bluffs bordering the Mississippi River floodplain near
Laketon (MacGregor,
unpublished data).
Key Generally Good at
LBL since Forest Service management will likely maintain
Habitat forest cover along headwater streams. Fair in Blood River area and Terrapin
Creek where sites
are vulnerable to activities on private lands nearby. Poor in
McCracken and
Carlisle counties where colonies are small and isolated.
Guilds Forested wetland, Running water, Upland forest.
Statewide Spotted_Dusky_Salamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Aquatic habitat degradation
2B Gravel/sand removal or quarrying (e.g., mineral
excavation). Degradation of
headwater stream
habitat by gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture
and development, and alteration or loss of
springs and seeps. Adults and
aquatic larvae are
affected.
2E Stream channelization/ditching. Degradation of headwater stream habitat by
gravel mining,
stream channelization, agriculture and development, and
alteration or loss
of springs and seeps. Adults and aquatic larvae are affected.
2F Riparian zone removal
(Agriculture/development). Degradation
of headwater
stream habitat by
gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture and
development, and
alteration or loss of springs and seeps. Adults and aquatic
larvae are affected.
2I Periodic cessation or removal of spring flows or
seeps. Degradation of
headwater stream
habitat by gravel mining, stream channelization, agriculture
and development, and alteration or loss of
springs and seeps. Adults and
aquatic larvae are
affected.
Biological/ consumptive uses
5H Isolated populations (low gene flow). Biological and consumptive factors
likely to be
affecting this species in Kentucky include low gene flow between
isolated populations (particularly in
Carlisle, Graves, and McCracken
counties)
5L Parasitism and disease. Biological and consumptive factors likely to
be
affecting this
species in Kentucky include emerging diseases such as chytrid
fungus.
5O Bait collection.
Bait collection may be affecting some populations but does
not seem to be a
major factor in the current decline.
Point and non-point source pollution
4I Runoff from transportation routes (deicing salt,
gas, others). Impacts to
headwater stream
ecosystems from highway runoff (deicing salts, etc.).
Siltation and increased turbidity
1B Agriculture.
Siltation and increased turbidity from agriculture, road
construction, timber
harvest, and certain recreational activities such as
horseback riding and
ATV use. Such activities can smother
larvae in
headwater streams.
1C Road construction. Siltation and increased turbidity from
agriculture, road
construction, timber
harvest, and certain recreational activities such as
horseback riding and
ATV use. Such activities can smother
larvae in
headwater streams.
1E Silviculture.
Siltation and increased turbidity from agriculture, road
construction, timber
harvest, and certain recreational activities such as
horseback riding and
ATV use. Such activities can smother
larvae in
headwater streams.
1F Recreational activities (atv, horseback
riding). Siltation and increased
turbidity from
agriculture, road construction, timber harvest, and certain
recreational
activities such as horseback riding and ATV use. Such activities
can smother larvae
in headwater streams.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3J Bridge/Highway construction/maintenance. Terrestrial habitat degradation in
areas bordering
headwater streams, springs, and seeps by road construction.
Road construction has recently eliminated an
excellent site at LBL.
3M Timber harvest.
Terrestrial habitat degradation in areas bordering headwater
streams, springs,
and seeps by timber harvest– populations become
fragmented and unique
essential microhabitats such as springs and seeps are
lost or
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Terrestrial habitat
degradation bordering headwater streams,
springs, and
seeps by road
construction, timber harvest, and agricultural runoff –
populations become
fragmented and unique essential microhabitats such as
springs and seeps
are lost/degraded
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Terrestrial habitat degradation
bordering headwater
streams, springs, and seeps by road construction,
timber harvest, and
agricultural runoff – populations become fragmented and
unique essential
microhabitats such as springs and seeps are lost/degraded
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats. Terrestrial
habitat
degradation bordering headwater streams,
springs, and seeps by road
construction, timber harvest, and agricultural
runoff – populations become
fragmented and
unique essential microhabitats such as springs and seeps are
lost/degraded
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Streamside Salamander Ambystoma barbouri
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G4 S4 G4 S4
G-Trend Stable
G-Trend Very limited range in
central Kentucky, extending into western West Virginia,
Comment southwest Ohio, and southeast Indiana; also
Livingston County, Kentucky
(Conant and Collins
1991). Recently discovered in middle
Tennessee (Scott
19xx). Nearly endemic to Kentucky. Recorded from about 60 Kentucky
counties ranging
from Breckinridge to Lawrence, south to the Tennessee state
line in Wayne,
Clinton, and Cumberland counties; also isolated in Livingston
County (J.R.
MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Apparently stable;
confirmed in at least 49 counties since 1984 (J.R.
Comment MacGregor data); one of the most frequently
encountered salamanders within
its range during
road cruises on suitable rainy evenings in fall, winter, and
spring; eggs and
larvae can readily be found in appropriate habitat from the
onset of breeding
through late spring and early summer (J.R. MacGregor 2004;
East Kentucky Power
Cooperative data). This species is not
tracked by
Kentucky State
Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / Adults are
fossorial; some construct their own burrows while others move into
Life History small mammal
tunnels, old root channels, and similar underground retreats.
Breeding takes place
in a variety of aquatic situations including vernal pools, old
tire ruts, ponds, ditches, low spots in swampy
woodlands, and headwater
streams. The common name “streamside salamander” is
something of a
misnomer; the adults
can be found in and along small creeks in the Bluegrass
Region during the
breeding season but (like other Ambystoma) move to more
terrestrial habitats
during the remainder of the year.
Although the adults of
most Kentucky
Ambystoma species appear to require forested habitat outside
of the breeding
season, the streamside salamander and the closely-related
smallmouth
salamander (Ambystoma texanum), along with the eastern tiger
salamander (A.
tigrinum), seem to be able to persist in open habitats as well.
Streamside
salamanders are frequently dug or plowed from gardens in rural and
suburban areas in
the Bluegrass Region, and eggs and larvae are often observed
in urban backyard
streams and ditches and agriculture areas (J.R. MacGregor
data).
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Streamside Salamander Ambystoma barbouri
Key Habitat Condition is FAIR to GOOD overall.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Adair County
2. Jessamine County
3. Jessamine County
Guilds forested wetland, grassland/agricultural,
running water, standing water, upland
forest.
Statewide StreamsideSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Point and non-point source pollution
4D Oil and gas drilling operations associated runoff
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc)
3F Urban/residential development. Urban development (habitat loss).
3P Pollution/toxicity (e.g., heavy metals,
pesticides, herbicides, acid rain).
Agriculture
pesticides/herbicides.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Three-lined Salamander Eurycea guttolineata
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N T G5 S2 G5 S2
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Widespread in
southeastern U.S., ranging northward to the east of the
Comment Mississippi River into extreme southwestern
Kentucky (Conant and Collins
1991). In Kentucky, the three-lined salamander
occurs only in the Terrapin
Creek and Blood
River drainages in the Jackson Purchase region (Kentucky
Herpetology Database
2004, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission
Database 2004, J.R.
MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
S-Trend Decreasing
S-Trend Three-lined
salamanders continue to occur in both areas where they have
Comment historically been found. The Terrapin Creek population appears to be
doing
well (J.R. MacGregor
2004 field data) but the Blood River population at
McCuiston Woods was
apparently impacted by sediment from one or more
upstream logging
operations (J.R. MacGregor 2003 and 2004 field data) that
eliminated virtually
all larvae in several lowland springs and made adults very
difficult to find.
Habitat / In Kentucky, the
three-lined salamander occurs most commonly under fallen
Life History bark, downed wood, and
drift piles near cold springs and spring-fed creeks
along the forested
floodplains of Terrapin Creek and Blood River.
General
habitat types used
by this species here include cypress and tupelo swamps,
sluggish streams and
adjacent floodplains, springs, buttonbush ponds, open
wetlands with
emergent vegetation, and bottomland hardwood forests.
Crayfish burrows are
used as emergency retreats to escape from predators and
as refugia during
cold or dry weather. Eggs are presumably
laid underground in
springs during the
winter months; larvae develop in springs with cover in the
form of dead leaves
and woody debris, watercress, or similar vegetative cover.
Key Habitat condition is only FAIR overall.
Habitat
Following Key Habitats
(good):
1. Calloway County
2. Graves County
Guilds forested wetland,
running water.
Statewide Three-linedSalamander.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Three-lined Salamander Eurycea guttolineata
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5F Low population densities. Always has been rare in Kentucky.
Miscellaneous Mortality Factors
6A Traffic/road kills
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Loss of
bottom
hardwoods/associated wetlands.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging (drying of forest floor/leaf litter).
