Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans): management plan proposed 2021

Official title: Management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) in Canada

Species at Risk Act
Management Plan Series
Adopted under Section 69 of SARA

Part 1 – Federal Addition to the Management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) in British Columbia, prepared by Environment and Climate Change Canada

Preface

The federal, provincial, and territorial government signatories under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk (1996) agreed to establish complementary legislation and programs that provide for effective protection of species at risk throughout Canada. Under the Species at Risk Act (S.C. 2002, c. 29) (SARA), the federal competent ministers are responsible for the preparation of management plans for listed species of special concern and are required to report on progress within five years after the publication of the final document on the SAR Public Registry.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for the Parks Canada Agency are the competent ministers under SARA for the Wandering Salamander and have prepared the federal component of this management plan (Part 1), as per section 65 of SARA. To the extent possible, it has been prepared in cooperation with British Columbia (B.C.) Ministry of Environment as per section 66(1) of SARA. SARA section 69 allows the Minister to adopt all or part of an existing plan for the species if the Minister is of the opinion that an existing plan relating to wildlife species includes adequate measures for the conservation of the species. The Province of B.C. provided the attached management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Part 2) as science advice to the jurisdictions responsible for managing the species in British Columbia. It was prepared in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this plan and will not be achieved by Environment and Climate Change Canada and/or the Parks Canada Agency, or any other jurisdiction alone. All Canadians are invited to join in supporting and implementing this plan for the benefit of the Wandering Salamander and Canadian society as a whole.

Implementation of this management plan is subject to appropriations, priorities, and budgetary constraints of the participating jurisdictions and organizations.

Additions and modifications to the adopted document

The following sections have been included to address specific requirements of the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) that are not addressed in the Management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) in British Columbia (Part 2 of this document, referred to henceforth as “the provincial management plan”) and/or to provide updated or additional information.

Under SARA, prohibitions regarding the protection of species and their habitat do not apply to species of special concern. Conservation measures in the provincial management plan dealing with the protection of individuals and their habitat are still adopted to guide conservation efforts but would not result in federal legal protection.

1 Species status information

This section replaces information on the SARA legal designation for Wandering Salamander in Canada in Section 2 of the provincial management plan.

The legal designation of Wandering Salamander on SARA Schedule 1 is Special Concern (2018).

2 Effects on the environment and other species

A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is conducted on all SARA recovery planning documents, in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals. The purpose of a SEA is to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies, plans, and program proposals to support environmentally sound decision-making and to evaluate whether the outcomes of a recovery planning document could affect any component of the environment or any of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy’s (FSDS) goals and targets.

Conservation planning is intended to benefit species at risk and biodiversity in general. However, it is recognized that implementation of management plans may also inadvertently lead to environmental effects beyond the intended benefits. The planning process based on national guidelines directly incorporates consideration of all environmental effects, with a particular focus on possible impacts upon non-target species or habitats. The results of the SEA are incorporated directly into the management plan itself, but are also summarized below in this statement.

The provincial management plan for Wandering Salamander contains a section describing the effects of management activities on other species (that is, Section 8). Environment and Climate Change Canada adopts this section of the provincial management plan as the statement on effects of management activities on the environment and other species. Conservation planning activities for Wandering Salamander will be implemented with consideration for all co-occurring species at risk, such that there are no negative impacts to these species or their habitats. Some management actions for Wandering Salamander (for example, inventory and monitoring, threat mitigation, habitat conservation, education, and research) may promote the conservation of other species at risk that overlap in distribution and rely on similar habitat attributes.

Part 2 – Management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) in British Columbia, prepared by the British Columbia Ministry of Environmen

Prepared by B.C. Ministry of Environment

March 2017

About the British Columbia management plan series

This series presents the management plans that are prepared as advice to the Province of British Columbia. The Province prepares management plans for species that may be at risk of becoming endangered or threatened due to sensitivity to human activities or natural events.

What is a management plan?

A management plan identifies a set of coordinated conservation activities and land use measures needed to ensure, at a minimum, that the target species does not become threatened or endangered. A management plan summarizes the best available science-based information on biology and threats to inform the development of a management framework. Management plans set goals and objectives, and recommend approaches appropriate for species or ecosystem conservation.

What’s next?

Direction set in the management plan provides valuable information on threats and direction on conservation measures that may be used by individuals, communities, land users, conservationists, academics, and governments interested in species and ecosystem conservation.

For more information

To learn more about species at risk recovery planning in British Columbia, please visit the B.C. Recovery Planning webpage.

Recommended citation: B.C. Ministry of Environment. 2017. Management plan for the Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) in British Columbia. B.C. Ministry of Environment, Victoria, BC. 49 pp.

Cover illustration/photograph: Barbara Beasley

Additional copies can be downloaded from the B.C. Recovery Planning webpage.

Disclaimer

The B.C. Ministry of Environment has prepared this management plan, as advice to the responsible jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in managing the species. 

This document identifies the management actions that are deemed necessary, based on the best available scientific and traditional information, to prevent Wandering Salamander populations in British Columbia from becoming endangered or threatened. Management actions to achieve the goals and objectives identified herein are subject to the priorities and budgetary constraints of participatory agencies and organizations. These goals, objectives, and management approaches may be modified in the future to accommodate new objectives and findings.

The responsible jurisdictions have had an opportunity to review this document. However, this document does not necessarily represent the official positions of the agencies or the personal views of individuals.

Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that may be involved in implementing the directions set out in this management plan. The B.C. Ministry of Environment encourages all British Columbians to participate in the conservation of the Wandering Salamander.

Acknowledgements

The B.C. Ministry of Environment (ENV) funded preparation and reviews of the draft management plan. Barbara Beasley (Consultant) prepared the draft plan. Barbara Beasley, Purnima Govindarajulu (ENV), and Kristiina Ovaska (Biolinx Environmental Research) participated in the threats assessment. Purnima Govindarajulu, Kristiina Ovaska, and Louise Blight (ENV) provided review comments. Alain Filion (COSEWIC Secretariat) created the British Columbia distribution map and calculated the extent of occurrence and the index of area of occupancy. Special thanks to the COSEWIC Secretariat, Environment and Climate Change Canada, for allowing the use of data compiled for the status report in 2012. Unpublished data were provided directly by Barbara Beasley (Association of Wetland Stewards for Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds), Francis Cook (Canadian Museum of Nature), John Deal (Western Forest Products), Ramona DeGraaf (Bamfield resident), Linda Dupuis (Consultant), Christian Engelstoft (Biolinx Environmental Research), Dave Fraser (ENV), Leah Gelling (B.C. Conservation Data Centre), Tim Goater (Vancouver Island University), Purnima Govindarajulu (Haliburton Community Organic Farm and ENV), Kevin Head (Kyuquot resident), Jeff Hoy (BC Parks), Todd Jackman (Villanova University), Hitomi Kimura (Vancouver Island University), Moira Lemon (Canadian Wildlife Service), Joe Materi (Ursus Environmental), Erica McClaren (BC Parks), Liam McNeill (Kayak guide), Ryan Murphy (Tree climber), Dean Nernberg (National Defence), Kristiina Ovaska  (Biolinx Environmental Research), Beth Rogers (Victoria resident), Jim Schieck (Researcher), Stanley Sessions (Researcher), Wendy Simms (Vancouver Island University), Mandala Smulders (Central Westcoast Forest Society), Michele Steigerwald (Canadian Museum of Nature), Chris Stinson (Beaty Biodiversity Museum), Warren Warttig (Interfor), Neville Winchester (University of Victoria), and Elke Wind (E. Wind Consulting). Data for the global range map were developed as part of the Global Amphibian Assessment and provided by IUCN–World Conservation Union, Conservation International, and NatureServe.

