FL Press: Ozark salamander collecting a factor in population drop, study finds

[wes_von_papineäu]

INSIDE UF (University of Florida, Gainesville) 02 July 07 Ozark salamander collecting a factor in population drop, study finds
Gainesville, Fla.: An endangered “giant” Ozark salamander is suffering an alarming population collapse, and a new Florida Museum of Natural History-led study shows illegal collecting, mostly attributed to the pet trade, contributed to the decline of these imperiled amphibians that can grow to 29 inches in length.
The hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi) study by Florida Museum Herpetology Curator Max Nickerson and Jeffrey Briggler of the Missouri Department of Conservation is published in the summer issue of the journal Applied Herpetology. St. Louis Zoo’s WildCare Institute and the Reptile and Amphibian Conservation Corps provided funding.
Nickerson and Briggler reviewed literature including population surveys from 1969 to 1989 to determine possible collecting effects on the salamanders, which can live 30 to 35 years in the wild.
“In 1969, when we first started studying the Ozark site on the North Fork of Missouri’s White River, hellbenders were common,” Nickerson said. “Today they are rare and face possible extinction.”
The population decline of amphibians has alarmed and puzzled scientists for decades. Nickerson said evidence of the hellbender salamander decline during the 1980s was attributed to numerous possible factors, including collecting or flooding, but little or no scientific data was provided.
Nickerson and Briggler reviewed literature from a 14.6-kilometer stretch of the North Fork and determined that 558 total salamanders were removed between 1969 and 1989 for both scientific and illegal collecting. Within that stretch lies a smaller, 2.67-kilometer study site which contains an important riffle (riffle 2-3) where the most dense known Ozark hellbender population once lived. Nickerson and Briggler state that 271 hellbenders were collected illegally from this study section between 1969 and 1989, and of those, 256 were taken during a period of major illegal collecting.
“Of those 256 individuals, 156 were removed for the pet trade during a single weekend: Labor Day weekend in 1980,” Nickerson said. “Another 15 were removed the same weekend, but we don’t have evidence that these were removed for the pet trade.”
Scientific studies accounted for the collection of 272 individuals between 1969-1989, which were removed from a 10-kilometer area external but adjacent to the 2.67-kilometer study site. Nickerson said that a lack of population estimates for this area makes it difficult to determine the impact from scientific collecting.
Nickerson’s paper states that his 1969 survey of the 2.67-kilometer section yielded an average of 428 hellbenders per kilometer whereas surveys for the same study area in 2005 and 2006 yielded only four hellbenders total.
“It’s very likely additional hellbenders have been taken illegally,” Nickerson said. “But the documented illegal collecting between 1980 and 1984 essentially eliminated the densest population of Ozark hellbenders known.”
Illegal collecting was aided by the construction of public access facilities adjacent to riffle 2-3, he said, and scientific literature cites the location.
“The synergistic effects of both scientific and illegal collecting clearly has been a factor in the decline of the Ozark hellbender populations, a decline that was documented as beginning by 1980,” Nickerson said.
Nickerson currently is researching the effects of scientific collecting on the hellbender population decline.
http://insideuf.ufl.edu/2007/07/02/ozark-salamander/

 

[rust]

"but little or no scientific data was provided"

I read this paper, it was rather odd how they determined the "illegal" take. But you do have to question the volume taken for "scientific research". Oh, you mean pickling.

 

[mantighoul]

what i wanna know is who the heck these boneheads are keeping hellbenders as "pets"?

 

[i_love_necturus]

Yeah, it's ridiculous! Why would some one do such a thing. Nature in the eye of society (most of it that is) seems to be of no concern. Sad, very sad.

 

[caudataman]

I-I-I wanna be a bonehead!

