Forest and Vernal Pool Quality: Evaluation for Potential Salamander Reintroduction

Description

By Shantanu Dutt & Sarah Bencic, Completed for: Northumberland Land Trust; Supervising Professor: Tom Whillans; Trent Community Research Centre, This project was developed for the Northumberland Land Trust (NLT) to assess and determine the suitability of the Laurie Lawson Education Centre property in Cobourg; for possible salamander introduction. In the initial research for this project many experts and expert literature sources were consulted to develop methods of assessment and to layout our onsite research. From this research we established that there are many factors which might affect survival of salamanders in an established population, and that would affect the suitability of habitat for translocation of salamanders. The substantial number of vernal pools on the property was the main reason for the Northumberland Land Trust’s request for research and an assessment into the property’s suitability.