Executive summary

The Wandering Salamander (Aneides vagrans) is a lungless terrestrial salamander of the family Plethodontidae. It requires moist microhabitats primarily in forested environments, and uses large-diameter logs for refuges and breeding sites. The Canadian distribution of this terrestrial salamander is restricted mainly to low-elevation forests on Vancouver Island and adjacent small offshore islands in southwestern British Columbia. In 2014, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada designated the Wandering Salamander as of Special Concern because of declining habitat availability and its restricted range. The overall threat impact for this species is high. Threats include logging, residential development, roads, severe droughts predicted under climate change, and tsunami events. Emerging diseases and herbicides used in forestry have no known effects on the species but impacts cannot be completely ruled out without further study. Low reproductive rate, poor dispersal ability, and specific habitat requirements contribute to the vulnerability of the species. In British Columbia, the Wandering Salamander is ranked S3S4 (Special Concern to apparently secure) by the B.C. Conservation Data Centre (2016) and it is on the provincial Blue list. The B.C. Conservation Framework ranks the Wandering Salamander as a priority 2 under goal 2 (prevent species and ecosystems from becoming at risk). It is protected from capture, killing, and harassment under the B.C. Wildlife Act.

The management goal for the Wandering Salamander is to maintain a stable or increasing population across the species’ distribution in British Columbia.

The following are the management objectives:

1. to ensure habitat is protected^{Footnote 1} within Crown lands and private lands
2. to assess and quantify threats for this species, develop mitigation measures, and assess the effectiveness of this mitigation
3. to clarify patterns of abundance, connectivity, and population and distribution trends across the species’ British Columbia range; and
4. to clarify the species’ distribution, particularly the knowledge gaps about how patchy their distribution is, and the extent to which the species uses upper canopy habitats in British Columbia

1 Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) species assessment information

Assessment Summary: May 2014

Common Name: Wandering Salamander

Scientific Name: Aneides vagrans

Status: Special Concern

Reason for Designation: The Canadian distribution of this terrestrial salamander is restricted mainly to low elevation forests on Vancouver Island and adjacent small offshore islands in southwestern British Columbia. These salamanders depend on the availability of moist refuges and large diameter logs on the forest floor, as found in intact forests. The salamanders are threatened by logging, residential development, and severe droughts, and storm events predicted under climate change. Low reproductive rate, poor dispersal ability, and specific habitat requirements contribute to the vulnerability of the species

Occurrence: British Columbia

Status History: Special Concern in May 2014

* Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

2 Species status information

Wandering Salamander^a

Legal designation

• FRPA:^b No
• OGAA:^b Species at Risk
• B.C. Wildlife Act:^c Schedule A
• SARA:^d No

Conservation status ^h

• B.C. List: Blue 
• B.C. Rank: S3S4 (2010)
• Canada Rank: N3N4 (2015)
• National Rank: N4 (2000)
• Global Rank: G4 (2005)
• Subnational Ranks:^f California: SNR

B.C. Conservation Framework (CF)^g

Goal 1: Contribute to global efforts for species and ecosystem conservation.

Priority:^h 3 (2010)

Goal 2: Prevent species and ecosystems from becoming at risk.

Priority: 2 (2010)

Goal 3: Maintain the diversity of native species and ecosystems.

Priority: 4 (2010)

CF Action Groups:^g

Monitor Trends; Compile Status Report; Planning

^a Data source: B.C. Conservation Data Centre (2016) unless otherwise noted.

^b No = not listed in one of the categories of wildlife that requires special management attention to address the impacts of forestry and range activities on Crown land under the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA; Province of British Columbia 2002) and/or the impacts of oil and gas activities on Crown land under the Oil and Gas Activities Act (OGAA; Province of British Columbia 2008).

^c Schedule A = designated as wildlife under the British Columbia Wildlife Act, which offers it protection from direct persecution and mortality (Province of British Columbia 1982).

^d No = not on any schedules under the Species at Risk Act (SARA; Government of Canada 2002). The COSEWIC assessment will be reviewed by the Governor in Council who may, on the recommendation of the Minister, amend the List to include this species on Schedule 1 of SARA.

^e S = subnational; N = national; G = global; X = presumed extirpated; H = possibly extirpated; 1 = critically imperiled; 2 = imperiled; 3 = special concern, vulnerable to extirpation or extinction; 4 = apparently secure; 5 = demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure.

^f Data source: NatureServe (2015).

^g Data source: B.C. Ministry of Environment (2009).

^h Six-level scale: Priority 1 (highest priority) through to Priority 6 (lowest priority).

3 Species information

3.1 Species description

The Wandering Salamander is a slender salamander with light grey or bronze mottling covering a brown to greyish black head, back, and tail (Figure 1A). Adults weigh 1.5 to 5.6 g, and measure 50 to 76 mm from snout to vent and 75 to 130 mm in total length (Davis 1991). A vertical slit between each nostril and upper lip (nasolabial groove) identifies it as a member of the family Plethodontidae or “lungless salamanders.” It respires through its skin and membranes in its mouth (Duellman and Trueb 1986). Squared-off toes and no constriction at the base of the tail distinguish the Wandering Salamander from other plethodontid salamanders found in British Columbia.

Clusters of 3 to 28 eggs, 5 to 6 mm in diameter, are laid within a gelatinous envelope attached to the roof of a cavity inside a log or under bark (Davis 2003) (Figure 1B). Juvenile salamanders, not free-living larvae, hatch directly from the eggs. Hatchlings weigh less than 1 g, and measure 13 to 16 mm from snout to vent. Juveniles have a bronze dorsal stripe and bronze patch on the head and snout that disappear with age (Figure 1C). Adult colouration is reached at a size of approximately 45 mm snout to vent (Davis 1991).

The Wandering Salamander is unique in at least two ways. First, it has a disjunct distribution (Figure 2) that provides a rare opportunity to investigate rates of dispersal and evolution. Approximately 40% of its global range is in northern California, and 60% is on Vancouver Island and its close surroundings in British Columbia. It does not occur in Oregon or Washington. One explanation for its disjunct distribution is that the species dispersed to Vancouver Island from California on natural log rafts carried in north-flowing ocean currents, such as the Davidson Current (COSEWIC 2014). Two other hypotheses have been proposed: survival of the Vancouver Island population in glacial refugia during the Pleistocene (Beatty 1979; Davis and Gregory 1993), and introduction to Vancouver Island from California in shipments of Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) bark from California in the late 1800s (Jackman 1998). Although the two disjunct populations are genetically very similar, the latter hypothesis is poorly supported by the wide distribution of the species throughout Vancouver Island, including remote areas on small offshore islands and Brooks Peninsula.

