We plan to conduct field surveys in order to continue our project investigating the population ecology of the endemic slender salamander Batrachoseps pacificus. On this trip, we plan to perform area searches and transects in historical sites that we have also previously surveyed, as well as, potentially and subject to approval, lay down coverboards in order to better monitor and aggregate specimens at sites with limited suitable habitat. Natural cover such as logs, rocks, and leaf litter will be disturbed and replaced to locate salamanders. When either species of Batrachoseps native to the island is found in a search area, they will be swabbed, weighed, photographed for image measurement and morphology, and then returned to where they were found in their environment. No specimens will be kept. Salamander samples will be analyzed through qPCR with the USGS using the following procedure (USGS 2018). We hope to use this analysis to determine if chytridiomycosis has begun spreading to the island and to advocate for better protection protocols for all Santa Cruz Island amphibians.

Approved