Overview: West Virginia Stream Survey
Dr. Thomas Pauley at Marshall University (Huntington, WV) is conducting stream salamander surveys in collaboration with the state stream survey conducted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP). The WVDEP stream survey currently surveys 150 sites selected using a probabilistic sampling approach on an annual basis, covering a wide range of the state’s 32 major watersheds.
The objectives of the study are:
1.To examine stream salamander species diversity and population estimates from randomly selected undegraded, highly degraded, and moderately degraded study sites
2.To correlate salamander diversity and population estimates with land use and land cover GIS data (collaboration with CVI).
3.To correlate salamander counts and population estimates with water quality data collected at each site by the WVDEP.
Materials and Methods
1. Study Sites. In 2002, study sites were selected in conjunction with the WVDEP stream monitoring program. Approximately 33 streams (xx unimpacted, xx highly impacted and xx moderately impacted) were surveyed. Landuse and water quality data will be collected for each site.
2. 
Species
composition and population estimates will be determined with time-constrained
searches (i.e. person hours) or as designated by WVDEP. -Searches for larvae
will be conducted (using previously defined protocols) with tea strainers
and aquarium dip nets along 15 x 2 m transects and within 4 m2 quadrats. Tea
strainers will be used to capture larvae in the substrate and aquarium dip
nets will be used to capture larvae in pools.
3. Types and numbers of all cover objects (with and without salamanders) will be recorded.
4. Weight, snout-to-vent length (SVL), tail length, (total length will be equal to SVL + tail length) and cranial width will be recorded for all specimens collected. This will provide size class data. Reproductive data collected will include gender and reproductive status of females (gravid or nongravid).
5. Streams will be inventoried by two people. One person will start at the downstream end of each stream and a second person will start at the mid-point at 7.5 m. After the first pass, all specimens will be measured and retained in separate plastic bags. A second pass through this area will be conducted turning over approximately the same number of rocks or logs as during the first pass. If the number of salamanders captured during the second pass is smaller than the number caught the first pass, two passes is enough. If, however, more salamanders are captured the second pass than the first pass, a third pass will be conducted. Two or three passes allow us to calculate salamander detection rates and to estimate population sizes. This same procedure will be used for transects and quadrats.
Because
different species of amphibians are active during different seasons, sampling
will be conducted at least once per month during all seasons in which salamanders
are active, i.e., spring (April, May, and June), summer (July and August),
and autumn (September and October). In order to not introduce bias, it will
be necessary keep the same field investigators throughout this study.
Data collected in aquatic transects will include: (1) date and time of sampling -- beginning and ending times; (2) water temperature; (3) water pH; (4) number of cover objects turned.. The following data for salamanders will be collected in each transect: (1) species and numbers; (2) gender and reproductive status; (3) weight; (4) cranial width; (5) svl and tail length (= total length).
Expected Results
1. This study will provide biologists with a standard inventory and monitoring
protocol that can be used throughout the United States for stream salamander
larvae studies.
2. It will provide data to as to what species of salamanders can survive different
water quality problems.
3. It will assist biologists in determining mitigation strategies necessary
to correct pollution or land use problems that eliminate stream salamanders.
Expected Product
Final report on:- the value of salamanders (species diversity and population estimates) as bioindicators of the health of impacted first order streams in West Virginia
- associations between these indices and landuse
- the potential for use of these techniques in WVDEP monitoring programs.
Contact
For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Tom Pauley (pauley@marshall.edu).