I'm sorry people, but this article is cr&p! Perhaps the full paper reads better, but what I read is 20 years of data collection submitted 17 years late with little substantiation to support the headlines. 256 animals is a dozen collected a year, which doesn't like an unsustainable yield from an area that started with 478 animals in a 2.67 km stretch of river. Factor out the 156 animals captured in one weekend (itself a seemingly dubious figure) and that leaves only 5 animals collected per year! (which sounds more likely). Now, I wasn't keeping caudates in 1980, but I was in 1989 and I can tell you that there has NEVER been a widespread availability of hellbenders in the pet trade during that time. I've seen a few, but no more than a dozen, probably half that. Some scientists love to blame the pet trade and some of it's deserved, but in this case I just don't see it, especially with hellbenders. How exactly did the researcher document illegal collection anyway? Looks to me like a literature review, and since the illegal collectors I know don't publish their work, that means rumors, heresay, and arrest reports. If it's arrest reports, then the animals were likely euthanized and retained for evidence which leaves law-enforcement partially responsible for the losses as well, depending on the circumstances, which aren't referenced. Hellbender.org lists overcollecting 4th out of 5 causes of hellbender decline and lists siltation as THE MAJOR cause, yet this article mentions a new public access ramp to the study area only in passing. I can't wait until 2024 for Prof. Nickerson to release his findings on scientific collection effects!

Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, count me in as a "bonehead wannabe", as I don't keep hellbenders, but would like to at some point, when I have the proper equipment and have done sufficient research to be able to do it properly. Funny how quick people are to criticize other's choice of "pet". I see no difference personally between keeping a legally collected hellbender compared to a Necturus (protected themselves in a number of states) or an axolotl ("critically endangered" according to the IUCN red list - your's "probably" wasn't wild caught but it's ancestors were!)... but you go on ahead and call names and criticize and fly off the handle over a questionable headline...we bonehead's try and consider ALL sources, cause some of them are good, and some are full of poo!!!

 

[wes_von_papineäu]

MO Press: Illegal collecting, other factors put salamander at risk

{A variation of the previously posted item ... this time in 'local 'press' with loal comment}

NEWS-LEADER (Springfield, Missouri) 04 July 07 Ozark hellbenders at risk of extinction - Illegal collecting, other factors put salamander at risk. (Mike Penprase)
A recent decline in the number of Ozark hellbenders is steep enough to threaten the animal's survival, researchers say.
Missouri Department of Conservation herpetologist Jeff Briggler and Florida Museum of Natural History curator Max Nickerson wrote in the scientific journal Applied Herpetology that large-scale — and illegal — collecting for the pet trade has contributed to the decline of the giant salamander.
"It's certainly a factor, there's no doubt about that, and it probably was a major factor," said Nickerson, a Missouri native.
Other factors include habitat decline, changes in water quality and pharmeceuticals that affected the hellbender's reproduction rates.
Research by Briggler and Nickerson was spurred by Conservation Department reports of mass collections of hellbenders from a section of the North Fork of the White River. During Labor Day weekend in 1980, two commercial collectors took more than 200 adult hellbenders from the river, the researchers found. One collection incident resulted in nearly 100 hellbenders dying and in another case, the animals were sent to Japan.
Mass collecting can alter the population of animals with slow reproduction rates, Nickerson said.
A federal push to provide more public access to natural areas has also had a negative effect. "Unfortunately, that provided access to those who might not be so ethical," he said.
Nickerson, who began researching the creature in the 1970s, lamented the decline of hellbender populations in the North Fork.
When he began his research, he "would catch eight to 10 hellbenders an hour if I worked it," he said.
At one time, researchers estimated there were 480 hellbenders per kilometer on the most populous section of the river, he said.
Researchers who checked the area in 2005 and 2006 found only four animals on that stretch of river, he said.
Briggler was not available for comment.
Department of Conservation endangered species program coordinator Peggy Horton said that while designating the hellbender an endangered species in Missouri has helped curb illegal collecting, it likely still continues.
"It is possible," she said. "I don't know of any specific recent cases, but it is possible. They are a unique animal, and would look good in the pet trade."
A Missouri State University biologist who is researching the relationship between trout and hellbenders calls for more salamander research.
Some researchers have detected a decline in male hellbender fertility, and research at Arkansas State University has shown a rise in deformities, said biology professor Alicia Mathis.
"It seems like there's something else going on with the population, as well," Mathis said. "I think there are multiple explanations for the decline."
http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070704/NEWS01/707040340/1007/NEWS01

 

[caudataman]

Hey Wes,

Better article this time. (I know, you don't write 'em, just report them) Better substantiated and more balanced, but now the numbers have changed a bit. I figured they were headed overseas based on the cost-vs-interest in the US, esp. in 1980. A couple individuals can make an significant impact on a local population, but I've yet to see any proof of a rampant US collection effort, esp. in recent years. These examples are 25 years old! Some of the comments seem speculative at best. A hellbender WOULD look cool in a petshop for the 3 days it lived. Thankfully the cost to get them, the difficulty keeping them right, and the laws protecting them limit their access to the pet trade. Now if habitat loss could be checked, we'd have something!

