On February 15, 2017, we returned to our research site to monitor our previously deployed coverboards. The temperature on this day was 68 degrees Fahrenheit. As a class we went to each of our four monitoring sites and checked every coverboard in hopes of finding terrestrial salamanders. Before turning over each coverboard, we made certain that one or two individuals were ready to capture and photograph any critter that was underneath. If salamanders were found, we carefully captured the individuals and placed them in a Ziploc bag in order to not irritate their highly permeable skin during data collection. Salamander and microhabitat data was taken, each individual was measured (snout to vent length and total body length) and weighed (grams). After data collection, the coverboards were placed back tight to the ground and the salamanaders were released beside the board they were found under. After all of the cover boards at a site were checked, we focused our attention on natural cover objects (rocks, logs, leaf litter, etc.) and repeated the previously stated methods. Two species of salamanders were found during this survey, Northern Slimy Salamanders and Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, which are our target species. (Post by Tia Thompson and Zach Underwood)
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