Category: Amphibians

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The Mysterious Salamander

Tiger salamander egg mass, Copyright and courtesy of Jason Jones, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Tiger salamander egg mass
Copyright 2009 Jason Jones
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Salamanders have long been a source of mystery for humans and their name reflects some of this mystique. The word salamander has its roots in an Arab-Persian word meaning ‘lives in fire’, reflecting an early belief that salamanders could walk through fire unscathed. Mentioned by Aristotle, Aesop, and Shakespeare, this myth likely arose from salamanders that fled the fireplace once their cozy home in the woodpile was disturbed

Utah is home to only one of the world’s more than 500 salamander species. Our tiger salamanders can live in a multitude of different habitats, so long as there is access to fresh water. Because of their need to stay moist, salamanders live a life often hidden from view – spending much of their time underneath rocks, leaves, and other debris. But in early spring, these unique creatures become more active and leave their homes in search of a mate.

Long-toed salamander larvae in an egg, Copyright and courtesy of Jason Jones, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Long-toed salamander larvae
in an egg
Copyright 2007 Jason JonesUtah Division of Wildlife Resources

The salamander lifecycle is similar to that of a frog. Eggs are laid in a pond or other source of still water, and hatch into larvae called efts, which look quite like their frog counterpart, the tadpole. After spending a few weeks in the larval stage, individuals metamorphose into an adult.

While modern science has debunked a lot of salamander myths one big mystery still remains. Not all salamanders undergo metamorphosis to become what we recognize as an adult salamander. Some remain in the larval form their entire life, and are even able to reproduce as larvae. This phenomenon, called paedomorphism, has been documented in a number of salamander species, and scientists don’t really understand why or how it happens. Some speculate that the ability to morph or not helps salamanders overcome environmental challenges, such as competition for resources, lack of water, or increased predation.

Tiger salamander eft, Copyright and courtesy of Jason Jones, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Tiger salamander eft
Copyright 2007 Jason Jones
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Unfortunately, this amazing adaptation has not helped salamanders overcome recent decreases in population that baffled scientists for many years. At one time mysterious, scientists now understand that salamanders are some of the first species to show the effects of pollution in their environment. Now that this particular salamander mystery has been solved, these animals are playing an increasingly important role in determining ecosystem health which may help save many other species.

For more information and photographs of tiger salamanders, please visit our website at www.wildaboututah.org. Thank you to the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation for supporting the research and development of this Wild About Utah topic.

Adult tiger salamander, Copyright and courtesy of Richard Fridell, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Adult tiger salamander
Copyright 2002 Richard Fridell
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:

Photos:

Courtesy & Copyright Jason Jones, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Courtesy & Copyright Richard Fridell, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Courtesy & Copyright Krissy Wilson, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Text: Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center

Adult tiger salamander, Copyright and courtesy of Krissy Wilson, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Adult tiger salamander,
Copyright 2002 Krissy Wilson
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

Additional Reading:

Donel, M., Joly, P., Whiteman, H.H. 2005. Evolutionary Ecology of Facultative Paedomorphosis in Newts and Salamanders. Biological Review 80 663-671,

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1017
/S1464793105006858/abstract

Grzimek’s Animal Life Encyclopedia, Second Edition. 2003. Volume 6: Amphibians. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, https://www.amazon.com/Grzimeks-Animal-Life-Encyclopedia-Amphibians/dp/0787657824

Stebbins, Robert C. 2003. Peterson Field Guides: Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company., https://www.amazon.com/Field-Western-Reptiles-Amphibians-Peterson/dp/0395982723

Whiteman, Howard H. 1994. Evolution of Facultative Paedomorphosis in Salamanders. The Quarterly Review of Biology 69(2) 205-220, https://www.jstor.org/pss/3037717

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Arches Wildlife

https://wildaboututah.org/podcast-player/4384/arches-wildlife.mp

Western Collared Lizard
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy US NPS

Spadefoot Toad
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy US NPS

Red Fox
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy US NPS
Lee Kaiser, Photographer

Western Scrub Jay
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy US NPS
Neal Herbert, Photographer

Petroglyphs
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy and Copyright Kurt Repanshek, Photographer
NationalParksTraveler.com

The Organ
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy and Copyright Kurt Repanshek, Photographer
NationalParksTraveler.com

Stairs to Window Arch
Arches National Park
Photo Courtesy and Copyright Kurt Repanshek, Photographer
NationalParksTraveler.com


As with its neighbor, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park conceals most of its wildlife from visitors. That said, lizards are easy to spot, as are mule deer in the cool times of the day. And if you spend a little time before breakfast, or after dinner, you just might see coyotes, porcupines, desert cottontails, black-tailed jackrabbits, and many songbirds.

Because of the high heat during the summer months, most of these animals will be most visible when humans are not typically out and about. Desert animals have a variety of adaptations to deal with the hot weather and aridity. A key adaptation is that most animals are nocturnal, being most active at night. Nocturnal animals in Arches include kangaroo rats, woodrats (also called packrats), and other small desert rodents, skunks, ringtails, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, bats and owls.

