Documenting the sex of individuals encountered during wildlife research and monitoring activities is important for understanding and tracking changes in populations. However, sexing salamanders can be particularly difficult because secondary sex characters are often subtle or only visible during the breeding season, and guidance on species-specific sex determination is lacking from most field guides. The purpose of this guide is to provide a reference to assist biologists in the Central Appalachian region with identifying sex of live adult salamanders. In the main text we provide summary tables and figures to serve as concise references in the field. In Text S1 (Supplemental Material) we provide individual species accounts that contain concise yet comprehensive information for each species based on the published literature, as well as many images depicting sexually dimorphic characters. Our focal region encompasses partial or entire distributions for 56 species of salamanders in five families (Ambystomidae, Cryptobranchidae, Plethodontidae, Proteidae, and Salamandridae). We identified seven morphological characters that are strongly sexually dimorphic and useful for sexing live, non-anesthetized, adult salamanders in the field, with males of individual species exhibiting one to five of the characters. We identified >20 additional characters that are weakly sexually dimorphic, difficult to distinguish in the field, or species-specific. Our guide serves as a synthesis of sexually dimorphic characters available for salamanders in Central Appalachia, and we anticipate it will have broad value for researchers, monitoring programs, and salamander enthusiasts in eastern and central North America.

Documenting the sex of individuals encountered during wildlife research and monitoring activities is important for understanding and tracking changes in populations. However, sexing salamanders can be particularly difficult because secondary sex characters are often subtle or only visible during the breeding season, and guidance on species-specific sex determination is lacking from most field guides. The purpose of this guide is to provide a reference to assist biologists in the Central Appalachian region with identifying sex of live adult salamanders. In the main text we provide summary tables and figures to serve as concise references in the field. We provide individual species accounts that contain concise yet comprehensive information for each species based on the published literature, as well as many images depicting sexually dimorphic characters. Our focal region encompasses partial or entire distributions for 56 species of salamanders in 5 families (Ambystomidae, Cryptobranchidae, Plethodontidae, Proteidae, and Salamandridae). We identified seven morphological characters that are strongly sexually dimorphic and useful for sexing live, nonanesthetized, adult salamanders in the field, with males of individual species exhibiting one to five of the characters. We identified more than 20 additional characters that are weakly sexually dimorphic, difficult to distinguish in the field, or species-specific. Our guide serves as a synthesis of sexually dimorphic characters for salamanders in Central Appalachia, and we anticipate it will have broad value for researchers, monitoring programs, and salamander enthusiasts in eastern and central North America.

Rapid contemporary climate change is a potential threat to long-term persistence of montane wildlife species because they often have narrow thermal tolerances and have limited potential to shift their distributions. The Appalachian Mountain region in the eastern United States is a global biodiversity hotspot for woodland salamanders (genus Plethodon), many of which are high-elevation endemic species. Robust assessments of the vulnerability of high-elevation endemic salamanders to climate change, including delineation of future potential climate refugia, are needed to guide climate change adaptations strategies. The Cow Knob Salamander (Plethodon punctatus) is a species of conservation concern found at high elevations in the Valley and Ridge Province of western Virginia and eastern West Virginia. We used habitat suitability models to examine relationships between landscape characteristics, climate variables, and P. punctatus occurrence, and estimated effects of future climate scenarios on the species’ climatic niche. We found that elevation, slope, aspect, and hillshade were influential landscape predictors of species occurrence, and that mean annual temperature was the most influential climate variable. Future climate projections indicated this species will likely lose most of its climatic niche by mid-century, and that amount of suitable habitat will continue to decline through 2100. We identified several pockets of habitat that may represent climate change refugia for P. punctatus due to cooler microclimates from greater hillshade and aspects that receive less direct solar radiation; however, we found these refugia exist in small, isolated habitat patches. Our study provides quantitative estimates that support the general concern that high-elevation endemic salamanders are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Our models can be used by natural resource managers to guide current P. punctatus monitoring and habitat conservation efforts, as well as to identify focal areas that will likely serve as refugia for the species as the climate continues to change over this century.

