The world has lost 87% of wetlands since 1700, which has undoubtedly affected many wetland-dependent species. While these effects are better understood in other taxa, many amphibian species are highly dependent on wetlands for breeding, foraging, and cover. In response to wetland loss, restoration and construction of wetlands has been increasing, though little is known about how recently constructed wetlands are colonized and used. Siren intermedia (Lesser Siren) is a top vertebrate predator in many wetland ecosystems, and can colonize newly constructed wetlands via drainages and channels. To better understand population parameters in a recently constructed (<5 years old) wetland in southeastern Missouri, we monitored a local population for 20 months. Each month, we set 19 minnow traps and checked them daily for 4 trap nights; all captured salamanders were marked and measured in the lab, then released.
Results/Conclusions
In total, we captured 123 unique salamanders. Total biomass was greatest during March 2017 with a maximum of 1755.1g in a single trapping cycle. Peak biomass coincided with peak abundance during late winter. Recaptures were more common in the summer season relative to the other seasons. Preliminary estimates of the population are >500 unique individuals. Our results for peak wetland use by Siren are similar to other published studies. Overall, our study demonstrates that Siren will utilize newly constructed wetlands and populations have the potential to function similarly to natural wetland habitats. Further studies should investigate the usage of wetland-dependent species of constructed wetlands and best management practices.