Meeting Abstract
P1.5 Thursday, Jan. 3 Late Summer Stream and Streambank Salamander Community Diversity in Northeastern Pennsylvania BARNES, C.**; SEDON, M.*; HRANITZ, J.M.; Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA; Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA; Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA jhranitz@bloomu.edu
Microhabitat quality, an important factor affecting salamander distributions, suffers numerous encroachments by human activities. Stream disturbances such as sedimentation, acidification, and deforestation may substantially reduce key microhabitat resources. In an effort to assess how microhabitat disturbances affect stream and streambank salamander communities in northeastern Pennsylvania, we sampled 30 paired stream and streambank habitats during August of 2007 using a 10 M-length stream transect and a 10M x 10M streambank quadrat. Stream microhabitat assessments included pH, temperature, alkalinity, conductivity, embeddedness, and flow rate. Streambank measurements included tree falls, canopy cover, and temperature. Stream salamander species richness was 4.0 (95% C.I.= 2.0-5.9). Streambank salamander species richness was slightly higher at 6.0 (95% CI= 4.0-7.9). Community samples each contained one (SD=0.97) unique species, E. bislineata (stream) and N. viridescens (streambank). Correspondence analysis showed that D. fuscus was present at most sites, but absent in streams with strong acidity or high embeddedness. G. porphoryticus and E. bislineata were absent from most streams, but present with high flow rate, moderate temperatures, and low embeddedness. In streambank communities, P. cinerus was present at most sites and absent with lack of canopy cover and tree falls. All five salamanders in the streambank community, particularly the presence of N. viridescens, P. cinerus and E. bislineata, relied on high canopy cover and tree falls. These results suggest that human activities that reduce stream flow rate, increase acidificiation and embeddedness and reduce bankside cover decrease late summer stream and streambank salamander communities.
