The Shenandoah salamander is an endangered salamander that is at risk of extinction due to its small, high-elevation range, competition with the co-occurring red-backed salamander, and the predicted future climate in the Appalachian mountain range. We are working with multiple partners to understand the current status of the species, predict future extinction risk, and continually engage stakeholders in a structured decision making process to identify management actions that will minimize the long-term extinction risk of the species.
In many National Parks, organisms at high elevation are severely threatened and may be sensitive to changes in changes in temperature and moisture gradients. Many species are specifically adapted to the unusual conditions typical of high elevation sites, and risk of extirpation increases as conditions change. Compounding the risk is the extraordinarily small range of many high elevation species; such is the case with the endangered Shenandoah salamander. We have surveyed the high-elevation habitat where the Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) occurs, described habitat, temperature, and moisture variables which relate to its distribution, and conducted experiments and observational studies to understand the role of competition and climate variables on the future distribution of the species. Along with the National Park Service, Virginia Dept of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the University of Virginia, the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has conducted Structured Decision Making workshops to identify possible management strategies for the Shenandoah Salamander. To plan for future extinction risk, we are using a structured decision making approach to natural resource management. This approach results in clearly defined objectives, management activities linked to these objectives, and a monitoring program designed to better predict the Shenandoah salamander’s response to environmental variation, competition with the red-backed salamander, and the response to management activities. We continue to revisit the decision over time to identify optimal management actions and decision thresholds, given projected climate forecasts. In spring 2023, National Park Service will convene a panel of scientific experts to assess the current state of science for the Shenandoah salamander and establish goals and recommendations for management of this species in the next few decades.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Factors facilitating co-occurrence at the Range Boundary of Shenandoah and Red-backed Salamanders
Knowing your limits: Estimating range boundaries and co-occurrence zones for two competing plethodontid salamanders
North-facing slopes and elevation shape asymmetric genetic structure in the range-restricted salamander Plethodon shenandoah
Evidence that climate sets the lower elevation range limit in a high‐elevation endemic salamander
Evidence that climate sets the lower elevation range limit in a high‐elevation endemic salamander
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
Climate-mediated competition in a high-elevation salamander community
Climate-mediated competition in a high-elevation salamander community
Management and monitoring of the endangered Shenandoah salamander under climate change: Workshop report 10-12 April 2012
Management and monitoring of the endangered Shenandoah salamander under climate change: Workshop report 10-12 April 2012
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The Shenandoah salamander is an endangered salamander that is at risk of extinction due to its small, high-elevation range, competition with the co-occurring red-backed salamander, and the predicted future climate in the Appalachian mountain range. We are working with multiple partners to understand the current status of the species, predict future extinction risk, and continually engage stakeholders in a structured decision making process to identify management actions that will minimize the long-term extinction risk of the species.
In many National Parks, organisms at high elevation are severely threatened and may be sensitive to changes in changes in temperature and moisture gradients. Many species are specifically adapted to the unusual conditions typical of high elevation sites, and risk of extirpation increases as conditions change. Compounding the risk is the extraordinarily small range of many high elevation species; such is the case with the endangered Shenandoah salamander. We have surveyed the high-elevation habitat where the Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) occurs, described habitat, temperature, and moisture variables which relate to its distribution, and conducted experiments and observational studies to understand the role of competition and climate variables on the future distribution of the species. Along with the National Park Service, Virginia Dept of Fish and Game, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the University of Virginia, the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has conducted Structured Decision Making workshops to identify possible management strategies for the Shenandoah Salamander. To plan for future extinction risk, we are using a structured decision making approach to natural resource management. This approach results in clearly defined objectives, management activities linked to these objectives, and a monitoring program designed to better predict the Shenandoah salamander’s response to environmental variation, competition with the red-backed salamander, and the response to management activities. We continue to revisit the decision over time to identify optimal management actions and decision thresholds, given projected climate forecasts. In spring 2023, National Park Service will convene a panel of scientific experts to assess the current state of science for the Shenandoah salamander and establish goals and recommendations for management of this species in the next few decades.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Factors facilitating co-occurrence at the Range Boundary of Shenandoah and Red-backed Salamanders
