Photo by: John Cleckler/USFWS
California Tiger Salamander
Ambystoma californiense
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Endangered for Sonoma County and Santa Barbara County populations segments; Threatened for Central California population segment
(fws.gov).
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U.S. Endangered Species Act; California Endangered Species Act; California Environmental Quality Act
(nrm.dfg.ca.gov).
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Major threats include habitat loss and fragmentation due to conversion of land for agriculture or urban development, migration barriers like roads and houses which affect gene flow and impacts of non-native species (nrm.dfg.ca.gov).
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There are 6 populations located in Sonoma County, Santa Barbara County, the Bay Area, Central Valley, southern San Joaquin Valley, and the Central Coast Range. There are 3 distinct population segments consisting of Sonoma County, Santa Barbara County, and Central California population segments (fws.gov).
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California tiger salamanders first require standing bodies of freshwater, like ponds or vernal pools, in order to breed. Water must be present in these habitats for at least 12 weeks for the larvae to develop. They also require access to upland habitats which include small animal burrows or underground hideaways. These act as protection and shelter from nearby predators or places to desiccate during the nonbreeding phase. They are opportunistic hunters, feeding on zooplankton, small crustaceans, aquatic insects, and tadpoles as larvae, then feed on invertebrates such as insects and other arthropods as adults. These salamanders engage in a mass migration to breeding ponds to reproduce during a series of rainy nights. Males deposit spermatophores in the pond that the female picks up and fertilizes her eggs internally. The eggs are attached to twigs, vegetation, or debris and hatch in 10-28 days. The larvae stay in the pond from 3-6 months until they metamorphose into juveniles, which then leave the birth pond between May and July to search for underground burrows in an upland habitat. They can live from 10-15 years (fws.gov).
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Looking at how the impacts of agriculture, specifically pesticides and runoff, can be mitigated—devising plans to limit this and testing the water quality to evaluate different conservation methods.
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This salamander is large and stocky with a broad, rounded snout. They have small eyes that protrude from their head. The body is black and patterned with yellow or white randomized spots or bars. Adults’ body length typically ranges from 6-9.5 inches, with males usually being larger than females (fws.gov). A similar species is the barred salamander in terms of color; however, it is larger with an apparent barred pattern instead of spots (scv-habitatagency.org)
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