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Investigating the relationships between forest management strategy and terrestrial salamander populations in Northwestern Pennsylvania

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Author(s)
DeMarco, Anthony
Date Issued
March 1, 2025
Abstract
Amphibian species are facing a decline as global anthropogenic impacts continue to progress. This is due to amphibians being climatically sensitive, and as a result, they are intolerant to environmental changes in temperature and moisture. In this study, we sought to investigate the relationship between different forest management strategies and terrestrial amphibian populations. This study was conducted in Northwestern Pennsylvania at three properties throughout the area. Collection methods included visual encounter surveys. The motivation behind this project was to provide insight into other potential stressors that terrestrial amphibians may face, while also looking at better ways to manage forests so as to keep biodiversity and amphibian populations intact. Among our surveys, 4 different species were captured. These were Eastern redback salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), Eastern newts (Notopthalmus viridenscens), 4-toed salamanders (Hemidactylium scutatum), and slimy salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus). Across these 4 species, we saw an overall trend towards higher densities and higher richness at our unmanaged forest stand (Bousson), than at the other two sites with active and passive forest management. We saw that there were no notable differences between the three sites when it came to body condition for eastern redback salamanders, however total length (mm) and mass (g) were highest at the actively managed stand compared to the unmanaged and passively managed stands. Our research holds implications for the maintenance of Northwest Pennsylvania amphibian populations, as well as future sustainable forest management strategies not only for our study area, but for the rest of the world as well.
Major
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Honors
Environmental Science and Sustainability, 2025
First Reader(s)
Kirk, Mark
Other Reader(s)
Pearce, Kelly
Department
Environmental Science and Sustainability
Type of Publication
Senior Project Paper
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Anthony DeMarco Comp Final Copy (2).pdf

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