3.2 Amphibians
and the fact that many species require both terrestrial and aquatic habitats, amphibians are often considered indicator species of general environmental problems such as water pollution and habitat fragmentation. For many species, transitioning from aquatic to terrestrial habitat results in high mortality. Tis is due to high predation rates of juveniles, changing metabolic processes, and difculty crossing roads. In 2013, the Marbled Salamander was designated through legislative action as the State Salamander and the Pine Barrens Treefrog was designated as the State Frog. Te Herp Taxa Team designated the Marbled Salamander as a priority for both research and manage- ment concerns because of the uncertainty about population size and distribution in North Carolina’s Mountain ecoregion, and because the species is at risk for population decline due to disease and pathogens. Te Pine Barrens Treefrog is found primarily in pine forest and acidic bogs in the Sandhills and lower Coastal Plain ecoregions and is considered sig- nifcantly rare in the state. Te Taxa Team designated it an SGCN in part due to its confned distribution within this small number of wetland types that are themselves rare on the landscape. Additionally, the Pine Barrens Treefrog, like the Marbled Salamander, was also designated a priority for both research and management concerns because of the uncer- tainty about population size and distribution in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain ecoregions of North Carolina, and because the species is at risk for population decline due to disease and pathogens.
Amphibian SGCN
T ABLE 3.4
Federal/ State Status*
Family
Scientifc Name
Common Name
ORDER: ANURA Bufonidae
Bufo [Anaxyrus] quercicus
Oak Toad
— — —
Hyla andersonii Hyla versicolor
Hylidae
Pine Barrens Treefrog Northern Gray Treefrog Mountain Chorus Frog Southern Chorus Frog Ornate Chorus Frog Carolina Gopher Frog
Pseudacris brachyphona
—/SC
Pseudacris nigrita Pseudacris ornata
— —
Rana [Lithobates] capito Rana [Lithobates] heckscheri
Ranidae
FSC/T —/SC
River Frog
Rana sylvatica [Lithobates sylvaticus] pop.3
Wood Frog—Coastal Plain pop.
—
ORDER: CAUDATA Ambystomatidae Ambystoma mabeei
Mabee’s Salamander Mole Salamander
—
Ambystoma talpoideum
—/SC
Ambystoma tigrinum tigrinum
Eastern Tiger Salamander
—/T
Cryptobranchidae Cryptobranchus alleganiensis allaganiensis
Eastern Hellbender
FSC/SC
38
2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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