Sampling Salamanders

*DO NOT MARK*

High above the clouds, in the 'dwarf forest' of Cusuco National Park.

In the summer of 2018 I spent 6 weeks trekking the Honduran cloud forest in search for 5 elusive species of salamander with Operation Wallacea; Bolitoglossa conanti, Bolitoglossa diaphora, Bolitoglossa dofleini, Bolitoglossa dunni and Bolitoglossa nympha.

During my time in Honduras I was able to sample over 50 salamanders for my dissertation, investigating the habitat preferences of the salamanders and the impact of climatic and anthropogenic change on their populations. This ecological study is novel in Cusuco National Park, with little known on some salamanders, I hope my research can provide insight into the ecology of Bolitoglossa to improve conservation efforts and the preservation these endemic, critically endangered species.

Bolitoglossa diaphora is a particularly important to study due to its incredible endemism in Cusuco with a total occurrence range of 10 km². Bolitoglossa dunni also has a small occurrence range of 5000 km² but is co-endemic to a site in Guatemala. All of the study species range from threatened to critically endangered, highlighting the importance of studies to understand their ecology and the impact environmental and anthropogenic factors have on their abundance in order to aid in conservation efforts.

To investigate habitat preferences of the salamanders, 6 variables were measured each time one of the target species were found;

-Tree type (broad leaf, palm, fern or pine)

-Perch type (moss, stem, leaf, bromeliad or leaf litter)

-Perch height (m)

-Distance to tree (m)

-Distance to water (0-5, 6-10m, 11-15m 15+m)

-Leaf litter depth (mm)

A female Bolitoglossa diaphora found on a fern tree

During my time in Honduras, I saw 3 out of 5 target species (Bolitoglossa diaphora, B. conanti and B. dofleini) and an additional salamander species (Oedipina tomasi, the worm salamander). However, thanks to the efforts of a fantastic team of herpetologists and research assistants I was able to gather data on all 5 of my target species during the field season at Operation Wallacea, allowing me to reach 50 salamanders in total.

I am now in the process of analysing my data and beginning my thesis write up and reflecting on my time in Honduras. The 6 weeks were tough for me physically and mentally with it being my second time out in the field and in such a harsh, challenging environment. I am incredibly proud of myself and all the other dissertation students I was blessed to spend my time out there with, for developing our own research and conquering the cloud forest!

I am excited to see what conclusions I can form from my data and talk more about the importance of ecological studies on salamanders.

The lovely dissertation team at Cusuco National Park

I felt my time in with Operation Wallacea has really opened up my career prospects, including the opportunity to return to Honduras, or other field sites as herpetological staff due to the connections I have been able to make.