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26 IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL 17, NO 3 • SEP 2010 WARNY ET AL. Salamander Sci-Art Peter R. Warny 1 , Stanley K. Sessions 2 , and Brandon Ballengée 3 1 Biological Research Division, New York State Museum, Albany, New York 12230 2 Biology Department, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York 13820 3 Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec All scanned images by the authors. “Salamander” is the common name for amphibians with tails, and (with the exception of the Sirenidae) four legs of about equal size. They include all the members of the order Caudata, comprising nine families and over 500 species. The name “salamander” is derived from an old Arab/Persian word meaning “lives in fire,” stemming from the belief that the salamander was born in fire or could walk through fire without being harmed (Khanna and Yadav 1998). This myth might have originated from the bright skin colors that resemble flames in some salamanders, perhaps from the burning taste one might feel while trying to eat such a creature, or observations of salamanders emerging from logs thrown onto a fire. Salamanders of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada are an ecologically interesting group. Their habitats include eastern mesophytic forests and periglacial features, such as woodland pool depres- sions, rocky wooded hillsides, outcrops, talus, and ravines (Petranka 1998). Included among northeastern species are enigmatic permanently aquatic forms that include Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) and the mys- terious Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). Also, almost every pond is inhab- ited by Red-spotted Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens). We have been monitoring high-diversity amphibian sites over the past three decades, focusing on two main issues: Declining amphibian popula- tions and developmental deformities among wild stocks. We have scouted over a hundred amphibian breeding pools and habitats across New York, Pennsylvania, New England, and Quebec, sampling populations, docu- menting species, wetlands, and woodlands from March through November for well over a decade. We then selected a “top-ten list” to revisit repeatedly to monitor water levels and catch per unit time effort as recorded on data sheets, field notebooks, and spreadsheets using two basic surveying meth- ods: Timed searches per person hour as well as area searches of a specific habitat type. The “good news” is that many of the remaining habitats we selected had relatively dense, healthy populations. The “bad news” is that many previously recorded salamander sites no longer exist or the habitat is degraded or severely changed. The bottom line is that fewer wild salaman- Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) at 72 hours. Supernumerary digits in a Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) col- lected in Allegheny County, New York in 2001. Red efts are the intermediate terrestrial stage of development in Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens). Both larvae and adults are aquatic.
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26 IRCFReptIles&AmphIbIAns•Vol17,no3•sep2010 wARnyetAl.
Salamander Sci-ArtpeterR.warny1,stanleyK.sessions2,andbrandonballengée3
1biologicalResearchDivision,newyorkstatemuseum,Albany,newyork122302biologyDepartment,hartwickCollege,oneonta,newyork13820
3Redpathmuseum,mcGillUniversity,montréal,Quebec
Allscannedimagesbytheauthors.
“salamander”isthecommonnameforamphibianswithtails,and(withtheexceptionofthesirenidae)fourlegsofaboutequalsize.theyincludeallthemembersoftheorderCaudata,comprisingninefamiliesandover500species.thename“salamander”isderivedfromanoldArab/persianwordmeaning“livesinfire,”stemmingfromthebeliefthatthesalamanderwasborninfireorcouldwalkthroughfirewithoutbeingharmed(Khannaandyadav1998).thismythmighthaveoriginatedfromthebrightskincolorsthatresembleflamesinsomesalamanders,perhapsfromtheburningtasteonemightfeelwhiletryingtoeatsuchacreature,orobservationsofsalamandersemergingfromlogsthrownontoafire. salamandersof thenortheasternUnitedstates and southeasternCanadaareanecologicallyinterestinggroup.theirhabitatsincludeeasternmesophyticforestsandperiglacialfeatures,suchaswoodlandpooldepres-sions,rockywoodedhillsides,outcrops,talus,andravines(petranka1998).Includedamongnortheasternspeciesareenigmaticpermanentlyaquaticformsthatincludehellbenders(Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)andthemys-teriousmudpuppy(Necturus maculosus).Also,almosteverypondisinhab-itedbyRed-spottedeasternnewts(Notophthalmus viridescens).
wehavebeenmonitoringhigh-diversityamphibiansitesoverthepastthreedecades,focusingontwomainissues:Decliningamphibianpopula-tionsanddevelopmentaldeformitiesamongwildstocks.wehavescoutedoverahundredamphibianbreedingpoolsandhabitatsacrossnewyork,pennsylvania,newengland,andQuebec,samplingpopulations,docu-mentingspecies,wetlands,andwoodlandsfrommarchthroughnovemberforwelloveradecade.wethenselecteda“top-tenlist”torevisitrepeatedlytomonitorwaterlevelsandcatchperunittimeeffortasrecordedondatasheets,fieldnotebooks,andspreadsheetsusingtwobasicsurveyingmeth-ods:timedsearchesperpersonhouraswellasareasearchesofaspecifichabitattype.the“goodnews”isthatmanyoftheremaininghabitatsweselectedhadrelativelydense,healthypopulations.the“badnews”isthatmanypreviouslyrecordedsalamandersitesnolongerexistorthehabitatisdegradedorseverelychanged.thebottomlineisthatfewerwildsalaman-
spottedsalamander(Ambystoma maculatum)at72hours.
supernumerarydigitsinanorthernDuskysalamander(Desmognathus fuscus)col-lectedinAlleghenyCounty,newyorkin2001.