The other unique quality of the species is its ability to survive in two unusual and distinctly different environments: the upper canopy of old-growth trees (Spickler et al. 2006; Murphy, pers. comm., 2014), and on treeless, seabird-nesting islands within large drift logs and moist nesting seabird burrows (Campbell and Stirling 1968; Jaremovic 1978; Beasley, unpubl. data). No other amphibians are known to live in these habitats in British Columbia.

Figure 1. Illustration of Wandering Salamander adult (A), egg mass (B), and hatchling (C) (Kristiina Ovaska).

Figure 2. Wandering Salamander distribution in Canada/North America (IUCN et al. 2004).

3.2 Populations and distribution

3.2.1 Distribution in British Columbia

British Columbia provides approximately 60% of the global range of the Wandering Salamander. It is widespread on and around Vancouver Island at elevations lower than 600 m. It has been documented at over 175 occurrences (≥ 1 km apart) across Vancouver Island, on 18 surrounding offshore islands, and in the vicinity of Trout Lake, near Halfmoon Bay on the Sunshine Coast (Ryder and Campbell 2004; Figure 3; Table 1; Appendix 1). Many records are from museum collections and incidental observations made more than 20 years ago. Population persistence is difficult to assess because historical sites have not been systematically revisited; however, 50% of the occurrences are extant (< 20 years old) and within the same general areas and/or interspersed among historical (pre-1981) and more recent occurrences (1981^{Footnote 2} to 1995). Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the species has maintained the extent of its historical range (Figure 3).

3.2.2 Relative abundance

The distribution and relative abundance of the species appears to be patchy across its range. Wandering Salamanders were detected at only 37% of the sites where surveyors have specifically searched for it (N = 183) from 1981 to 2013 (Appendix 2). Surveyors found very low numbers of Wandering Salamanders per unit effort, typically less than 10 individuals per hectare, with exceptions at: Woss (Stelmock and Harestad 1979); Rosewall Creek and Cook Creek (Davis 1991, 1996); and the Tofino watershed (Beasley et al. 2000). Maximum numbers were extrapolated to be about 100 individuals per hectare. This patchiness is likely related to site-specific habitat availability, but challenges also exist in reliably detecting the species related to their small size and cryptic colouration, habitat use (inside decaying logs), seasonal activity patterns, site tenacity, sampling methods, and weather conditions before and during sampling (Davis 1998). Numbers increased when decaying logs were cracked open and thoroughly searched (Dupuis 1993, 1996), but this type of destructive sampling was used at only 44% of the sites surveyed and is generally not recommended. More amphibians are found during mild rainy weather than cooler, hotter, or drier periods. No models exist to explore the relationships between relative abundance and habitat while accounting for detectability.

3.2.3 Population trends

A patchy distribution, detectability issues, and inconsistent sampling efforts make it impossible to accurately assess population trends from the data sources available. Quantitative surveys repeated over a long time frame at two areas indicate a decline in relative abundance; however, survey methods, seasonal timing, weather conditions, and exact localities were not all consistent between time periods. Within Tree Farm Licence 37 around Woss, surveyors conducted active searching with destructive habitat sampling (peeling bark and cracking logs) in summer 2001 (AXYS Environmental Consulting 2002). This sampling detected fewer salamanders per unit effort than that reported from similar methods in summer 1976 (Stelmock and Harestad 1979), although the set of survey sites and plot sizes were not the same. Further efforts around Woss that used artificial cover boards in 2004 and 2005 (Beauchesne and Cooper 2006) had higher capture rates than those that looked under large pieces of bark in 1991 (Schieck, pers. comm., 2013). Thus, the microhabitats and specific sites searched differed over time. Along Highway 4 between Tofino and Ucluelet, pitfall trapping and road surveys between 2005 and 2012 (Beasley, unpubl. data) found fewer salamanders per unit effort than 2 days of destructive habitat sampling in 1977 (Sessions, pers. comm., 2012). Again, sites and sampling techniques differed, making the results inconclusive.

3.2.4 Population size

Inconsistent sampling methods, variable sites, coarse sampling across the species’ range, and no models exploring the relationships between abundance, habitat, and detectability make it difficult to estimate the total Canadian population size; however, based on the high number of occurrences across its range and its abundance at a few sites, it is likely more than 10 000 adults exist (COSEWIC 2014). Further work to monitor and model population persistence and abundance over time is needed.

Figure 3. Wandering Salamander distribution in British Columbia (COSEWIC 2014).

3.3 Habitat and biological needs of the wandering salamander

3.3.1 Habitat requirements

The habitat of the Wandering Salamander must provide for its basic physiological needs of moisture and moderate temperature to avoid desiccation and freezing, as well as access to resources throughout its life (Table 2). Eggs are laid in moist terrestrial sites and have no protective shell to prevent water loss. Egg capsules and mucous membranes need to stay moist for respiratory gas exchange. Once hatched and through to adulthood, the Wandering Salamander has no protective barrier to prevent water loss across its skin. Further, it has no lungs. Instead, it respires through its skin and the highly vascularized surface of its mouth cavity. These surfaces must stay moist for respiratory function. Like all amphibians, the body temperature of the Wandering Salamander varies with ambient temperature. It requires insulated habitats to prevent overheating and freezing during particularly hot and cold times of the year. Other habitat requirements include refuge and security cover for protection from predators such as small mammals, birds, and snakes (Davis and Gregory 1993), adequate food, and areas for courtship, mating, and dispersal.

The nest site serves as an enclosed shelter where females lay and guard their eggs over a minimum of 3 months throughout the summer. The site needs to maintain the appropriate range of temperature and humidity conditions for embryonic development and the survival of the attending non-feeding mother, as well as the survival of the hatchlings immediately after hatching. It also must provide physical protection from predators and disturbance. Nests are typically in moist cavities created by wood decay processes inside logs or under bark (and rarely in rock crevices or among the stems and leaves of ground vegetation). Of the six egg clutches described from Vancouver Island, five were in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) logs 0.7 to 1.5 m in diameter (Davis 2003) and one was in a large western redcedar (Thuja plicata) log (Dupuis 1993). Cavities varied in size from 120 to 140 mm wide, 31 to 70 mm high, and 24 to 35 mm deep (Davis 1991).

Diurnal refuges provide protection from dehydration, extreme temperatures, and predation. More than 95% of observed Wandering Salamanders are individuals inside moist cavities, cracks and burrows, and under loose bark of large decaying logs and stumps. Most often they occur in wood at the mid-stages of decay (Douglas-fir decay class 3: loose bark, heartwood intact; Welsh and Lind 1991; Davis 2002). When sampling cover objects, the Wandering Salamander is almost always seen under bark or between layers of wood and rarely in contact with the ground (98% of observations, N = 62; Davis 1996).

The diet of the Wandering Salamander consists mainly of invertebrates found in soil, litter, and decaying wood. Sampled stomach contents contained primarily ants (Hymenoptera), spiders (Acarina and Araneae), springtails (Collembola), and beetles (Coleoptera) (Bury and Martin 1973; Stelmock and Harestad 1979). Aphids (Aphididae) and mealy bugs (Pseudococcidae), typically found above ground, were also eaten (Stelmock and Harestad 1979). Foraging activity occurs at night on the surface of the forest floor, on logs and stumps, within cracks and cavities of decaying wood, and on woody stems and vegetation above ground. Moist, temperate microhabitats with abundant food are needed. The abundance of some soil invertebrates (for example, Collembola) was found to be highest in unlogged stands (Addison et al. 2003).