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
3V Long-term loss of hard mast trees (American
Chestnut, poor oak
regeneration). Loss of seeps from mining/logging.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Three-toed Amphiuma Amphiuma tridactylum
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N E G5 S1 G5 S1
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend South-central U.S.,
northward along Mississippi River lowlands to extreme
Comment southeast Missouri and southwest Kentucky
(Conant and Collins 1991).
Occurs in the western
tip of Kentucky, with recent records from Fulton and
Hickman counties;
also one pre-1971 record from Ballard Wildlife Management
Area (Ballard County
- photo by Tom C. Fuller in Barbour 1971) and a
specimen from
"Kentucky Lake" (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004,
Kentucky State
Nature Preserves Commission Database 2004, J.R. MacGregor
Herpetology Maps
2004). This species is difficult to trap
and monitor, and
therefore its total
range in the state is poorly known (J.R. MacGregor data).
S-Trend Stable
S-Trend Apparently doing
well at known locations in Fulton and Hickman counties;
Comment recorded from 2000-2004 in both areas. Additional field survey work is needed.
Habitat / Occurs in cypress
swamps and other extensive forested wetlands.
Several have
Life History been found in
seasonally flooded ditches in the Reelfoot Lake area; may burrow
into the soil and
aestivate when habitat dries out in summer/fall (J.R.
MacGregor data).
Key Habitat condition is FAIR overall.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Fulton County
2. Hickman County
Guilds Emergent and
shrub-dominated wetlands.
Statewide Three-toedAmphiuma.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Three-toed Amphiuma Amphiuma tridactylum
Conservation Issues
Aquatic habitat degradation
2E Stream channelization/ditching. Channelization/riparian wetland loss.
2H Wetland loss/drainage/alteration . Loss of bottom hardwoods/assoc
wetlands and loss of
cypress swamps/assoc wetlands.
Biological/ consumptive uses
5F Low population densities. Always has been rare in Kentucky.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Loss of
bottom
hardwoods/associated wetlands.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Wehrle's Salamander Plethodon wehrlei
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N E G5 S1 G5 S1
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend Wehrle’s salamander
occurs in the Appalachian Mountains and outliers from
Comment extreme southwestern New York to the northern
edge of North Carolina
(Conant and Collins
1991). Isolated populations of a
peculiar yellow-spotted
morph occupy a
series of scattered locations in the Pine Mountain area of
Kentucky/Tennessee
and southwestern Virginia; these have been recorded from
a total of 3 sites
in southeastern Kentucky, all of which are situated in and near
the Cumberland
Mountains (Kentucky Herpetology Database 2004, Kentucky
State Nature
Preserves Commission Database 2004, J.R. MacGregor
Herpetology Maps
2004).
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend Overall population
trends are generally unknown rangewide for the species and
Comment are also unknown - but probably stable - for the
yellow-spotted form that
occurs in
Kentucky. A visit to the Lilley Cornett
Woods site (Letcher County)
in April 2004 yielded 3 live individuals; a
new location was discovered in in
2004 Harlan County
(by James Kiser). Several evenings of
searching at the
Pine Mountain
Wildlife Management Area locality during 2004 failed to yield
additional
specimens; the record here consists of a single juvenile that was
collected in a
pitfall trap.
Habitat / Like other members
of the genus Plethodon, Wehrle’s salamander is completely
Life History terrestrial. In Kentucky, they are associated strongly
with cliffs and probably
occur also in caves
and on rocky wooded slopes. Reproduction
is poorly
documented; it is
likely that the females deposit small clusters of eggs
terrestrially in
underground retreats. Larval development
takes place within the
egg and thus there is no free-living aquatic
larval stage. Like several other
Kentucky
salamanders, this species is a habitat specialist dependent upon rock
crevice habitats;
all known populations occur along and near shaded sandstone,
limestone, or shale
clifflines (including areas near abandoned coal mine
entrances).
Key Habitat condition within the limited known range
of Wehrle’s salamander in
Habitat Kentucky appears to be GOOD.
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Letcher County
Guilds caves, rock
shelters, and clifflines, Cumberland highland forest, upland forest.
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Wehrle's Salamander Plethodon wehrlei
Statewide Wehrle'sSalamander.pdf
Map
Conservation Issues
Biological/ consumptive uses
5F Low population densities. Always has been rare in Kentucky.
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3K Surface mining.
Surface mining and mountaintop removal.
3M Timber harvest.
Logging without cliffline buffers and drying of forest floor
leaf litter.
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation. Surface mining.
