The Species At Risk Act (SARA) was established to ensure protection of all species that face extinction in Canada. The Jefferson salamanders are habitats of temperate forests and are threatened due to the continuous development on the land as well as the growth in the human population. This act restricts human on the exploitation of the habitats as it threats the safety of the species at risk. In Canada the species is only found in southern Ontario which implies it is an important habitat whose distortion will negatively impact the safety of the species. Jefferson salamanders are threatened by the disturbances of their habitats thus the need to adhere to the endangered species act which prevents causing harm to the species either in the public or private property.
The proposed development will result to disruption of the species habitat which will affect the breeding sites. This species breed away from their normal habitation and in the selected breeding pools might fall in the proposed development areas thus hindering the process (Chambers, 2008). The developer proposed to set aside 18 ha for the Salamanders but with no specification of where the piece of land will be which might not be suitable for the breeding as well as normal movement of the species. The development might be raised on the walk paths of the species to the breeding zones and thus contribute to their extinction.
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The life cycle of the species occurs in different ecological environments, the temperate forests, rock lands where they hide under logs and rocks and in the breeding pools where the fertilized eggs hatch into young Salamanders. Disruption of any ecological environment during any stage hiders the progression to the next stage of life. Rothermel and Semlitsch (2006 ), indicate that there was a drop in the survival of juvenile salamanders due to the disruption of the metamorphoses process and post metamorphic which happens in the habitat and the breeding zones (Rothermel & Semlitscha, 2006). With these findings, it is evident that slight disruption of the public and private property used by the species will result in negative consequences which is threatening to the species.
Land development affects the PH of the soil due to the elements used for construction. High soil PH is the preferred for the species for the breeding of the Jefferson salamanders in that an increase or drop in the PH affects the breeding and survival. Soil pH is a critical factor not only in the selection of vernal ponds by Jefferson salamander adults for breeding, but in determining the likelihood of reproductive success as judged by recruitment into the adult population (Horne & Dunson, 1994). Development of the land will positively impact the lives of the people but human activities will affect the content of the soil through waste disposal and the emissions from the industrialization process.
The proposed construction of pathways to allow the salamanders to avoid automobiles might not be actionable because the species has no specified route of choice and the breeding sites are not at specific point which might result to loss of many while crossing the road. Having a plan in place for the proposed development near the breading pools is essential for the prevention of the road kills.
Despite the social and economic benefits that would be brought about by the development, the conservation of the species is not guaranteed as the Jefferson salamanders might not be collected or removed from the wild to a restricted area for their conservation (Micacchion, Stapanian, & Adams, 2015). With the collected and provided information, the risks and harm to be caused by the development of the land is adverse and result in the extinction of the species.
References
Chambers, D. L. (2008). Logging Road Effect on Breeding-site Selection in Notophthalmus Viridescens (Red-spotted Newt) and Three Ambystomatid Salamanders in South-central Pennsylvania. Northen Naturalist, 15 (1), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.1656/1092-6194(2008)15[123:LREOBS]2.0.CO;2
Horne, M. T., & Dunson, W. A. (1994). Behavioral and physiological responses of the terrestrial life stages of the Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, to low soil pH. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 27 , 232–238.
Micacchion, M., Stapanian, M. A., & Adams, J. V. (2015). Site-Scale Disturbance and Habitat Development Best Predict an Index of Amphibian Biotic Integrity in Ohio Shrub and Forested Wetlands. Wetlands, 35 , 509–519.
Rothermel, B., & Semlitscha, R. (2006). Consequences of forest fragmentation for juvenile survival in spotted (Ambystoma maculatum) and marbled (Ambystoma opacum) salamanders. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 84 (6), 797-807.