Some desert animals are “diurnal”, or primarily active during the day. These include rock squirrels, antelope squirrels, chipmunks, lizards, snakes, hawks, and eagles.

Many animals have are only active in certain temperature ranges, and they alter their active times of day depending upon the season. During winter months, snakes and lizards are in an inactive state of “torpor,” or sluggishness or even dormancy. But they become active during the day during the late spring and early fall, and then become “crepuscular,” or active mainly during the nighttime hours, to avoid the daytime heat of summer.

Insects, too, alter their times of activity. Mosquitoes, as you no doubt know, may be out from dawn through dusk, depending on the temperatures. But they are not active after the sun goes down.

In spite of Arches’ rather inhospitable appearance, almost 50 species of mammals live in the park’s landscape. But the hot climate and lack of water favors small mammals. Because of their size, these animals are less able to migrate, but have an easier time finding shelter, and require less food and water to live. Rodents are numerous: there are eleven species of mice and rats.

Desert bighorn sheep are one of the larger mammal species to be seen. They are frequently spotted along Highway 191 south of the park visitor center, and call Arches home all year long. They roam the talus slopes and side canyons near the Colorado River, forage for plants, and negotiate the steep, rocky terrain with the greatest of ease.

While Arches may not be considered a prime bird watching hot spot, 273 species have been seen in the park, which includes seasonal, year-round residents, and migrants.

Much of this diversity is due to the riparian corridors like Courthouse Wash and the Colorado River (which forms the park’s southern boundary). Mornings along these corridors often are filled with birdsongs during spring and summer. You might spot blue grosbeaks, yellow-breasted chats, and spotted towhees. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the trill of the canyon wren echoing from the sandstone walls. Great blue herons hunt the shallows for fish, while Cooper’s hawks deftly maneuver through the tangle of trees beyond the riverbanks.

There is life in the desert, if you know where, and more importantly, when, to look for it.

For Wild About Utah and National Parks Traveler, I’m Kurt Repanshek.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy US NPS
Images: Courtesy and Copyright Kurt Repanshek, www.nationalparkstraveler.com
Text:     Kurt Repanshek/Patrick Cone, NationalParksTraveler.com.


Additional Reading:

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/browse/Arches%20National%20Park

https://www.nps.gov/arch/index.htm

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American Invasion

Eurasian Collared Dove, Courtesy invasivespecies.org, Joy Viola, Northwestern University, Photographer
Eurasian Collared Dove
Streptopelia decaocto
Courtesy & © invasivespecies.org/bugwood.org
Joy Viola, Northwestern University, Photographer

Colorado Potato Bug, Courtesy insectimages.org/bugwood.org, USDA ARS, PhotographerColorado Potato Beetle Adult
Leptinotarsa decemlineata
Courtesy IPMimages.org/bugwood.org
USDA ARS, Photographer

Hi, I’m Holly Strand from the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University.

More and more you are likely to hear this sound in Utah yards, parks and fields. [Eurasian Collared Dove, Courtesy Ryan O’Donnell, www.xeno-canto.org/98068] That’s the call of the Eurasian collared dove. Originally from Asia, this dove has been expanding its territory around the world at an incredible rate. The first sighting in Utah was in Orem in 1997. And now the doves are everywhere. So far, it doesn’t look like our native mourning dove is affected. But such rapid population explosions rarely occur without some sort of undesirable ecological consequence.

In America, the Eurasian collared dove is an invasive species. But not all non-native species are invasive. “Invasive” only applies when species spread far beyond the area where they are first introduced. Luckily, not all invasive species turn out to be serious pests. Ecologist Mark Williamson suggested the tens rule. About 10% of introduced species establish lasting populations and 10% of those go on to become problems.

There’s a long list of Eurasian invasives in Utah. Among them is the highly flammable cheat grass that comes from southwestern Asia. Those massive clouds of starlings? They come from Europe. Tamarisk from Eurasian deserts lines the Colorado River and tributaries. The common carp is an unwelcome Eurasian colonist of our lakes and large rivers. And the American west’s iconic tumbleweed is an invader from the Russian steppe.

Why so many invaders from Eurasia? Well for the last 500 years, there has been a net outflow of Eurasians—especially Europeans—to other parts of the world. And this human population carried its biological baggage along with it—in the form of animals, plants and diseases. Some ecologists believe that the physical geography and human history of Eurasia has conditioned its species in such a way that they will consistently outcompete the species of other continents. But that’s debatable. For in the last decades the New World has started to lob some pretty competitive species over to Eurasia.

For example, the American mink was brought to the Eurasian continent in the 1920s for use on fur farms. But–because of deliberate releases and accidental escapes–the mink is now common in the European wild. And it’s a pest. The American mink is taking the place of the European mink which is now threatened with extinction. Furthermore, the American mink is gobbling up populations of many ground-nesting birds.

Unless you are involved in agriculture, you might not have heard of the Colorado potato beetle. But potato growers around the globe know this striped orange and brown beetle from the American southwest very well. It has a voracious appetite for potato leaves and quickly develops resistance to any chemicals used against it.