 

[michael]

I used to be approached several times a year to see if I wanted to purchase hellbenders. lately it has just been people asking where to purchase hellbenders. The last I heard they are still legal to keep in some states but their are proposals for more protection. My guess is this article is partially propoganda to push the protection issue. I'm sure Ed could way in on this. I think the author of the article was a speaker at IAD the year I didn't go to any of the lectures.

My bias is that usually population decline is mostly due to pollution, silt, and habitat loss. I don't question that collection for pets has some effect on the populations. I don't have a problem with hellbenders being protected because they are clearly in decline. I have a problem with what appears to be an overstatement of the influence of the pet industry and overregulation of amphibians that are not threatened. If the legislative trends continue in the U.S. it may eventually be illegal to keep any native U.S. amphibian and any non native amphibian that resembles a native amphibian.

 

[i_love_necturus]

I would only keep a hellbender if I had the best enclosure possible and was going to breed them. I wouyld find no purpose to keep a hellbender unless for breeding purposes.

I also understand that Necturus is vulnerable in some states but mine was caught in Canada were they are plentiful. Plus they arn't nearly as endangered as hellbenders.

Also, there is nothing wrong with keeping axolotls, they are bred!

 

[Ed]

I can weigh in on this topic a little...

Hellbenders are a salamander that has long maximal lifespan (est >75 years) and a very low recruitment from generation to generation. What we are beginning to see in other long lived herps with similar recruitment issues, that any harvesting from a population is unsustainable. (see the work done on Blanding's turtles* in Michigan or work done on populations of Terrapene c. carolina* for other good examples). In studies where the habitat is still good, the populations are still declining and when you look at the average age in the group you will discover that the population is made up of animals that are >25 years with no animals <25 years of age. (now most hellbender populations are also being affected by siltation and habitat destruction (for example, clearing streambanks for access/housing can cause the water in the stream/river to become too warm...) but this doesn't explain the declines in streams where this isn't occuring.

It should also be kept in mind that over 90% of a stream/locality population of hellbenders may be concentrated within just several miles of a stream. If you are not aware of this part of thier natural history then it is easy to assume that the removal of animals from one or two riffles or sections of the waterway should have less impact as other animals can move into the area.


*some of the studies indicated that the removal of a single reproductive adult was sugfficient to render the population on a negative population growth. One of the studies on box turtles ended up being cancelled due to the population loss....


When looking at the article keep in mind that the views on collecting were not the same as they are today (if anyone has any doubts on this I suggest reviewing locality studies done from say 1920 through the early 1980s where it was common to preserve every animal in a transect.)


Ed

 

[Ed]

a b-b--b-boneheaded response...

snip " in 1980, but I was in 1989 and I can tell you that there has NEVER been a widespread availability of hellbenders in the pet trade during that time."endsnip


Hi Brian,

I was running a reptile section in a very large pet store and would buy directly from the importers/exporters and benders were available in the pet trade in 1989 on a regular basis. The reason you didn't often see them on the price lists in the USA was becase they were more profitable in the overseas market.

It was only a couple of years ago that one of the major exporters in the USA ran ads on kingsnake looking to purchase 100 lots of hellbenders for export....


Ed

 

[caudataman]

Hey Ed,

Thanks for the additional information. Had that been included in the original articles, I would have been less critical. I do remember seeing that kingsnake ad, but dismissed it as unattainable. I apparently was wrong. I do however question a direct comparison between turtles, which lay smaller clutches of eggs and salamanders which can lay hundreds. I realized that it's a game of survival percentages, but I would think (perhaps wrongly) that when an environment has a niche opening due to removal of an adult, the potential for replacement would be greater with the higher offspring producer...maybe faulty logic, so I welcome your thoughts on the matter...

-B-

 

[caudataman]

Snip "The reason you didn't often see them on the price lists in the USA was becase they were more profitable in the overseas market"

Just a thought...is there a federal register or log where exports of salamanders are tracked?(presuming they are shipped legally) If so, the trade in hellbenders could be more easily substantiated.

