team to look at phenom - ena such as a recent Virginia-based study
and now we are getting a lot of solid data returns, so it would be great
that showed male hellbenders can - nibalizing their whole clutch of eggs in certain streams. “We hav- en’t seen any of that in Penn - sylvania. That was related to low riparian for - est cover, while
to employ this as a statewide pro- gram moving
forward, build - ing more part - nerships along
“I know there are a lot of different parts to list a species, but on the whole, I think the hellbenders deserve range-wide federal protection.” - Matt Kaunert
the way.” Protection needed One way to help that process – and the species as a whole – succeed – would be a special protective designation,
all of our sites here have pretty good riparian forest cover, which may explain that,”
he said. “However, we have seen cannibalism in every nest we have monitored – not whole-clutch cannibalism, but typically what we’ve seen is the male will go through this long period of tail-fanning or other care behavior and then comes back and eats one or two eggs. “So while cannibalism is widespread and may be related to chronically suppressed recruitment, it might have a bunch of different functions. It might be related to energy re - serves in some cases, or in other cases it might be an evolutionary strategy to eat the whole clutch.” Since his transition from western PA to Ly - coming College and the Susquehanna River basin, Kaunert is focused on expanding his nest box work and the data it can provide across a larger area. “One of the first things I noticed in taking the job at Lycoming was the elevated awareness in this area. Within a couple of days here, I saw hellbender bumper stickers and beer and art - work and it is all a testament to the long-term work and outreach that has been done before my arrival,” he said. “As I continue to get a bet - ter idea of the hellbender’s status in this area, I want to continue to expand the next box work to northcentral PA and really move this toward a statewide monitoring effort. “It has been a long road to get this set up
according to Kaunert. “I know there are a lot of dif - ferent parts to list a species, but on the whole, I think the hellbenders deserve range- wide federal protection. While they have some regionally stable populations, I guess you could say, in Pennsylvania, they are threatened or endangered in most states where they histor - ically occur,” he said. “Looking at the whole- range map, it is not a good picture.” Specifically, he mentioned midwestern states such as Ohio and Indiana. “In some cases, hellbenders only occur in a single drainage basin within Indiana for instance,” Kaunert said. “So within all these multiple factors, protection would likely go a long way for a lot of these healthy populations to persist like those in Pennsylvania and for others to recover in other states where they are declining precipitously.” He pointed out that we are still building an understanding of what is driving declines in the species, “but where it really lies right now is to restore riparian zones, head start populations and improve water quality. “Doing that, the hellbender could serve as an umbrella species to provide benefits for oth - er sensitive aquatic resources.”
Click here for more about Kaunert’s work
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