Plethodontid salamanders are ‘early warning’ indicators of biodiversity and forest conditions due to the high densities of populations in addition to the keystone role of this species in ecosystem processes as well as in food web dynamics. The purpose of the salamanders monitoring program at Kouchibouguac National Park is to count the number of eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) at several sites in order to detect changes over time as an indication of population status. The methods for this measure involve the monitoring of 28 sites established around the perimeter of permanent sampling plots (PSPs) within four dominant forest stands (i.e., white pine, eastern hemlock, red maple, eastern white cedar). At each site, 40 simple non-layered artificial cover objects (ACOs) are checked annually in the fall from mid-September to mid-November, atleast four times and two weeks apart to minimize disturbance. Information recorded include the number of salamanders, weather conditions, and the type of disturbances (if any) for each site.
- Publisher - Current Organization Name: Parks Canada
- Licence: Open Government Licence - Canada
Data and Resources
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Salamanders - Kouchibouguac - DataCSVEnglish French dataset CSV
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Salamanders - Kouchibouguac - MetadataCSVEnglish French terminology CSV
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Salamanders - Kouchibouguac - Data DictionnaryCSVEnglish French terminology CSV