The Desert Slender Salamander - Henrik Moe
The Desert Slender Salamander
The desert slender salamander is one of the most important, most intriguing, and most aesthetically exhilarating amphibians in the world. It was discovered in 1969 in Riverside County, CA by accident. A farmer was digging a hole for his sheep when he uncovered some groundwater where a desert slender salamander was resting. A year later desert slender salamanders were formally named and documented. Desert slenders were considered endangered in the 1980s and in 1982 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a plan to restore the desert slender to its old heights. Despite the time that’s passed since the plan’s announcement, the species is still listed as endangered. In this post we will be discussing the general attributes of the desert slender salamander, its endangerment and the U.S Fish and Wildlife’s plan for recovery, and the overall future of this beautiful species. 
General Attributes:
The desert slender salamander is small, with its length getting up to around 4 inches maximum. The color is a deep chocolate and adults have distinct toes and fingers on their limbs. Their tails are lightly colored and their bellies are a similar dark color to their outer skin.
Historically, the desert slender is expected to have lived in isolation from other salamander species for an estimated range of several hundred thousand to a few million years. Two sites have been confirmed as a habitat for the slender. The first is an area known as Hidden Palms Canyon near Santa Rosa, CA. The second site is in Guadalupe Canyon, a few miles away from Hidden Palms.
The desert slender salamander eats small insects like ants and flies. Its small fisique makes it certain that the slender is not atop the food chain. One predicted predator of the salamander is the western skink snake. The population of the species is very low in total. Given the fact that the desert slender salamander has only been found in two locations with a total habitat area of less than 3 acres, the population has been estimated between 187 to 500 individuals.
Endangerment and Recovery Plans:
The desert slender is threatened for a variety of reasons. One being its small population Less than 700 total desert slender salamanders are estimated to exist. This low count is hazardous and leaves the species vulnerable to an event knocking out a significant, or possibly the entirety of their population.
Threats to the salamander’s habitat are marked as the main threats to the population. Salamanders are dependent on moisture and the desert slender gets most of its moisture from groundwater under its habitat. There is low development around the groundwater site. However, 80% of the groundwater is privately owned and more development is expected. Depletion of this groundwater would likely cause an extinction event for the desert slender.
Another threat to the water around the slender is drought, causing a drying up of ground water and surrounding moisture. This threat could become more serious than development threat, especially given California’s recent drought conditions.
So, what can be done to help sustain the desert slender salamander? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife group has been hard at work executing their recovery plan for the desert slender. The bulk of the recovery plan consists of maintaining the salamander’s habitat and ensuring the integrity of the groundwater. This is done by discouraging development around the habitat and preventing the pumping of groundwater. The group has also executed plans to set up photo stations to track the habits and actions of the salamander and detect other possible threat parameters to the species.
You can donate to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department here: https://www.fws.gov/international/wildlife-without-borders/donations.html The department has taken funding cuts during the Trump Administration so any donations are appreciated.
Future:
The desert slender salamander has a questionable future. Despite the best efforts by conservationists, the salamander remains endangered. This is mostly due to California’s recent droughts and the drying of groundwater beneath the habitat. If the droughts continue to be as severe as they’ve been in recent years the desert slender could become extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has done a fantastic job protecting the natural habitats from development until recently. Currently, interest in protecting the desert slender has waned (KCET). The initial management group formed in the 1980’s hasn’t met since that decade and the departments focus in that area has been making sure groundwater is intact for bighorn sheep(KCET).
Despite this, dedicated groups are focused on ensuring that this small population stays stable and most conservationists that are focused on the species are bullish on the future of the desert slender salamander.
Other Resources:
You can learn more about the Desert Slender Salamander here:
By Henrik Moe. BIO 227 Section 01
Resources:
U.S. Fish And Wildlife Recovery Plan:
Clarke, Chris. KCET. The Ambiguous Extinction of The Desert Slender Salamander. 17 April 2012. https://www.kcet.org/redefine/the-ambiguous-extinction-of-the-desert-slender-salamander
The first paragraph of your blog offered a clear introduction and gave the reader some direction of what the blog will talk about. Before reading this blog, I had no idea how big of an impact groundwater could have on an organism, so you did a good job explaining how and why it’s a current problem for the Desert Slender Salamander. I also think the future section gave a nice conclusion to the blog.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Plumb
I found it fascinating how much these salamanders rely on a very inhospitable environment to survive. I hope that climate change and more extreme weather patterns dont threaten them more than they are already. I found it especially interesting that these salamanders rely on groundwater that is privately owned. I found your blog informative and well done, too bad the formatting didnt work out, it would have looked great. -William Motluk Bewley
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting choice of species because this is never a species I would think would be endangered. I really liked the piece about the groundwater and how salamanders are reliant on it, but that it is being used up because most of it is privately owned. I also thought it was interesting to include how it was discovered and officially recognized and documented from there. I liked the way the pictures were incorporated and how one was made into a joke at the end.
ReplyDelete- Skylar Millard
I like the Salamander Hamilton photo at the end! Also this species is one that I would never really think is in the desert, due to the need for moisture. It's unfortunate that there has probably been increased struggle due to recent droughts.Also, thank you for providing other resources about the Desert Slender Salamander.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Neill
It is funny that their name is desert salamander because it suggests that they don't need water to survive but they still find it underneath! Do they just dig to the groundwater? I was wondering that while reading your blog! It seems like they might need a bit more research to fully understand the extent of their endangerment.
ReplyDeleteGreat read!
Gabi Morgan
Interesting species. Find it interesting how their name implies that they are supposed to live in the desert where water is not necessarily found easily; however, they need moisture to survive. Also its sad knowing that their total area of habit is less than three acres. Meaning is smaller than three football fields. Hopefully, more rain in the future could help out their population.
ReplyDelete-Alejandrina Perez
I think its really neat that this species was found accidentally. They are very interesting looking creatures! I wonder if they have very poor vision due to mainly living underground. Hopefully this salamander will be taken into consideration when people are pumping ground water out of their very minimal habitat range.
ReplyDelete-Jordi Oliver