Since 2006, when white-nose syndrome first started affecting bats in New York State, people have become more aware of the threat that wildlife diseases pose on species in certain habitats. Steps were taken to restrict access to some known bat hibernacula in order to slow the spread of this fungal disease.

Now, another fungus pathogen has come to light that is threatening amphibians, especially salamanders. A fungus in Europe, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, has recently decimated the Dutch fire salamander in the Netherlands. There is a fear that the disease could be transported to the U.S. and other countries and cause severe population decline or worse of varied species of amphibians.

This past January the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has placed an interim ban on the importation and interstate transport of 201 separate species of salamanders. Many of these were imported for the pet trade from other countries. Any captive salamanders or other reptiles or amphibians of the pet-store variety should never be released it into the wild. An exception would be if you caught a local salamander that hasn’t shared a tank with any imported species and you wish to release it; take it back to where you found it and release it.

One third of the world’s 600 plus species of salamanders are found in the U.S., and biologists in this and other countries are concerned that fungal diseases have the potential for the detriment of amphibian species diversity worldwide. To this end, Clarion University Biology Department faculty, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation, and the Pennsylvania Amphibian and Reptile Survey are embarking on a study to investigate the distribution of three amphibian pathogens in the state of Pennsylvania. The project will involve taking non-lethal samples from about 750 Eastern red-spotted newts and is set to start this spring. The samples will be screened for three amphibian pathogens.

The results of this work will aid wildlife managers on any future conservation efforts for salamanders and other amphibians. The sight of a red eft or other salamander in the wild is a welcome sign of spring. Let’s hope we keep seeing these small wonders.