The transition from species in allopatry to sympatry, i.e., the co-occurrence zone of competing species, allows for investigation of forces structuring range limits and provides evidence of the evolutionary and population responses of competing species, including mechanisms facilitating co-occurrence (e.g., character displacement). The Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), an endangered plAuthorsStaci M. Amburgey, David A. W. Miller, Adrianne B. Brand, Andrew E Dietrich, Evan H. Campbell GrantKnowing your limits: Estimating range boundaries and co-occurrence zones for two competing plethodontid salamanders
Understanding threats to species persistence requires knowledge of where species currently occur. We explore methods for estimating two important facets of species distributions, namely where the range limit occurs and how species interactions structure distributions. Accurate understanding of range limits is crucial for predicting range dynamics and shifts in response to interspecific interactionAuthorsS. M. Amburgey, D. A. W. Miller, Adrianne B. Brand, Andrea M. Dietrich, Evan H. Campbell GrantNorth-facing slopes and elevation shape asymmetric genetic structure in the range-restricted salamander Plethodon shenandoah
Species with narrow environmental preferences are often distributed across fragmented patches of suitable habitat, and dispersal among subpopulations can be difficult to directly observe. Genetic data collected at population centers can help quantify gene flow, which is especially important for vulnerable species with a disjunct range. Plethodon shenandoah is a Federally Endangered salamander knowAuthorsKP Mulder, Nandadevi Córtes-Rodríguez, Adrianne B. Brand, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Robert C. FleischerEvidence that climate sets the lower elevation range limit in a high‐elevation endemic salamander
A frequent assumption in ecology is that biotic interactions are more important than abiotic factors in determining lower elevational range limits (i.e., the “warm edge” of a species distribution). However, for species with narrow environmental tolerances, theory suggests the presence of a strong environmental gradient can lead to persistence, even in the presence of competition. The relative impoAuthorsEvan H. Campbell Grant, Adrianne B. Brand, Stephan F. J. De Wekker, Temple R. Lee, John E. B. WoffordEvidence that climate sets the lower elevation range limit in a high‐elevation endemic salamander
A frequent assumption in ecology is that biotic interactions are more important than abiotic factors in determining lower elevational range limits (i.e., the “warm edge” of a species distribution). However, for species with narrow environmental tolerances, theory suggests the presence of a strong environmental gradient can lead to persistence, even in the presence of competition. The relative impoAuthorsEvan H. Campbell Grant, Adrianne B. Brand, Stephan F. J. De Wekker, Temple R. Lee, John E. B. WoffordTwo-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another, closely relaAuthorsThierry Chambert, Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, James D. Nichols, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. BrandTwo-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another, closely relaAuthorsThierry Chambert, Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, James D. Nichols, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. BrandClimate-mediated competition in a high-elevation salamander community
The distribution of the federally endangered Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) is presumed to be limited by competition with the Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). In particular, the current distribution of P. shenandoah is understood to be restricted to warmer and drier habitats because of interspecific interactions. These habitats may be particularly sensitive to climate chanAuthorsEric A. Dallalio, Adrianne B. Brand, Evan H. Campbell GrantClimate-mediated competition in a high-elevation salamander community
The distribution of the federally endangered Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah) is presumed to be limited by competition with the Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). In particular, the current distribution of P. shenandoah is understood to be restricted to warmer and drier habitats because of interspecific interactions. These habitats may be particularly sensitive to climate chanAuthorsEric A. Dallalio, Adrianne B. Brand, Evan H. Campbell GrantManagement and monitoring of the endangered Shenandoah salamander under climate change: Workshop report 10-12 April 2012
Here we report on a structured decision making (SDM) process to identify management strategies to ensure persistence of the federally endangered Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), given that it may be at increased extinction risk under projected climate change. The focus of this report is the second of two SDM workshops; in the first workshop, participants developed a prototype of the dAuthorsEvan H. Campbell Grant, John E. B. Wofford, D. R. Smith, J. Dennis, C. Hawkins-Hoffman, J. Schaberl, M. Foley, M. BogleManagement and monitoring of the endangered Shenandoah salamander under climate change: Workshop report 10-12 April 2012
Here we report on a structured decision making (SDM) process to identify management strategies to ensure persistence of the federally endangered Shenandoah salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), given that it may be at increased extinction risk under projected climate change. The focus of this report is the second of two SDM workshops; in the first workshop, participants developed a prototype of the dAuthorsEvan H. Campbell Grant, John E. B. Wofford, D. R. Smith, J. Dennis, C. Hawkins-Hoffman, J. Schaberl, M. Foley, M. Bogle - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.