Courtship and mating occur at night in spring or fall (Davis and Gregory 1993), although little is known about specific habitat requirements for these activities. The same is true for dispersal movements. It seems that movements away from the forest floor (that is, across open habitats or roads) only occur during mild, rainy weather (Beasley, pers. comm., 2015).

In the winter, during cold periods (< 3 to 5ºC), the Wandering Salamander disappears from diurnal refuge sites (Davis 1991) and may move to subterranean retreats or deep within larger logs, but there are no data available to describe their overwintering residence.

In addition to occupying the forest floor, the Wandering Salamander is known to live and lay eggs within tree cavities and the rhizomes of fern mats up to 85 m above ground in the canopies of large redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in northern California (Welsh and Wilson 1995; Spickler et al. 2006; Welsh, pers. comm., 2013). The water storage capacity of the large fern mats affects the humidity in tree crowns and is a significant predictor of salamander abundance among trees (Spickler et al. 2006). A single canopy record exists of the species in British Columbia, 57 m above ground in a Sitka spruce in Walbran Provincial Park (Murphy, pers. comm., 2014).

In British Columbia, most occurrences of Wandering Salamanders have been reported in low-elevation (< 600 m, maximum at 540 m) forest stands within parts of the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone and the Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone (Meidinger and Pojar 1991). These stands are dominated by western hemlock, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, and Sitka spruce. Researchers have found the species in both young and old forests, sometimes with higher abundances in older stands but not always. Around Woss, Stelmock and Harestad (1979) found similar densities in 8- and 28-year-old and old-growth forest stands, but Beauchesne and Cooper (2006) found Wandering Salamanders less often in young forest (clearcuts < 25 years old and 5-year-old partial retention sites) than older stands. In California, Bury (1983) found more Wandering Salamanders in young (< 15 years) stands than unlogged ones; however, Welsh and Lind (1991) and Welsh et al. (2007) found more individuals in late seral (> 200 years old) than mature (100 to 199 years old) sites in inland areas but no difference among stand ages on the Coast. They suggested that logged coastal forests experienced less drying than those in the Interior. Ashton et al. (2006) encountered five times as many Wandering Salamanders along streams in older, unharvested seral stages than in 37 to 60-year-old post-harvest redwood stands. Therefore, the abundance of downed wood and moist habitats may influence salamander density in recently logged forests. Recently logged sites may contain an abundance of large, decaying old-growth legacy logs for many years after canopy removal. A detection bias may also occur, as these semi-arboreal salamanders may be easier to find after logging.

Wandering Salamanders can live close to marine shorelines, within metres of the upper tideline, among rotting logs, driftwood, and plastic floats (Peacock 2008; McNeil, pers. comm., 2012; Winchester, pers. comm., 2012; Wind, pers. comm., 2016). The most unusual occurrences are on two treeless islands used by nesting seabirds, Cleland Island in Clayoquot Sound (Campbell and Stirling 1968; Jaremovic 1978; Beasley, pers. comm., 2015) and Grassy Island in Kyuquot Sound (Lemon, pers. comm., 2013). These islands contain nesting seabird burrows that may provide moist microhabitat for the species.

The Wandering Salamander can sometimes persist at disturbed sites where it can continue to find moist refuge inside or under wood (Bury and Martin 1973; Bury 1983), and occasionally talus, rubble, or artificial cover objects. It is often found along the edges of forests and within clearings, burned-over areas, and transmission corridors (Ryder and Campbell 2004). Individuals found in residential yards, porches, and gardens may be a part of viable remnant populations or brought in inadvertently with firewood. Several records exist of individuals associated with moist anthropogenic structures, including one in an eaves trough (Rogers, pers. comm., 2012) and one in a downspout (Engelstoft, pers. comm., 2012), both in residential areas in Victoria, BC.

3.4 Ecological role

Plethodontid salamanders may comprise a major portion of vertebrate biomass in temperate forests, similar to mice and shrews, and greater than the combined biomass of all birds at the peak of the avian breeding season (Burton and Likens 1975a, b). They play significant roles in the food web dynamics of forest ecosystems. Quantitative studies have shown that plethodons reduce invertebrate numbers and indirectly reduce the rate of decomposition of forest litter by as much as 11 to 17% (in the case of Plethodon cinereus and Ensatina eschscholtzii), arguably altering forest carbon dynamics (Wyman 1998; Best and Welsh 2014). They convert small invertebrate prey into biomass available to larger predators, such as birds and small mammals (Davic and Welsh 2004).

3.5 Limiting factors

Limiting factors are generally not human-induced and include characteristics that make the species less likely to respond to management/conservation efforts (for example, long-lived species with low rate of reproduction, poor dispersal ability that can lead to genetic isolation, and specific habitat and microclimatic requirements that can limit the potential for range expansion).

The Wandering Salamander is long-lived with a low rate of reproduction. The generation time is assumed to be 8 to 11 years, based on the average age of (Aneides lugubris)parents in a California population (Lee et al. 2012). These salamanders may live at least 10 years and possibly as long as 20 years, like many other species of plethodontid salamanders (Tilley 1977; Duellman and Trueb 1986). Females breed biennially or less frequently and clutches are small (average 12 eggs) (Davis and Gregory 1993). The low reproductive rate reduces the species’ capacity for quick response to stochastic events and means that recovery from declines would be slow.

Wandering Salamanders have high site fidelity, small home ranges, and low rates of active dispersal and movement. At Rosewall Creek, the average distance between first and second capture of a marked individual was 2.8 m (N = 176); 75% of these capture–recaptures were less than 2 m apart, 94% were less than 10 m, and the greatest distance was 38 m (Davis 2002). The interval between the first and second captures ranged from 17 days to 497 days (74.4 ± 86.2 SD, N = 176), but no significant relationship was evident between the number of days and the distance moved between captures (Davis 2002). Wandering Salamanders have been occasionally found on roads (Beasley, unpubl. data; Ovaska, unpubl. data; Wind 2012); however, if these occurrences represent dispersal movements, they are very rare compared to other amphibian species. Their high site fidelity and limited dispersal ability make them vulnerable to genetic isolation, inbreeding depression, and local extinction.

Range expansion northward and to higher elevations in British Columbia is probably currently limited by climatic conditions that affect the duration of the species’ active season. Active periods in British Columbia occur during the rainy seasons of autumn and spring. Activity in winter occurs during mild periods, and activity in summer depends on the availability of moist microhabitats associated with large logs and stumps under forest canopy. Drought, cold, and snow cover restricts foraging at the surface of the forest floor, which directly influences rates of growth and reproduction of plethodontids (Welsh and Droege 2001). Further, the species’ distribution is limited to areas that have downed wood in the appropriate stage of decomposition; that is where sufficient numbers of trees grow large enough to continually provide for the recruitment of large decaying logs and stumps (including recruitment of large driftwood on shorelines). 

4 Threats

Threats are defined as the proximate activities or processes that have caused, are causing, or may cause in the future the destruction, degradation, and/or impairment of the entity being assessed (population, species, community, or ecosystem) in the area of interest (global, national, or subnational) (adapted from Salafsky et al. 2008). For purposes of threat assessment, only present and future threats are considered.^{Footnote 3} Threats described here do not include limiting factors,^{Footnote 4} which are presented in Section 3.5.

For the most part, threats are related to human activities, but they can also be natural. The impact of human activity may be direct (for example, destruction of habitat) or indirect (for example, introduction of invasive species). Effects of natural phenomena (for example, fire, flooding) may be especially important when the species is concentrated in one location or has few occurrences, which may be a result of human activity NatureServe Conservation Status Assessments: Factors for Evaluating Species and Ecosystem Risk (Master et al. 2012). As such, natural phenomena are included in the definition of a threat although they should be considered cautiously. These stochastic events should only be considered a threat if a species or habitat is damaged from other threats and has lost its ability to recover. In such cases, the effect on the population would be disproportionately large compared to the effect experienced historically (Salafsky et al. 2008).

4.1 Threat assessment

The threat classification below is based on the IUCN–CMP (World Conservation Union–Conservation Measures Partnership) unified threats classification system and is consistent with methods used by the B.C. Conservation Data Centre. For a detailed description of the threat classification system, see the Open Standards website (Open Standards 2014). Threats may be observed, inferred, or projected to occur in the near term. Threats are characterized here in terms of scope, severity, and timing. Threat “impact” is calculated from scope and severity. For information on how the values are assigned, see Master et al. (2012) and table footnotes for details.

Threats for the Wandering Salamander were assessed for the entire province (Table 3). The scope of each threat was calculated in two different ways to determine the appropriate score. In most cases, the two approaches resulted in the same score. Using the first method, we examined the proportion of total occurrences (N = 177, Table 1) that likely will be affected by each threat within the next 10 years (see timing criteria for Scope in footnotes of Table 3). As uncertainty surrounded the assignment of some occurrences to different threats, we also used a second method that calculated the proportion of the species’ range on Vancouver Island under threat by different land uses within the next 10 years. The species’ range was restricted to elevations less than 600 m and did not include the Sunshine Coast, with only two known occurrences. Unless otherwise indicated, the information source for area of land use was baseline thematic mapping available from Hectares BC (2012). For threats with an unknown number of occurrences, or for which the score differed between the two approaches (Threats 4.1, 11.1), we chose the score resulting from the second method. See Section 4.2 for more detailed information on the scope assessment for each threat.

4.2 Description of threats

The overall province-wide threat impact for this species is High.^{Footnote 5} This overall score considers the cumulative impacts of multiple threats. The threat with the highest potential impact is prolonged droughts caused by climate change and severe weather (Table 3). Biological resource use in the form of logging is the second highest and widespread threat, with medium impact. Threats deemed to have low impacts are residential and commercial development, transportation and service corridors, and earthquakes and tsunamis under the category of geological events. Disease and pollution, which are often ranked as high threats to amphibians, are scored as “unknown” as there is no information currently available on potential for these threats to impact Wandering Salamanders. Details are discussed below under the Threat Level 1 headings.

Threat 1. Residential and commercial development (low impact)

Clearing forest to build houses and commercial properties kills salamanders and permanently destroys most of the species’ habitat. Wandering Salamanders have been documented from residential neighbourhoods in Victoria and Nanaimo (Engelstoft, pers. comm., 2012; Rogers, pers. comm., 2012; Simms, pers. comm., 2012) indicating that, occasionally, sufficient moist habitat (wood and talus) is associated with house structures and gardens to support a few individuals at least over the short term; however, these salamanders are likely to experience mortality from domestic cats, raccoons, crows, lawnmowers, and recreational use, such as mountain bike parks. Higher risks are also associated with traffic on roads, exposure to pollution, and introduced species, but these threats are considered separately in categories below.

Residential and commercial development will expand within Vancouver Island’s municipalities over the next 10 years,^{Footnote 6} and housing developments on private lands formerly managed for forestry is an increasing trend. If existing residential and commercial development (currently 3% of the species’ range and 9% of occurrences) doubled in the next 10 years, the scope of the threat would remain small (under 10%).

Threat 2. Agriculture and aquaculture (negligible impact)

Conversion of forest to agricultural fields kills salamanders and destroys habitat. Remnant populations could persist in forest along the edges of fields, if sufficient downed wood was available. Livestock could trample salamanders and degrade habitat. Only two known occurrences (1% of the total) are adjacent to farms. The small proportion of the species’ range is more likely to become housing and urban development than farms over the next 10 years, thus, the scope of this threat is negligible.

Threat 3. Energy production and mining (negligible impact)

Mining operations destroy habitat and animals, but the overall scope is scored as negligible because mining and quarries currently comprise 0.08% of the species’ range and their expansion over the next 10 years is expected to be less than 4000 ha (0.1% of the species’ range) (Northcote, pers. comm., 2016); however, numerous smaller quarrying operations (240+ permits) are scattered across the island, which expand slowly over time to support local road building and housing construction. The B.C. Ministry of Energy and Mines typically receives 10 to 20 “Notices of Work” annually relating to new operations, changes to existing operations, bulk samples, and other mechanized work (Northcote, pers. comm., 2016). Thus, over the next 10 years, it would be possible to see 200 Notices of Work related to the expansion of small quarries by up to 2 ha (many are < 1 ha). The only known imminent quarry expansion that will affect an area occupied by the Wandering Salamander is at the Ucluelet–Tofino Junction along the border of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. This comprises less than 1% of all occurrences; however, at least 10 other existing quarries and one large mine are currently permitted for development near Port Alberni, within 5 km of known Wandering Salamander occurrences.

The construction footprint of renewable energy, such as wind energy development, is expected to be much less than 1% of the species’ range.

Threat 4. Transportation and service corridors (low impact)

Transportation and service corridors affect the species in various ways: through conversion of forest habitat to newly built roads; through the production of edge effects that increase the risk of desiccation related to increased temperatures and wind adjacent to openings; through the disruption of habitat connectivity; as well as through direct road mortality. Roads and pathways are continuously being built around and between communities; for example, plans are under way to build a 3-m wide paved bicycle path through 22 km of forest habitat to connect Ucluelet and Tofino, which will destroy habitat and potentially dry out adjacent habitat in an area known to have relatively high numbers of Wandering Salamanders (Appendices 1 and 2). The Digital Atlas in Hectares BC (2012) indicates that 17% of the species’ entire range on Vancouver Island is less than 30 m from existing roads and 34% is less than 100 m away; 13 occurrences (7% of the total) were recorded on or immediately adjacent to roads. Marsh et al. (2008) showed that plethodontid populations bisected by large highways are likely to diverge genetically from each other. Direct road mortality seems the least important effect of roads. Very few Wandering Salamanders are found dead on roads relative to suspected population sizes at roadkill-monitoring sites (Beasley, unpubl. data, 2005 to 2012; Materi and Forrest 2007; Materi 2008; Wind 2012; Ovaska, pers. comm., 2016). Low road mortality probably results from the species’ non-migratory habits, very small home ranges, and site tenacity (see Section 3.5).

Clearing tree canopy to create new transmission lines would create drier conditions for the species. Persistent downed wood, shrub cover, and adjacent forest cover would allow Wandering Salamanders to persist in moist forest types. Two occurrences (1%) were noted where the species has been found within a hydro transmission corridor on the Sunshine Coast (Ryder and Campbell 2004).

Threat 5. Biological resource use (medium impact)

Forests greater than 140 years of age (36% of the species’ range) and younger (35%) will probably be logged at a similar rate as in the recent past. For example, 18% of the entire species’ range on Vancouver Island was logged in the last 20 years (Hectares BC 2012), and much of it was coastal old growth (Long et al. 2011). Within managed forest, 55 occurrences (31% of the total) were recorded. Logging has many negative impacts on the Wandering Salamander. Canopy removal, by itself, causes the forest floor to become drier and temperatures to fluctuate more extremely (Chen et al. 1993). Heavy machinery compacts underground refuges (such as the burrows of small mammals and root channels) and log-skidding can displace or fragment cover objects. Log removal and site preparation for planting, even with retention, reduces the amount and distribution of downed wood in the short term, from 31 to 76% of pre-logging values (B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Operations 2011). Several studies have shown that the relative abundance of Wandering Salamanders is highest in unlogged late seral and mature forests (Welsh and Lind 1991; Davis 1996; Ashton et al. 2006; Beauchesne and Cooper 2006); however, when large amounts of downed wood remain, Wandering Salamanders persist in recent clearcuts (Stelmock and Harestad 1979; Welsh and Droege 2001). Impacts are expected to increase over time as more forests are converted to even-aged stands. As forests are logged on 60 to 80-year rotations, progressively fewer large downed logs at appropriate stages of decay will be available for breeding habitat and refuges, and trees will no longer grow to a large size; thus, the size and amount of downed logs and snags will decline, and legacy logs from previous downed old growth will decompose (Aubry et al. 1988; Spies et al. 1988; Welsh and Droege 2001; Bunnell and Houde 2010).

Logging large, old trees also reduces the amount of arboreal habitat. The large limbs, complex branching trunks, and large fern mats, shown to support arboreal salamanders in California (Spickler et al. 2006), develop very slowly. On Vancouver Island, where less than 30% of the original old-growth forests remain, less than 8% of productive old-growth Douglas-fir and Sitka spruce stands, where salamanders would find suitable arboreal habitat, are protected (Sierra Club BC 2009). Although the rate of old-growth logging has slowed, many old-growth stands are still slated for harvest within the species’ range.

Threat 6. Human intrusions and disturbance (negligible impact)

Along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Wandering Salamanders have been found on the beach in driftwood, and have been reported to crawl out when driftwood was used for recreational beach fires. Very high densities of Wandering Salamanders are aggregated under large plastic and polystyrene foam floats, as well as drift beach logs on Cleland Island (Beasley, pers. comm., 2015). Beach log salvage and collection of plastics and polystyrene foam objects during beach cleanups could affect these small, local beach populations, but it is expected to have a negligible effect on the provincial population.

Pitfall traps to collect invertebrates have been known to kill Wandering Salamanders, but pitfall traps typically capture very low numbers (that is, less than one per 2000 trap nights) (Welsh and Lind 1988; Beasley, unpubl. data, 2012), and hence have a negligible effect. This threat would be of local greater concern if pitfall trapping occurred in highly productive salamander habitat, such as Cleland Island.

Threat 7. Natural system modifications (negligible impact)

Natural system modifications are considered negligible threats to the Wandering Salamander throughout its range in British Columbia. Wildfires within the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone are of extremely low incidence and severity (Gavin et al. 2003). Fire within this biogeoclimatic zone is now controlled such that it would not have much effect on the species. In addition, no known large dams are planned for Vancouver Island. Changes that result from invasive species are described under Threat 8.

Threat 8. Invasive and other problematic species, genes and diseases (unknown impact)

The impacts of invasive species and diseases on the Wandering Salamander are unknown. A recently emerged infectious disease caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans has not yet been detected in North America, and the vulnerability of the Wandering Salamander to this disease is unknown (Stephen et al. 2015). A similar infectious disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has caused declines in amphibian populations in North America, as well as worldwide. Although this disease has aquatic zoospores, and is mainly detected in aquatic species, researchers have found a small number of wild-caught terrestrial plethodontid salamanders with signs of it (Pasmans et al. 2004; Cummer et al. 2005; Weinstein 2009), and one species suffered high mortality after being experimentally infected (Vazquez et al. 2009). It is possible that aquatic-breeding amphibians could spread B. dendrobatidis to moist terrestrial habitats.

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica), English ivy (Hedera helix), and Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) are invasive plant species that are continuously spreading across Vancouver Island in areas disturbed by logging, agriculture, urban development, and road building. These species likely have negative effects on Wandering Salamanders by decreasing the survival of regenerating conifers (Harrington and Schoenholtz 2010), reducing plant biodiversity and the quality of litter and soil, and altering the integrity of invertebrate community structure and food web dynamics (Maerz et al. 2009). The severity of these effects on salamanders is unknown. The herbicide treatments required to control these invasive species may also lead to negative effects (See Threat 9).

Threat 9. Pollution (negligible impact)

Amphibians, in general, are sensitive to the effects of glyphosate herbicides that are used in the province for controlling invasive species, alder suppression, and conifer release in logged areas (Govindarajulu 2008). The lethal concentration value for many aquatic-breeding species is lower than the expected environmental concentration, but actual environmental concentrations and the direct effects on terrestrial salamanders are unknown. Application is almost entirely through small-scale spot treatments (that is, hack and squirt or paint of individual plant stems) rather than aerial spraying, and is expected to affect less than 1% of the species’ range over the next 10 years (Deal, pers. comm., 2016; Grutzmacher, pers. comm., 2016; Warttig, pers. comm., 2016). Wandering Salamanders may be protected from direct contact because they are typically active at night, whereas herbicide applications would occur during the day. Eastern Red-backed Salamanders could detect and avoid glyphosate at 10% of the recommended concentration but not at lower concentrations (Gertzog et al. 2011). Avoidance could have negative effects if it requires the species to disperse from an area or reduces surface activity.

Threat 10. Geological events (low impact)

Tsunamis are a threat to populations in low-lying areas, especially those using drift logs on beaches, which is recorded at four occurrences (2.3% of the total). Tsunami waves are predicted to reach as high as 20 m above sea level on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Inundation by salt water will likely kill all individuals within the zone. Timing is impossible to predict.

Threat 11. Climate change and severe weather (high–low impact)

Habitat shifting and droughts associated with climate change are potentially high threats to the Wandering Salamander. The Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystem on southeastern Vancouver Island is expected to shrink 19% from its current extent and expand 16% into other areas by 2050 (Wang et al. 2012). Although the predicted net loss is low (–3%), the species’ limited dispersal behaviour and extensive habitat fragmentation will restrict its ability to move into new areas over the next three generations. Limited dispersal ability has increased the vulnerability of amphibians to changing climatic conditions in Europe (Araújo et al. 2006). The 19% loss of Coastal Douglas-fir forest to drier open habitats is expected to cause large population declines of the Wandering Salamander, affecting approximately 6% of the species’ total range on Vancouver Island. Twenty-two recorded occurrences would be affected (12% of the total).

Temperatures within the cooler maritime-moderated Coastal Western Hemlock forests on Vancouver Island are expected to increase by 2 to 4ºC by 2080 (Lerner [ed.] 2011). Wandering Salamanders will likely withstand higher temperatures and longer summer droughts based on the survival of the species through similarly warm, dry summers that are currently the norm in northern California (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2014); however, longer and more frequent and intense summer droughts, particularly in open habitats such as young logged stands, treeless islands, and shorelines, could severely reduce foraging opportunities for salamanders.

