AMPHIBIANS
Data Collection for an Eastern Hellbender Nesting Ecology Study by Lori Williams, Western Region Conservation Biologist focusing on Amphibians
T he Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis) , a harmless, crayfish-eating, giant, aquatic salamander and bio-indicator of water quality in Appalachia, is a North Carolina state special concern species and now, a proposed federally endangered species. In early September 2024 (and blissfully, pre-Hurricane Helene) for hellbender breeding season work, Wildlife Diversity staff, partners, and volunteers targeted specific sites and streams in the upper French Broad River drainage as part of our collaborative research with Clemson University. The project focuses on hellbender nesting ecology and is led by Wildlife Diversity technician and Ph.D. student, Ben Dalton. One objective was to examine characteristics of hellbender nest rocks that may contribute to nest success, so we focused on finding “den master” hellbenders, or the resident, adult males who were “posturing” and in defensive mode at the entrance of their nest rock. We then made return visits with an underwater borescope (camera) to try to detect eggs. We carefully extracted animals for workup, including giving them a unique identifier like a microchip, called a PIT-tag (Passive Integrated Transpon- der), that we can use to keep track of individuals in the future. Not disturbing the valuable nest rocks was a top priority, so sur- veyors honed their skills with a novel field method to coax or “noodle” animals out into the open so they could be netted, worked up, and quickly returned. For the breeding season in total, 8 sites in 5 streams were surveyed by 26 people. The num- ber of confirmed nests was 26, which was the most ever recorded in a single season! Additionally, 29 posturing, den master males never did have a nest, and another 62 hellbenders were seen roaming around, out and about, on the stream bottom (juve- niles, sub-adults, and females). [Sadly, as we are all too aware, on September 27th, 2024, the world changed in western North Carolina, for people, for ani- mals, for landscapes, and for many of our beloved mountain streams. We have yet to begin to assess the real damage Hurri- cane Helene caused for things like river habitat and hellbender populations, and will start that work in 2025. However, in the
weeks and months since the storm, we have received many reports of a few to several dozen to over 100 dead hellbenders documented in the worst flooded areas, so the outlook may be dire for some streams. Will we see another successful hellbender breeding season like we did in 2024? Maybe…in some places that escaped the brunt of the floods…. but the special places that remain for this species are all the more rare, precious, and in need of protection today than they were a year ago.]
NCWRC
BEN DALTON/NCWRC
Top: NCWRC Wildlife Diversity technicians, Ben Dalton and Clifton Avery, observing a den master male Eastern Hellbender under a nest rock. Bottom: A happy finish to the day when a very large, very old (~30+ year old) female Eastern Hellbender was found (pictured in measuring board); Ben Dalton (NCWRC, foreground), Ivanna Knox (U.S. Forest Service, left), Lori Williams (NCWRC, center), Clifton Avery (NCWRC, right).
42 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs