California Tiger Salamander
California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) adults are known to eat California tiger salamander larvae (Baldwin and Stanford, 1987; see also Petranka, 1998). California ground squirrels may eat adults, although salamanders do not appear to avoid occupied ground squirrel burrows (Loredo et al., 1996; Semonsen, 1998; see also Petranka, 1998).
- California Tiger Salamander Mitigation
- California Tiger Salamander Habitat
- California Tiger Salamander Recovery Plan
. Endangered Species Working to reduce the effects of contaminants and other stressful impacts on fish wildlife and their habitats and to plan, implement and monitor restoration projects so that fish and wildlife resources can be recovered. Environmental Contaminants Working to reduce the effects of contaminants and other stressful impacts on fish wildlife and their habitats and planning, implementing and monitoring restoration projects so that fish and wildlife resources can recover. Conservation Planning Asst. Reviews and commenting on State and Federal environmental documents, helping to minimize impacts on fish and wildlife species and their habitats. Geographic Information Systems Access data and maps for the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office’s jurisdiction.
Data are suitable for direct input to GIS software that can analyze its meaning in the scientific, engineering, or business context for which the data were created. News and Features Providing information and assistance to Congressional offices, other agencies, media outlets, and the general public about Service activities. Photo credits: Most of the photos are by Michael van Hattem. The of a salamander's head is by Cathy Johnson, USFWS. California Tiger Salamander STATUS The California tiger salamanders around Sonoma County and Santa Barbara are endangered. This means that they are in danger of dying out.
We are working with people to save the Sonoma salamanders. CA tiger salamanders in the Central Valley are threatened.
This means that we are concerned about them but they are not endangered at this time. DESCRIPTION This is a large, stocky salamander. It has a broad, rounded snout. Its small eyes have black irises. They stick out. Adult males are about 20 cm long. (About 8 inches) Females are about 17 cm.
California Tiger Salamander Mitigation
(About 7 inches) 'Tiger' comes from the white or yellow bars on CA tiger salamanders. The background color is black. FOOD Adults mostly eat insects. Larvae (see sidebar) eat things like algae, mosquito larvae, tadpoles and insects. HABITAT Grasslands and low foothills with pools or ponds for breeding. A CA tiger salamander spends most of its life on land.
Actually, 'in the land' - it lives underground. It uses burrows made by squirrels and other animals.
Ponds are necessary for breeding. Natural breeding areas, mostly vernal pools, are being destroyed. (See our ) Ranch stock ponds help take the place of vernal pools for breeding. We are working with ranchers to preserve rangeland. MATING Around November, salamanders come out of their burrows.
This is likely to be on a very stormy night. They go as much as a mile to a pond to breed. Photo: Michael Van Hattem Adults reach sexual maturity in 4 or 5 years. Although they may live as long as 10 years, they may reproduce only once. Some don't reproduce at all.
They may be killed before becoming sexually mature. Or they may not find a pond for mating, e.g.
In very dry years. Females lay eggs (see photo) singly or in small groups.
They may lay as many as 1,300 eggs. These are usually attached to vegetation. Eggs hatch in about 10 to 14 days. Around late spring, salamanders leave the ponds to find burrows. PREDATORS Birds such as herons and egrets. RANGE Mostly the Central Valley of California. Small populations around Santa Barbara and Sonoma.
THREATS Urban development and farming reduce habitat. Squirrel control programs may reduce the number burrows where salamanders can live. The poison used on squirrels affects salamanders too. Nonnative salamanders have been imported for use as fish bait. They may out-compete the CA tiger salamanders.
Nonnative bullfrogs kill larvae. EXPLORE Catching a CA tiger salamander requires a permit.
But you may be able to see larvae swimming around. With a copy of Pond Life (See More Reading below), you can identify lots of pond animals. HELP See (201 KB PDF) for ideas about how to help threatened and endangered species.
MORE READING Pond Life: A Guide to Common Plants and Animals of North American Ponds and Lakes by George K. Golden Books. A tiny, inexpensive book that is a must for anyone studying ponds. Has lots of information about snakes, lizards, frogs, turtles and salamanders. See their species account about the.
Learn about the research of Michael van Hattem in by Joy Lanzendorfer., January-March 2005 issue. Words to Learn Biologists who study snakes, frogs, turtles, salamanders and other reptiles and amphibians are called herpetologists. Herpetologists call the California tiger salamander Ambystoma californiense. Scientific names are in Latin or Greek. Salamanders are in the Ambystomatidae family. Newborn salamanders are called larvae. This is the stage known as 'tadpoles' in frogs and toads.
Please read our.
CALIFORNIA TIGER SALAMANDER Ambystoma californiense Description California tiger salamanders are large salamanders, with adults frequently reaching 7.5 inches or more in total length. These are thick-bodied salamanders with broad heads and blunt snouts. Adults are black or dark grey, with oval to bar-shaped spots ranging in color from white to yellow. Juveniles are dark olive green in color and do not generally have any lighter markings. Larval tiger salamanders have external gills and are olive green in color, generally with very fine dark markings (stippling).