-B-

 

[Ed]

Hi Brian,




You have it partly correct, the removal of an adult should allow a subbordinate animal to move into that niche but the problem is that if there are insufficient reproductive adults then there are insufficient numbers of offspring to allow for subordinate animals to move up into the niche. This is where the analogy to the turtles has its roots. This has been demonstrated with those animals. It looks like hellbenders follow the same strategy (yes its a numbers game which is why the number of reproductive adults is so important) but the hard data is still out there due to the difficulty in tracking the larva once they hatch (as they go straight down into the gravel).

With the tracking of the numbers of hellbenders exported, it will probably be difficult as they were not listed on CITES.

Ed

 

[caudataman]

Thanks for the info Ed! It's always good to "talk" with you. I stand corrected. There was, and perhaps is still, a hellbender presence in the pet trade and collecting for the pet trade CAN affect their populations, but I stand by my position that these articles are not sufficiently detailed to justify their headlines. (and I'm still a bonehead wannabe - but odds are by the time I'm ready they will be fully protected in NY and I'll be s.o.l.) I'd be interested in hearing from Tim or any others as to the remaining presence of hellbenders in Japan. Are they still alive / frequently available? If so, at what prices? (I find Japanese caudate prices astonishing - some people have WAY too much disposable income, lol) I wonder what the saturation level would be for such a market. It seems we have reached such a level for N. kaiseri here in the US, as there has been the same quartet for sale on Kingsnake for weeks at $140 per animal and a few others re-appearing for more than that. I suspect the US market has only a few deep pockets and after that, interest drops fast. I almost went for them when they could be had for less than a hundred, but again hesitated about chancing such a rare and reportedly difficult species on a whim. Better to plan ahead and hopefully get the offspring of whatever survives this year's imports when care strategies are better developed and the prices drop back down to double digits. I wouldn't buy a hellbender now for the same reasons even if it were available, but wouldn't blame or criticize anyone who did IF they were prepared to care for it and it still burns my butt when people knock those who buy or catch WC animals then stand in line to buy their CB offspring as if that makes it all okay.

 

[rust]

Well, at least you can go look at them. We saw these yesterday. Note the penny in the one pic.

 

[caudataman]

Great pics Russ. You are a lucky man! Great to see you son involved. My kids and I just started hiking together and had a great time catching salamanders here in NY. We found our first larval Pseudotriton, some E. bislineata, some Desmogs and an eft. What a blast! Hopefully in a few years we can put together a hellbender trip in NY or better still a Northern CA trip for Aneides and Ensatina. Keep up the good work!

 

[i_love_necturus]

Awesome pictures Russ. I believe that is the best and only way you should see them... in the wild.

 

[freves]

Another point to keep in mind is that it is not uncommon (at least in my neck of the woods) for ignorant fishermen to kill them when a hellbender is caught on a fishing line. I have heard many accounts of this happening in years past when questioning the locals about where they have caught hellbenders in the New River. These days they are rarely seen (I have still yet to observe an individual in the wild).
Chip

 

[rust]

Just a little cafeteria food; you can take it or leave it.

If you take a look at their historical range, I don't think it's hard to conclude that collecting (either scientific or by hobbiest) was not the common denominator leading to their current status. Habitat degredation (siltation, inpoundment, poor water quality) has to be the leading factor by far. And in good habitat I'm leary of "population surveys". Here someone goes in on a single day or two and tips rocks for the afternoon. There is so little we know about their seasonal dispursal, especially of larvae and juveniles. I concider these less than antidotal. I read an article a while back that claimed "collectors" had wiped out P. petraeus at the type locality, based on a single visit by an undergrad who failed to find one. Collectors?? Based on what data. Funny, a couple of years ago I saw 300+ in an afternoon just a few hundred yards away, but under the right conditions. And what about the habitat on private property that is never accessed for assessment, in some states that may make up the majority of good habitat left. Keep in mind that in the east, unlike the west, a lot of the stream habitat in the national forests actually runs through private property. Now I will concur that they have been extirpated in much of their former range or restricted in either good habitat or currently degrading habitat and that they do need management, but lets not point the finger. When you read any paper that concerns population status, you REALLY have to read it.

The unfortunate thing is that there has been no consorted effort on the part of private collectors to breed benders. Those who currently have them really need to get together and work towards a common goal.

And yes, they are awesome to see in the wild!

RUSS