EFFECTS OF FLOODING ON SALAMANDERS IN THE 
HORSESHOE LAKE STATE CONSERVATION AREA

Paul E. Brunkow, Joshua L. Badasch, and Patricia A. Herman

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
 

Abstract

Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems can be linked together by water moving through the landscape. Groundwater recharges wetlands, streams, and ponds after traveling through aquifers located under various terrestrial habitats. Rivers and streams can leave their courses to flood adjacent terrestrial floodplains. Management and conservation of such linked ecosystems is aided by identifying biotic elements that could serve as indicators of environmental integrity. Amphibians, because of their permeable skin, unprotected embryos, and coupled aquatic and terrestrial life history stages, represent such biotic elements. This project seeks to determine the effects of flooding in 1993 and 1995 on distribution and abundance of four species of salamanders in a forested preserve in southern Illinois. These effects are determined by comparing our results with those of a study completed at the same site using the same techniques in 1989. We found far fewer salamanders overall (only 25 compared with 319 [= 7.8%]) in the preserve than were found in 1989; we did not capture any individuals of one of the four species. We did find more representatives (a total of 84) of the three species in a nearby forest preserve. Using data obtained from these individuals, we conclude that, while the flood apparently severely negatively impacted salamander densities at these sites, it did not appear to alter patterns of microhabitat availability or use. This study represents one of the first to detail the effects of the flood of 1993 on animal biodiversity in the Mississippi River basin. This study is also one of the first to describe the impacts of a catastrophic natural disturbance on amphibian species; thus, it provides valuable data relevant to the controversies surrounding studies of global amphibian declines. Future avenues of research examining the effects of flooding on amphibians are suggested.