5 Management goal and objectives

5.1 Management goal

The management goal is:

· Maintain a stable or increasing population across the distribution of the Wandering Salamander in British Columbia.

5.2 Rationale for the management goal

The species is widespread but patchily distributed across Vancouver Island and faces several known threats. Taking management actions to reduce the negative impacts of threats across its range will help the population persist and recover from previous declines. The current total Canadian population size of Wandering Salamanders is difficult to estimate because sampling has been inconsistent and at a coarse scale; however, based on its abundance at a few sites and its wide distribution, it is reasonable assume a baseline population of at least 10 000 adults.

5.3 Management Objectives

The management objectives for Wandering Salamander are:

1. to ensure habitat is protected^{Footnote 7} within Crown lands and private lands
2. to assess and quantify threats for this species, develop mitigation measures, and assess the effectiveness of this mitigation
3. to clarify patterns of abundance, connectivity, and population and distribution trends across the species’ British Columbia range; and
4. to clarify the species’ distribution, particularly the knowledge gaps about how patchy their distribution is, and the extent to which the species uses upper canopy habitats in British Columbia

6 Approaches to meet objectives

6.1 Actions already completed or underway

The following actions have been categorized by the action groups of the B.C. Conservation Framework (B.C. Ministry of Environment 2009). We include actions in addition to those assigned to the species because the Conservation Framework has not been updated for a few years. Status of the action group for this species is given in parentheses.

Compile status report (complete)

• COSEWIC report completed (COSEWIC 2014)

Send to COSEWIC (complete)

• Wandering Salamander assessed as Special Concern (COSEWIC 2014). Reassessment will occur in 2024

Planning (in progress)

• British Columbia Management Plan completed (this document, 2017)

Inventories (incomplete)

• Past inventories in forest stands of different age and under variable management have occurred at: Tree Farm Licence No. 37 near Woss (Stelmock and Harestad 1979; AXYS Environmental Consulting 2002; Beauchesne and Cooper 2006; Schieck, pers. comm., 2012); 20 sites along southeastern Vancouver Island (Davis 1996); 11 sites near Port Alberni (Dupuis 1993); and 25 sites in Clayoquot Sound (Beasley et al. 2000; for others, see Appendix 2)

Monitor trends (incomplete / in progress)

• Long-term monitoring plots, using artificial cover objects, to monitor other vertebrates and invertebrates, were established at various sites, including Goldstream Provincial Park, Observatory Hill, and the Urban Biodiversity Enhancement and Restoration Project at Haliburton Community Organic Farm. These have yielded too few Wandering Salamanders to be useful for detecting population trends but do provide information about the persistence of the species
• Davis (1996, 1998) set up cover-board monitoring plots at nine sites on eastern Vancouver Island and did time-constrained searches at an additional 16 sites between 1992 and 1994. These, and other short-term monitoring programs, could be revived (see Table 4)
• Long-term monitoring routes for amphibian road mortality are regularly resurveyed at Nanaimo Lakes Road and Highway 4 near Ucluelet (Wind 2012; Beasley, unpubl. data). Given the low numbers of Wandering Salamanders detected, this type of monitoring is only useful for detecting continued presence at these sites over time

Habitat protection (in progress)

• Ten occurrences (including historical) are in provincial parks, ecological reserves, and wildlife management areas
• Ten occurrences (including historical) are in national park reserves

Although the Forest and Range Practices Act (Province of British Columbia 2002) does not specifically address the Wandering Salamander, the species may benefit from requirements for wildlife tree retention, riparian reserves, old/mature forest retention, and retention of downed wood under the Act.

Private land stewardship (in progress)

• Addressed through the Guidelines for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation during Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia(B.C. Ministry of Environment 2014)

Species and population management (in progress)

• Addressed through the Best Management Practices for Amphibian and Reptile Salvages in British Columbia (B.C. Ministry of Environment 2016) and the Interim Hygiene Protocols for Amphibian Field Staff and Researchers (B.C. Ministry of Environment 2008)

6.2 Recommended management actions

6.3 Narrative to support management actions table

Recommended actions have been categorized by the action groups of the B.C. Conservation Framework (B.C. Ministry of Environment 2009).

6.3.1 Habitat protection

Given that logging is the most widespread threat to the Wandering Salamander across its range in British Columbia, the species should be considered for listing as a species at risk that requires special management attention to address the impacts of forest activities under the Forest and Range Practices Act. This would allow for the establishment of wildlife habitat areas and the development of general wildlife management measures for this species on forestry lands.

Inventory data will be necessary to build a habitat suitability model that will help prioritize areas of Crown land for conservation of the species.

Habitat degradation for the Wandering Salamander is expected in logged stands over the long term as the number of large pieces of downed wood declines. Field data and computer projections indicate that logging over several rotations results in smaller volumes of downed wood, smaller pieces, and fewer pieces in advanced stages of decay over time (Bunnell and Houde 2010). Although a delay exists between habitat change and a species decline, local extirpations have been documented for fungi, lichen, bryophytes, and invertebrates after multiple rotations in Sweden (Berg et al. 1994). Reviewing current requirements and actual retention practices under the Forest and Range Practices Act would help determine whether sufficient future recruitment of large logs and stumps will occur at the appropriate stages of decay into perpetuity. These results could help assess whether current prescriptions for retaining downed wood are adequate to protect habitat and, if not, then how much more is required.

6.3.2 Private land stewardship

Private forest managers should be encouraged to manage for the retention of large logs and stumps required by the species. Evaluation of existing educational materials would be worthwhile along with the development of new products, if necessary, to deliver a coordinated, multi-species public awareness campaign on amphibian conservation and threat mitigation. Stewardship groups could receive support to implement outreach programs that would increase awareness of stewardship options and best management practices on private forest lands, residential areas, and agricultural lands.

Environmental impact assessments for land development should consider the species and its habitat needs and reduce project impacts where possible.

6.3.3 Species and population management

Research is needed to better understand and find ways to lessen the impacts of threats that are currently poorly understood for this species, especially climate change, pollution, invasive species, and introduced disease. 

Research collaborations should be developed to model climate change effects and predict future distribution patterns, particularly those related to open habitats, such as young logged stands and treeless islands and shorelines. Ameliorating the impacts of longer summer droughts may be feasible, but any mitigation actions will require design and testing (Shoo et al. 2011). Possibilities include supplementing artificial shelter (for example, pipes, cover boards) in open habitats to reduce desiccation and thermal stress, and thinning treatments in second-growth forests to accelerate the growth of large trees and late-successional forest conditions, which may be better at buffering climate extremes (Shoo et al. 2011).

Research is needed to confirm whether Wandering Salamanders are unharmed by the methods used to apply herbicides used to control invasive plant species and promote regeneration of logged stands. Identification of the specific localities of herbicide treatment that overlap with occurrences of the Wandering Salamander would help determine whether the scope of the threat is negligible.

Experimental enclosures could be used to assess the effects of invasive plant species on litter and soil quality, invertebrate community structure, food web dynamics, and Wandering Salamanders. Such studies could be modeled after research done by Wyman (1998) and Best and Welsh (2014).

