Collecting salamander toes might not be most people’s idea of a good time, but for Danna Schock, the excitement is building.
The University of Regina biology student is on the lookout for tiger salamanders, the world’s largest land-dwelling salamander and the only species found in Saskatchewan.
Once she has found some salamander sites Schock will implement a “catcher-marker” identification program. That’s where cutting off toes comes in.
“We snip off a digit and when the toe grows back, we match them up.”
Salamanders grow toes in less than two weeks, and the clippings provide the most useful information about the species. The process is similar to studying tree rings, Schock said.
Read Also
Ag in Motion speaker highlights need for biosecurity on cattle operations
Ag in Motion highlights need for biosecurity on cattle farms. Government of Saskatchewan provides checklist on what you can do to make your cattle operation more biosecure.
The olive-colored blotchy amphibians have been virtually ignored by researchers in the past, but Schock wants to change that. Salamander ecology is poorly understood, and so far studies have only been carried out on populations in southern Colorado and New Mexico.
Population crashes have occurred in some amphibian populations, and Schock is worried tiger salamanders could also be in danger of being driven from their habitat by humans.
“They’re amazingly rugged little beasts to live in this kind of climate,” she said.
But there’s no way to know unless data is collected on the species, and that’s the point of Schock’s masters study in biology. She wants to learn more about their foraging behavior, where they spend the winter, their nocturnal instincts and life cycle.
But first she needs to find them.
Schock is looking for sites over the next few weeks to set up the study, and is hoping farmers who have spotted salamanders near their ponds or dugouts will let her know, by calling 306-584-1277.
Tiger salamanders are yellowish with black blotches over their bodies. Their build is robust, with a broad, rounded head.
“I think their heads look like little muppets,” she said.