Redeftsaretheintermediateterrestrialstageofdevelopmentineasternnewts(Notophthalmus viridescens).bothlarvaeandadultsareaquatic.
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dersarearoundnowthanwerehistoricallyandfewerhabitatspersisttosustainthesegreatcreatures. Apercentageof individualsfromallpopulationsshowedsignsoftraumasuchasinjury,infection,orfungalgrowth.occasionalmissinglimbsandotherinjuriescanbesurvivableandpartialregenerationcancreatepermanentdeformities(ballengéeandsessions2009).long-termsurveysandfurtherstudiesarestillneededtounderstandthenormalback-groundrateofdeformities,injuries,anddisease(sessionsandballengée2010).ourcurrentbiologicalresearchwillcontinueaslongasnecessary.
Inanefforttoinspirepeopletobecomeawareofthesevulnerablecrea-turesandtobetterappreciatetheirintrinsicvalue,wehavebeenincorporat-ingartinourresearch.“sci-Art”isthescientificpursuitofknowledgecom-binedwiththedesirefortheunderstandinginherentinart.Artandbiologyalwayshaveattemptedtodescribetheworldaroundus.FromneolithiccaverenderingstoGreekzoologicalaccountstoe.o.wilson’smodernconceptofbiophilia,humankind’sdesiretointerpretthenaturalworldhasneverceased—andemergingtechnologiesareexpandingourabilitytocomprehendthediversityoflifeonourplanet,fromthemicroscopictothecolossal.Artcanbeaneffectivetoolto“frame”currentecologicalissuesandbringthemtopublicmind(lippard2007). theaccompanyingimagesdepictavarietyofspeciesandindividuallifehistorystages,includingegg,larva,andadult.eachanimalwasgentlyexaminedforanyscarsorregenerationfrominjuries,fungi,ectoparasites,edema,andvisiblesignsofinfection.mostlookedhealthyandstrongwithgoodmuscletoneandbodyweight.wealsolookedforasymmetriesoftherightandlefteyes,mouthparts,limbs,digits,etc.AnuranlarvaewerestagedaccordingtoGosner’sstagesofembryologicaldevelopment(Gosner1960).theanimalsthenweregentlyplacedaliveontotheglassbedofascannerfordigitalrecordingat1,200–8,000dpi.thisisapproximately25timestheoutputofatypicalhomeorofficescanner.theappealoftheprocessistheincredibledetailthatcanberecordedintoadigitalfile.thesefilescanthenbeusedtogeneratebothscientificresearchimagesaswellasfineartprints. salamandersarebeautifulandintriguinganimalsthathavepersistedthroughmillionsofyearsofevolution,withstandingpastextinctionevents.theyarenowbeingsubjectedtothe“anthropocene”periodofhuman-wroughthabitatdestruction resulting frombulldozing,paving roads,buildingdamsacrossrivers,drainingwetlands,introdudinginvasivespe-cies,andotherafflictions.weareworkingtoincreasepublicawarenessof
sAlAmAnDeRsCI-ARt
northernslimysalamander(Plethodon glutinosus).
northernRedsalamander”(Pseudotriton ruber ruber). marbledsalamander(Ambystoma opacum).
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salamandersandtheirhabitatsinthehopesofreducingdetrimentalhumanimpacts.wehopethattheseimageswillinspirepeopletoappreciatenotonlythescientificandecologicalsignificanceofsalamandersbutalsotheiraestheticvalueintermsofbeautyandform.ourmainconceptualmissionistoincreasepublicawarenessandunderstandingofbiologicalphenomenaandenvironmentalconcernswhilechallengingpeoplebothaestheticallyandintellectually.
Literature Citedballengeéb.ands.K.sessions.2009.explanationformissinglimbsindeformed
amphibians.Journal of Experimental Zoology(molDevevol)312b:1–10
Gosner,K.l.1960.Asimplifiedtableforstaginganuranlarvaewithnotesoniden-tification. Herpetologica16:183–190.
Khanna,D.R.andp.R.yadav.1998.Biology of Amphibia.Discoverypublishinghouse,newDelhi.
lippard,l.R.2007.beyondthebeautystrip,pp.14–15.In:m.Andrews(ed.),Land, Art: A Cultural Ecology Handbook.RsA,london.
petranka, J.1998.Salamanders of the United States and Canada.smithsonianIntitutionpress,washington,D.C.
sessions,sK.andb.ballengée.2010.Developmentaldeformitiesinamphibians,pp.62–72.In:n.triscottandm.pope(eds.),Malamp: The Occurrence of Deformities in Amphibians, Brandon Ballengée.ArtsCatalyst,londonandyorkshiresculpturepark,wakefield,england.
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