Re: [vernalpool] cause of spotted salamander mass mortality?

The same thing happened on the dirt road where I live but it was about 5
years ago and there were about 2 dozen adult spotteds scattered around a
small section of road near a vernal pool. Mystery.

Micky McKinley
lycopod@verizon.net

On 5/4/2012 1:28 PM, Brett Amy Thelen wrote:
>
> Hello Vernal Pool listservers --
>
> I just received the following email from a knowledgeable vernal pool
> enthusiast in my area:
>
> I received some troubling news yesterday. Spoke with a friend who lives on
> a dirt road in our town. Her neighbor who lives near a wetlands right on
> the road found about 30 dead spotted salamanders by the side of the
> wetlands. I haven't spoken to the neighbor yet, but these weren't run
> over.
> Something else killed them, and she hypothesized that it was the calcium
> chloride that the town has put down on the road to keep the dust down. Not
> something that is usually done this time of year--more likely in the
> summer.
> I will try to get more information and hopefully, she took some pictures,
> but it's a sad thing and if the calcium chloride is the culprit, I
> will talk
> with the road agent and see if they can avoid further treatments by
> wetlands
> in town.
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts (or can you point me in the direction of any
> papers) on the potential cause of this mortality? Have you heard anything
> about the impacts of calcium chloride on adult Ambystomids? I found one
> literature review of road impacts on reptiles & amphibians (Jochimsen
> et al.
> 2004), which included a brief reference to unpublished data about
> mortality
> of hundreds of blue-spotted salamanders along forest roads in Minnesota;
> those salamander deaths were attributed to desiccation from calcium
> chloride. Still, I'd be interested to read more, if any of you know about
> research related to this, or have alternate theories.
>
> Thanks for any leads!
>
> Best,
> Brett
>
> -----
>
> Brett Amy Thelen, M.S.
> Program Director, Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory
> Harris Center for Conservation Education
> (603) 358-2065
> thelen@harriscenter.org <mailto:thelen%40harriscenter.org>
> www.aveo.org
>
> mailing address
> 83 King's Highway
> Hancock, NH 03449
>
> physical address
> Carroll House, Room 303
> Keene State College
> Keene, NH 03435
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>

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