Amphibians are facing global declines due to climate change, loss and degradation of habitat, invasive species, and disease. The Appalachian region of the eastern USA is a global biodiversity hotspot for salamanders, which are considered keystone species that influence nutrient dynamics in terrestrial and aquatic food webs. There are high rates of salamander endemism in the Appalachian region, with many species restricted to isolated, high elevation areas. The Cow Knob Salamander (Plethodon punctatus) is one such species. It is only found at elevations >675 m (most populations are above 900 m) on Shenandoah Mountain, North Mountain, and Nathaniel Mountain in the Valley and Ridge Province in eastern West Virginia and Virginia. A recent study found that P. punctatus may be one of the most vulnerable species of Appalachian salamander to climate change due to its narrow distribution and poor ability to acclimate to warmer temperatures. However, little research has been conducted on P. punctatus, and information is needed by land managers to guide habitat and species management actions. The purpose of my thesis was to quantify the influence of broad and fine-scale habitat characteristics and assess the influence of climate change and active habitat management using prescribed fire, on the distribution and abundance of P. punctatus.

Prescribed fire is used in the central Appalachians to promote and maintain mixed-oak and pine forests, create open forest conditions, improve habitat for wildlife, and to reduce the risk of impact of higher intensity wildfires on human development. Few studies have investigated responses of terrestrial salamander populations to habitat management using fire, and estimated responses have been neutral, negative, and positive depending on geography, species, and fire-severity. We examined woodland salamander (genus Plethodon) population responses to habitat management using prescribed fire on Shenandoah Mountain in the George Washington National Forest in West Virginia and Virginia, USA. We focused on responses of the Cow Knob Salamander (P. punctatus), a talus specialist and species of high conservation concern, but also examined responses of the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (P. cinereus), a widespread habitat generalist. Three burn units were subjected to two low-severity burns and one unit was burned five times with ca. 40% tree mortality. Using a combination of nighttime visual encounter surveys and coverboard surveys, we compared terrestrial salamander abundance and body condition in unburned and burned areas. We also measured habitat characteristics at sampling sites to determine if prescribed burn histories were correlated with habitat conditions important to woodland salamanders. Mean abundance for P. punctatus was lower at sites that were burned, but there was not a strong burn effect for P. cinereus. Abundance of both species was positively correlated with canopy cover. Mean and median body condition index (BCI) score was higher for P. punctatus and lower for P. cinereus on the West Virginia side of Shenandoah Mountain, and lower in burned areas for both species. However, the most parsimonious BCI models did not contain the burn predictor. Management using prescribed fire altered microhabitat conditions that are important for woodland salamanders, such as canopy cover, leaf litter depth, and vegetation groundcover. Our study suggests that woodland salamanders in the central Appalachians can persist in forests managed using prescribed fire, but also indicates that prescribed fire can result in reduced habitat quality for some woodland salamander species.

A recent review on the climbing behavior of plethodontid salamanders (McEntire 2016. Copeia 104:124–131) reported that many Plethodon are facultatively arboreal. Here, we report observations of climbing behavior for Plethodon punctatus, a species of conservation concern that is only found on Shenandoah Mountain and Great North Mountain in eastern West Virginia and western Virginia, USA.

Collection of morphometric data is an important component in amphibian research, because age-class, body-condition, and demographics yield important insights into populations (Deichmann et al. 2008; Peterman et al. 2008). Snout–vent length (SVL) is one important morphometric measurement that can help deduce age, sex, and when combined with weight, body condition (Kupfer 2007). Thus, accurate measurement of SVL can be critical for obtaining reliable inferences about populations and individuals. For field studies, optimal devices that facilitate accurate measurements would not require anesthetization of individuals prior to measurements, would minimize handling time, minimize pathogen transmission potential, and be portable and lightweight.