Baseline disease and parasite monitoring in collaboration with provincial and federal wildlife disease agencies and academia would improve our understanding of potential emerging disease threats. Laboratory tests would be useful in determining whether infectious chytridiomycosis could be transmitted from other amphibian species to the Wandering Salamander. Looking at the synergistic effects of emerging diseases, pollution, climate change, and human modification of habitats will be important.

Use of genetic tools will help to better understand connectivity and fragmentation among the patchily distributed subpopulations of Wandering Salamanders. Understanding the extent of genetic differentiation across the range of a species can have implications to population management.

6.3.4 Monitor trends

Monitoring is needed to meet the management goal of maintaining the species’ population across its range. Surveys should be numerous enough, of sufficient duration, and of sufficient geographical scope to establish a measure of the variability within and among various regions on Vancouver Island, including sites in protected areas and areas subject to logging and other threats. Surveys need to be planned and conducted in ways that will obtain estimates of relative abundance and population and distribution trends over time, while considering the high variability in detection probability of salamanders between visits and among sites. Occupancy modeling would be a useful approach to assess population persistence (presence/no detection) relative to detectability at a selection of sites throughout the species’ range. More intensive measures of population viability could be assessed at a few sites by looking for evidence of reproduction (presence of gravid females and juveniles) and evidence of a stable age structure and sex ratio (presence of a range of sizes and both sexes).

Inventories and short-term monitoring have been done at several sites (Appendix 2), which could be revisited. Ideally, a standardized survey procedure, which measures abundance relative to survey effort, will be applied at all sites throughout the range.

Because of the species’ sensitivity and relatively stable populations, monitoring plethodontid salamanders is recommended as an effective way to assess long-term forest health in the face of climate change (Welsh and Droege 2001). The Wandering Salamander is a particularly good indicator of the persistence of moist forest microhabitats (Davis 1991); it has a relatively low coefficient of variation in counts of individuals over time (28%) compared to Lepidoptera (93%), passerine birds (57%), small mammals (69%), and other amphibians (37 to 46%) (Welsh and Droege 2001). This low coefficient provides an important statistical advantage over other species in the monitoring of long-term forest health because changes will be easier to detect.

6.3.5 Inventory

More information about the distribution of the Wandering Salamander on Vancouver Island will clarify the species’ vulnerability to threats and help with directing management actions. If occurrences are confirmed to be very patchy when mapped at a finer scale, then the scope of each threat could be re-examined at a finer scale to achieve a more accurate assessment of the impacts.

The 2014 COSEWIC status report includes two records of Wandering Salamander near Trout Lake on the Sunshine Coast; therefore, the species may be more widespread on the mainland of British Columbia than previously known.

Inventories of habitat attributes and salamander abundance may help us better understand the reasons for their patchy distribution, as well as their spatial and habitat requirements. The most poorly known habitat for the Wandering Salamander in British Columbia is the canopy of large trees. Because canopy inventories require expensive and specialized sampling techniques, they may only be feasible at a very small scale. Past monitoring of canopy arthropods in moss mats within 1500 trees failed to detect the Wandering Salamander (Winchester, pers. comm., 2012), but a sighting in 2012 at approximately 50 m in a large Sitka spruce tree confirms that they can occur there (Murphy, pers. comm., 2013). Future inventories should target salamanders based on recommended approaches used by researchers who have sampled the Wandering Salamander in the redwood canopies of California.

7 Measuring progress

The following performance measures provide a way to define and measure progress toward achieving the management goal and objectives. Performance measures are listed below for each objective.

Successful achievement of the management goal will be indicated by:

• No reduction in the species’ range
• No reduction in the index of area of occupancy
• Stable populations with representation of all size, age, and sex classes; and
• Reduction of current threat impacts

Measurables for objective 1

• Inclusion of the Wandering Salamander on the Forest and Range Practices Act list of species at risk considered by 2018
• Protected areas such as wildlife habitat areas, and practices such as Identified Wildlife Measures, in place to protect at least 10 vulnerable populations by 2025
• Educational products emphasize the importance of retaining downed wood habitat for this species on private land by 2018

Measurables for objective 2

• Baseline information on the occurrence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans and B. dendrobatidis in terrestrial salamanders (in British Columbia) collected by 2020: through networking with researchers across North America; by soliciting reports of dead or diseased salamanders in British Columbia; and by monitoring occurrence of diseased salamanders as part of ongoing population monitoring studies
• Prevalence and effects of the herbicides used to control invasive species and manage regenerating forests on Vancouver Island on terrestrial salamanders reviewed by 2020
• Research on ways to mitigate climate change and drought in the most vulnerable areas initiated by 2020
• The effectiveness of current best management practices and regulations to maintain Wandering Salamander habitat in logged and otherwise developed land (for example, in housing developments, agricultural and range land) assessed by 2020
• Development of effective mitigation measures as needed and testing of these methods

Measurables for objective 3

• A monitoring plan for population and distribution trends in place by 2018, with such monitoring occurring by 2020
• An understanding attained of the genetic relatedness and distance across the range of the Wandering Salamander in British Columbia
• The monitoring plan to include ways of detecting emerging and current threats at an appropriate scale
• Mitigation plans developed to reduce threat impacts detected or suspected during ongoing monitoring by 2025

Measurables for objective 4

• Adequate surveys conducted to provide maps of searched areas and the distribution of the Wandering Salamander occurrences on the Sunshine Coast by 2020
• Adequate surveys conducted to fill gaps in our knowledge of the species’ distribution across its range on Vancouver Island by 2020
• Fifty percent of historical sites revisited across the species’ range by 2020
• Adequate surveys conducted to determine the extent of canopy occupations by the Wandering Salamander in at least one patch of old forest by 2020

8 Effects on other species

The benefits of good forest management for Wandering Salamanders will be advantageous for many other species of terrestrial invertebrates, amphibians, mammals, and birds that depend on downed woody material and moist forest floor habitats. These include: the Northern Red-legged Frog (Rana aurora) and Western Toad (Anaxyrus boreas), both of which are designated as of Special Concern under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and are on the provincial Blue list; the Dromedary Jumping Slug (Hemphillia dromedarius), designated as Threatened under SARA and on the provincial Red list; and the Blue-grey Taildropper (Prophysaon coeruleum), designated as Threatened under SARA, and on the provincial Blue list. Wandering Salamander management activities will be implemented with consideration for all co-occurring species at risk, such that these species or their habitats are not negatively affected.

Habitat protection for the Wandering Salamander will also benefit several at-risk ecosystems that it occupies, including sand dune habitats (S1), Sitka spruce floodplain forests (S1), as well as Douglas-fir–Arbutus (S2) and Garry Oak (S1) ecosystems (B.C. Conservation Data Centre 2016).

9 References

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Beauchesne, S.M. and J.M. Cooper. 2006. Ecosystem-based harvesting effectiveness monitoring terrestrial salamander project (2005) CANFOR TFL 37, Woss, BC. Canadian Forest Products Ltd., Woss, BC. http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/FIA/2006/LBIPI_6451006a.pdf [Accessed December 2012]

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Personal communications

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Appendix 1. Reported wandering salamander occurrences by period in British Columbia

Appendix 2. Quantitative surveys and relative abundance of wandering salamanders in British Columbia