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Brian Silva, Ann Street School

Essex County

Image of Honorable Mention, Essex County, Eastern Tiger SalamanderHonorable Mention, Essex County, Eastern Tiger Salamander (c) Brian Silva

Eastern Tiger Salamander

Hi, I am an eastern tiger salamander or as my scientific name is Ambystoma tigrinum. I

can grow up to seven to eight inches. I am also the largest salamander in New Jersey. I

inhabit woodlands, meadows, marshes, and suburban areas. But I am also in trouble.

I am an endangered species. I need your help! My habitat is lost and the pollution and

breeding ponds led to declines of my population. We have many threats to, wooden

uplands, illegal dumping along with filling, and destroying or degrading many breeding

pond. Pollution from insecticides, runoff, and fertilizers may kill eggs and larvae or

render ponds inhabitable.

Humans have the power to put this system in balance. When air, land, water, and plants

support each other in a healthy environmental system, all species, including humans

flourish. I live in the east coast from southern New York to northern Florida west from

Ohio to Minnesota and southward through eastern Texas to the Gulf. I spend most of my

time underground. On long island we emerge from our burrow and in February and

March we go to migrate at night.

Our eggs are laid in mass and attached to twigs and weed stems undr water. The female

may deposit one of more egg masses containing 25-50 eggs per mass. After four weeks

the larvae may remain in the ponds till late July or early August. I may live up to 12-15

years. We eat invertebrates and small vertebrates. Recent surveys have identified about

90 breeding ponds in New York, confined to eastern Nassau County and Suffolk County.

Its status at these remaining sites is tenuous because of pesticides and other contaminants,

threats of development, and other land patterns.

Intensive surveys were conducted to determine the distribution of this species in New

York. Breeding ponds have been designated as Class 1 wetlands. A five year program to

reintroduce tiger salamanders to an unoccupied historic site in Nassau County by

transplanting egg masses was initiated in 1987 but has had limited success. A radio

telemetry study, funded by Return A Gift to Wildlife was started in 1990 to study the

biology and upland habitat requirements of this species is needed in order to develop

appropriate management strategies.

You can help us by stopping pollution, try to clean our habitat and do not littr. I hope now

you can help me!

Written By: Brian Silva

Ann Street School, Newark, NJ

Teacher: Mrs. Cardoso