3U Loss, lack and degradation of special and unique
microhabitats
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Western Lesser Siren Siren intermedia
nettingi
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5T5 S3S4 G5 S3
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend The western lesser
siren occurs throughout the south-central U.S., extending
Comment northward in Mississippi River drainage into
Illinois and Indiana; isolated
populations have
been found in northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan
(Conant and Collins
1991). This species is known from about
18 counties in
western Kentucky,
ranging essentially throughout the Jackson Purchase and
also occurring at
scattered locations in Land Between The Lakes National
Recreation Area and
the Western Coal Field (J.R. MacGregor Herpetology
Maps 2004).
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend Population trends
are unknown, but the western lesser siren may be on the
Comment decline in Kentucky. Recent (1984-2004) records are available from
only 11
counties, but this
species is difficult to capture without the use of specialized
trapping techniques;
further survey work is needed. This
species is not tracked
by Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission.
Habitat / The western lesser
siren dwells in various types of wetland habitat ranging from
Life History cypress and tupelo
swamps and flooded areas in bottomland hardwoods to
sluggish streams,
oxbows, bayous, sloughs, buttonbush ponds, open wetlands
with emergent
vegetation, ditches, and flooded fields; it may burrow into the
soil and estivates
during dry periods.
Key Habitat condition for the siren in Kentucky is
generally only FAIR.
Habitat
Following Key
Habitats (good):
1. Hickman County
2. Livingston County
3. Trigg County
Guilds Emergent and
shrub-dominated wetlands, standing water.
Statewide WesternLesserSiren.pdf
Map
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Western Lesser Siren Siren intermedia
nettingi
Conservation Issues
Aquatic habitat degradation
2E Stream channelization/ditching. Channelization/riparian wetland loss.
2H Wetland loss/drainage/alteration . Loss of bottom hardwoods/assoc
wetlands and loss of
cypress swamps/assoc wetlands.
Point and non-point source pollution
4A Acid mine drainage other coal mining impacts . Acid mine drainage/runoff
contamination.
4D Oil and gas drilling operations associated runoff
Terrestrial habitat degradation
3A Row-crop agriculture (conversion to, annual
reuse of fields, etc). Loss of
bottom
hardwoods/associated wetlands.
3K Surface mining
3R Habitat and/or Population Fragmentation
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Wood Frog Rana sylvatica
Federal Heritage GRank SRank GRank SRank
Status Status (Simplified) (Simplified)
N N G5 S5 G5 S5
G-Trend Unknown
G-Trend The wood frog is
widely distributed in the northern and central U.S. (Conant
Comment and Collins 1991). This species is common throughout much of
eastern and
south-central
Kentucky (from 70 counties), becoming sporadically distributed
to the west across
the Mississippian Plateau. It is scarce
and local in the
Western Coal Field;
isolated colonies also occur in uplands along the Kentucky
River in Fayette
County and in the wooded bottoms along the Ohio River in
Bracken and Campbell
counties (J.R. MacGregor Herpetology Maps 2004).
Woods frogs from
Fayette County were introduced into a woodland pond near
Fort Bramlett in
Jessamine County and have returned to breed there for 2
consecutive years
(J.R. MacGregor data).
S-Trend Unknown
S-Trend Long considered a
common species in eastern Kentucky, the wood frog remains
Comment common in many areas (documented in 69 of the 70
known counties since 1980
- 66 of these since
1984 - J.R. MacGregor data). However,
during the past few
years, J.R.
MacGregor and others have documented some strange things at
some of the breeding
ponds. Total larval die-offs for wood
frogs, eastern
spadefoots, marbled
and Jefferson salamanders, and perhaps other species have
occurred for 2
consecutive years at what was once a prime wood frog breeding
site on Burnt Ridge
Road in Berea College Forest along the Rockcastle-Madison
county line; some sick Ambystoma larvae were
collected there in 2003 and
found to have been
infected with an Iridovirus. Additional
ponds in several
portions of the
Daniel Boone National Forest have been incidentally checked in
recent years in
April and May and found to be totally free of wood frog
tadpoles - perhaps
indicating additional (but undocumented) die-offs. Further
field investigation
to determine the extent of this problem is warranted. An
isolated wood frog
population that occurs along the Kentucky River palisades
off Jacks Creek Road
in Fayette County is threatened by rapid residential
development that has
eliminated some upland forest habitat and several
breeding ponds. The wood frog is not tracked by Kentucky
State Nature
Preserves
Commission.