Eggs are laid underwater singularly or in small groups, on subsurface portions of emergent vegetation or other debris. Each egg is approximately 0.5 to 0.75 of an inch in diameter, including a thick gelatinous layer. Distribution California tiger salamanders range from the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada, west to the outer coast range, from Sonoma and Yolo counties in the north, to Santa Barbara County in the south. It is believed that the salamander population on the Stanford University campus represents the only population remaining on the San Francisco Peninsula. At least two other populations of tiger salamanders once existed in the Stanford area, most notably one centered in the wetlands formerly located in Portola Valley, near the intersection of Indian Crossing and Alpine roads. Recent attempts to locate salamanders in these areas indicate that it is likely that these populations are no longer in existence.
Habitat The complex life cycle of California tiger salamanders necessitates that each individual use a mixture of habitats. Seasonal wetlands are used for reproduction. These wetlands need to retain water until May or June for successful reproduction to occur.
By that time of year, the aquatic larvae should have matured to the extent that they can successfully metamorphose into the terrestrial juveniles. Occasionally reservoirs (farm ponds) or the slow-moving portions of creeks are also used for reproduction. The juveniles and adults live in grasslands and oak woodlands, mainly living underground in the burrows of rodents. California tiger salamanders do occasionally inhabit landscaped areas. Community relationships and behavior Migrations from the uplands, where the adults live, to the seasonal wetlands, where they breed, generally start during the first runoff-causing rains of the season (usually mid-November to early December). Depending on the year and the timing of the rain, these nocturnal migrations can include a large number of salamanders, with several hundred adults migrating on a single night not being uncommon.
Additionally, during years with little rain or only daytime rains, few, if any, salamanders will migrate. Migrations may consist of moves in excess of a kilometer, though most movements are less than 500 meters. Most movements occur on the surface, but some dispersal may occur underground through rodent burrows. Movements by adults and juveniles from the breeding sites to the uplands are not well synchronized, and generally only a few at a time disperse from the seasonal ponds on rainy nights. Most male tiger salamanders at Stanford are ready to start breeding when they are 3 years old; most females require an additional year to reach sexual maturity. Aside from their migratory period, adult and juvenile tiger salamanders are rarely seen above ground. For most of the year, they live in the burrows of ground squirrels, gophers and other rodents in open wooded or grassy areas.
Tiger salamanders are also frequently found under debris. Occasionally, tiger salamanders are found in man-made structures, including irrigation control boxes, buildings, and drainage pipes. They are found on the surface during periods of damp weather, almost exclusively at night.
California tiger salamanders do occasionally aestivate (a summer dormancy period), but adult and juvenile salamanders can be observed at night, at the entrance of burrows, year-round. Young (larvae) are aquatic and prefer the cover of vegetation to open water. Larvae are carnivorous and feed on anuran tadpoles and various aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans, zooplankton, snails, and insect larvae.
While the “cannibal morphs” found in the larvae of other species of tiger salamanders are apparently not present in California tiger salamanders, California tiger salamanders will eat smaller members of the same species. These salamanders metamorphose into land-dwelling juveniles by May or June. After metamorphosis, the juvenile salamanders eat a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates. Juveniles generally remain near the breeding site until autumn rains, at which time they disperse to upland areas.
California Tiger Salamander Habitat
Adult salamanders also eat a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates and are also large enough to include some small vertebrates (frogs, baby mice, etc.) in their diet. Conservation California tiger salamander populations have declined significantly in California. The main cause is fragmentation and destruction of habitat by agricultural and urban development. Introduced species, such as other species of salamanders that hybridize with native tiger salamanders, may be a problem in some locations.
Natural predators of tiger salamanders include herons, terns, raccoons, skunks, and snakes. Weather is a very important determinant of salamander reproductive success. In seasons with heavy, early rain, which trigger migration and reproduction, but little or no mid- to late-season rain, many salamander larvae will not grow enough for successful metamorphosis and survival.
California Tiger Salamander Recovery Plan
Biocides and other environmental contaminants undoubtedly impact California tiger salamanders in some locations. Additionally, pathogens possibly pose a threat to some populations.
California tiger salamanders at Stanford At the present time, California tiger salamanders are concentrated in the undeveloped areas around Lagunita with the density of salamanders decreasing significantly as the distance from Lagunita exceeds 1 kilometer. The distribution of salamanders is not random, and in the heavily developed area of campus very close to Lagunita, few, if any salamanders are present. Scientists have studied the California tiger salamander at Stanford and in its vicinity for more than 60 years. Early work focused on local distribution and factors associated with migrations.
Recent work has been centered on conservation planning for the salamanders. This work, which started in the early 1990s, has involved many Stanford-affiliated workers and researchers, including undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research associates, and hired consultants and experts. Work by non-Stanford scientists on the Lagunita population has also been conducted on a sporadic basis.
In the fall of 2003, following two years of consultation and permitting by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Santa Clara County, the two remaining ponds were reconstructed and enlarged and six additional ponds were built. In 2016, California tiger salamanders reproduced in 5 of the 8 ponds. (PDF, 36 KB) Click to view images of the California tiger salamander.
Click to view a map of the California tiger salamander on Stanford lands. Stanford University Stanford Land, Buildings & Real Estate:::: © 2012 Stanford University.