Re: NANFA-- (hellbenders

Steffen Hellner (steffen_at_hellner.biz)
Thu, 08 Jan 2004 11:01:32 +0100

Thanks for the info though I already have it. Am screening the net
intensively to gather all information available. Nothing secure, yet. Many
different information on the same topics. Protected, not protected, S3, S4,
watch list, nothing at all, rare, common, declining, stable, protected from
take or not. Hope DFW will give a precise statement.

cheers,

Steffen

> Von: "geoff" <gkimber2_at_alltel.net>
> Antworten an: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Datum: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 22:45:32 -0500
> An: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
> Betreff: NANFA-- (hellbenders
>
> Here's a report on hellbenders prepared for US Fish and Wildlife Service in
> June 2003.
>
> To my non-herper eye, it seems very detailed at 43 pages.
>
> http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered/amphibians/eahe-sa.pdf
>
> According to the article, hellbenders have never been bred in captivity, but
> there is a group attempting to do so.
>
>
> Geoff Kimber
> Lexington,KY
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nanfa_at_aquaria.net On Behalf
> Of Bruce Stallsmith
> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 7:40 PM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Columbia trip gear (hellbenders plus!)
>
>
>> From: archimedes_at_bayspringstel.net
>> I'll admit I haven't followed the literature on hellbenders, so if the
>> evidence
>> is there then I stand corrected. But denial based on lack of evidence is
>> not
>> the same thing as rationalization. My point was not intended to be "they
>> do it,
>> therefore so can I" but rather "I don't see any facts showing that removal
>> of
>> hellbenders by fishermen is contributing to their extinction, therefore
>> there is
>> even less rationale behind the suggestion that aquarists are causing harm."
>
> OK, fair enough. Following is much of the commentary from the
> natureserve.org site on the status of hellbenders. The major threat to
> hellbenders is habitat degradation. But both fishing bycatch and collecting
> have effects on local populations. Hellbenders are also not very fecund, so
> their populations recover slowly if at all from any local disasters. At
> least one NANFA member is cited below, B.K. Wagner from Arkansas who was at
> last year's NANFA convention.
> Global Trend Comments: Though abundant in certain areas, there have been
> significant local population declines in many areas throughout the range
> (Nickerson and Mays 1973, Williams et al. 1981). Minton (1972) stated that
> the species "seems well on its way to extinction in Indiana." Apparently
> secure in Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West
> Virginia. In the Missouri Ozarks, recent surveys indicate that populations
> appear to be stable and in high enough numbers to ensure their continued
> presence (see Figg 1993). In Arkansas, a decline was noted in the early
> 1990s (1992, End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 17[9-11]:14). A formerly abundant
> population in the Spring River, Arkansas, apparently declined in the 1990s
> (B. K. Wagner, H. Kucuktas, and R. Shopen, unpublished abstract).
>
> Threats: A habitat specialist with little tolerance of environmental change
> (Williams et al. 1981). Degradation of habitat is the principal threat. This
> animal breathes primarily (approximately 90%) through the skin (Guimond
> 1970) and is therefore dependent on cool, well-oxygenated, flowing water.
> Construction of dams stops swift water flow and submerges riffles. Logging,
> mining, road construction and maintenance, and other activities can cause
> extensive sedimentation that covers the loose rock and gravel important to
> nest sites, shelter, and food production. In Illinois, "most former rocky
> habitat has been buried under silt" (Phillips et al. 1999). Chemical
> pollutants and acid mine drainage are probably destructive, especially to
> eggs and larvae. Thermal pollution of water with a consequent oxygen loss
> would be detrimental. Several streams in Alabama "have been polluted,
> impounded, or otherwise modified to the extent that they are, from all
> indications, incapable of supporting hellbender populations" (Mount
> 1975:109). Injuries and deaths sometimes result when the salamanders are
> hooked by anglers. Some fishermen still believe that hellbenders are
> dangerously poisonous and also destroy game fish and their eggs (both
> beliefs are false), and kill them at every opportunity. In the past, there
> were even attempts by organized sportman's groups in West Virginia to
> eradicate them. There is some collecting of hellbenders for sale as live
> animals or as preserved specimens. Overcollecting has been considered a
> serious threat in Arkansas (Osborne, pers. comm. 1992); a decline was noted
> in the early 1990s, apparently due to collecting (1992, End. Sp. Tech. Bull.
> 17[9-11]:14). Nickerson and Mays (1973) noted additional factors they
> suspected may affect local populations, such as gigging, heavy canoe
> traffic, dynamiting of large boulders to enhance commercial canoe traffic,
> and riverside cattle and hog pens. Hellbenders generally are intolerant of
> heavy recreational use of habitat.
>
> Fragility Comments: Low vagility and recruitment rate make this species
> vulnerable to local extirpation.
>
> submitted by:
> Bruce Stallsmith
> Huntsville, AL, US of A
>
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