And a final example: the American bullfrog is considered one of the world’s most damaging invasives. The bullfrog does amazingly well in a variety of habitats –even artificial ones like millponds, irrigation ditches and reservoirs. Its incredible adaptability helps it spread and outcompete native frogs. Moreover, it has been transmitting a deadly fungus to previously unaffected populations of frogs, toads and salamanders.

Thanks to Lyle Bingham for information on the Eurasian collared dove. And to Ryan ODonnell for his audio recording from xeno-canto.org. For more information on the Eurasian collared dove and other invasive species go to www.wildaboututah.org.

For Wild About Utah, and the Quinney College of Natural Resouces, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Theme: Courtesy & Copyright Don Anderson Leaping Lulu
1. Photographer Joy Viola, Northwestern University, Bugwood.org https://www.invasive.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5413582
2. USDA ARS Photo Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood. https://www.insectimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1321015

Audio of Eurasian collared dove:
Ryan P. O’Donnell, XC98068. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/98068.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5

Text & Voice: Stokes Nature Center: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:

Bingham, Lyle. 2009. The New Dove in the Neighborhood. Wild About Utah Program https://wildaboututah.org/the-new-dove-in-the-neighborhood/ October 8, 2009.

di Castri F. 1989. History of biological invasions with special emphasis on the Old World. In: Drake JA, Mooney HA, di CastriF, Groves RH, Kruger FJ, Rejma´nek M, Williamson M, eds. Biological invasions: a global perspective. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons.

European Environment Agency, 2012. The impacts of invasive alien species in Europe EEA Technical report No. 16/2012. EEA, Copenhagen.

National Invasive Species Information Center (NISIC): Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.
https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/index.shtml

Simberloff, Daniel. 2013. Invasive Species: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press

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Hearts

Hearts abound this time of year – gracing cards, storefronts, and of course, chocolates. And while the heart symbol bears little resemblance to the organ itself, their abundance of late has caused me to consider my own heart, beating away largely unacknowledged all these years.

In its simplest form, the heart is a pump. Its sole function is to keep the blood in your body on the move, partnering with your lungs to deliver life-giving oxygen to each and every hard-working cell, from the top of your head to the tip of your pinky toe. Most hearts have two distinct features – an atrium where blood collects on its way into the heart and a ventricle which pumps the blood back out.

But even with these shared components, not all hearts are alike. Throughout the animal kingdom, hearts take on a variety of forms. Fish, for example, have a two-chambered heart: one atrium that collects blood and one ventricle that pumps it back out. Blood journeys from the heart to the gills, where it picks up oxygen and then continues on its way, delivering its cargo to the body before making its way back.

Amphibians and reptiles, with the exception of the crocodile, have a three-chambered heart consisting of two atria and one ventricle. One atrium is designated for the oxygen-poor blood that is headed towards the lungs while the other is reserved for oxygen-rich blood coming back from the lungs and headed out into the rest of the body. In the shared ventricle, blood from both atria mix slightly, resulting in a somewhat inefficient system that nonetheless seems to meet the needs of the animals it serves.

Mammals and birds have taken the heart one evolutionary step further with the development of a four chambered heart that fully separates oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Blood flowing in from the lungs enters the left atria and is pumped out to the body by the left ventricle, while blood returning from the body enters the right atria and is pumped to the lungs via the right ventricle. Because of this total separation, the blood leaving a mammal’s heart contains more oxygen than a reptile’s – a huge metabolic advantage that helps support our warm-blooded fast-paced lifestyle.

Two-, three- and four-chambered hearts are considered closed circulatory systems, meaning the fluid, or blood, is fully enclosed within blood vessels. Insects, on the other hand, have an open circulatory system which means that they don’t have blood vessels at all. Instead their bodies are simply full of fluid that is continually circulated with the help of multiple simple hearts that pass liquid through as they contract and relax.

Lastly, there are some organisms that don’t need hearts at all! These creatures absorb oxygen through their skin and are small or thin enough that oxygen easily diffuses to all parts of the body. Some jellyfish, for example, have a body wall only two cells thick that separates their internal body space from the water around them.

Without our comparatively complex hearts, we probably wouldn’t be able to do what we do as humans and mammals. So take a moment during this Valentine’s season to acknowledge your amazing heart. Throughout the course of your lifetime it will beat upwards of 2 billion times and will pump as much as 100 million gallons of blood through its chambers. A pretty amazing feat for something we only celebrate once a year.

For the Stokes Nature Center and Wild About Utah, this is Andrea Liberatore.

Credits:
Text:     Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon.

Additional Reading:

Campbell, N.A. (1996) Biology, Fourth Edition. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Menlo Park CA

Bailey, Regina (2013) Circulatory System: Types of Circulatory Systems. https://biology.about.com/od/organsystems/a/circulatorysystem.htm

Meyer, J.R. (2005) Insect Physiology: Circulatory System. North Carolina State University. https://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/tutorial/circulatory.html