Amphibians (Class Amphibia)

This section describes the species of amphibians that occur in the Southeastern Region of the USDA Forest Service. Species accounts include the so-called tailless amphibians or anurans (frogs and toads) and the tailed amphibians (amphiumas, newts, salamanders, and sirens). An account is presented for each native species found in the southern Appalachians.

Management Suggestions

Amphibians occupy virtually every habitat in the Southeast, including forested habitats, urban, fresh water, and even to a limited degree, some marine ecotone habitats. Our emphasis here is on forested habitats.

As with most organisms, the major concern with the conservation of amphibian species is habitat destruction. We therefore make suggestions geared primarily to land managers which can be incorporated into their management plans to enable them to better maintain a wide diversity of species on the land they maintain.

Declining Amphibian Populations

Since 1990 many articles have dealt with declining amphibian populations, particularly those of anuran species. There has been great interest by not only herpetologists but ecologists in general. Amphibians are perhaps the best animal indicator of overall environmental conditions. They are in intimate contact with many components of their environment. Most spend part of their lives in water as larvae and part on the land. Their moist, delicate skins are thin enough to allow respiration but also the uptake of toxins. Their eggs are unshelled and are directly exposed to sunlight, soil, and water. Most anurans are herbivorus as tadpoles and carnivorous as adults. So why is there a global concern about their decline? First, not all amphibians are declining. Some are declining and the cause of their decline in most cases is uncertain. Most declines are, in part, due to habitat loss but other causes such as ozone depletion and acid deposition have also been identified. The cause of the decline is probably a combination of several factors causing a physiological stress on the species that are declining. Amphibian populations naturally go through cycles of declines and increases in numbers, largely influenced by climate. Most amphibians have the potential to produce large numbers of offspring given the right climatic conditions.

The Southeastern amphibian populations do not seem to be as affected as amphibian populations in other geographic regions. Several species have, however, shown some indication of decline whether due to natural or human causes yet to be determined. Examples of species showing decline are the flatwoods salamander (particularly the Georgia and Carolina populations), the wood frog, southern dusky salamander, and the green salamander in the disjunct enclave that exists where Georgia, North and South Carolina meet). For more references on this subject refer to Blaustein and Wake (1995), Wake (1991), Blaustein and Wake (1994), Crump 1994, Pechmann and Wilbur (1994), and Blaustein and others (1994).