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=Welcome to the Poughkeepsie Day School Salamander Survey Wiki!=

=Why do we survey salamanders?=

We survey sally's because they are great bio-indicators. They are great bio-indicators because they breath through their skin, so if there are many sally's around, then you know the soil and air is in good condition. Their skin is sensitive to changes in level of moisture and acidity. The recent sally population tells a lot about how our environment is changing, and this helps us to find trends in temperature, moisture, acidity and survival of other animals. So if they start to die out you know that the temperature, acidity or moisture in the air/ground might be changing.

What kind of Salamanders do we look for?

What do Plethodon cinereus look like?

How to monitor soil temperature:

You first stick the thermometer into the ground but first put a little hole into the ground. Next wait 5 minutes before taking the thermometer out of the ground. Then take the thermometer out of the ground and look where the red line is at and read the number. THAT IS HOW YOU DO IT!!!!!! HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

In 6b's salmander site the soil is mostly dry and is not the greatest place for a salamander to live in. The soil needs to be very moist. There are skinny trees and many leaves and others parts of trees which is great for salamanders to make burrows. Still it is to dry for a salamander to build it's home. -By: Mia .J. Foucek

Our survey sites: These two photos were taken by the 6A science class at their sally site.

A photo taken by Ava of a bug with false eyes on its head. taken on the way out of the wood to the class room. A photo taken by Dani of our entire sallly site (6A).

What kind of habitat is best for Plethodon cinereus? Eastern red-backed salamanders like deciduous forests with loose humus and lots of leaf litter and woody debris for cover. They prefer the cooler temperatures in a deciduous forest, although they can be found in mixed deciduous forests and some northern coniferous forests where the temperatures are cooler. They prefer low sunlight, adequate moisture and a neutral pH. Some research indicates that pH is the most critical factor. They also need plenty of insects, worms, slugs, spiders and other creatures to satiate thier voracious appetite. Our data: (C) || Soil temp (C) || moisture level || pH || number of red-backs found || number of lead-backs found || Dirt || 13 degrees C || 15 degrees C || Moist-dry || 6.0 || 1 || 1 || Dirt || 15 degrees C || 50 degrees C || Moist-very moist || 6.5 || 3 || 4 || Dirt || 23 degrees C || 18 degrees C || Mostly cool & moist || 7.0 || 0 || 3 || Dirt || 26 degrees C || 17 degrees C || Moist-dry || 5.75 || 1 || 0 || Dirt || 27 degrees C || 23 degrees C || Medium-very dry || 6.0 || 3 adult 1 juvenile || 0 || Dirt || 29 degrees C || 23 degrees C || moist-very dry || 5.5 || 0 || 0 || degrees C || 24 degrees C || hot - humid || n/a || 5 || 4 ||
 * Date || Site # || Forest Description || Air temp
 * 5/11/10 || 5/a || Deciduous trees
 * 5/11/10 || 5/b || Deciduous trees
 * 5/6/10 || 6/a || Deciduous trees
 * 5/6/10 || 6/b || Deciduous trees
 * 6/3/10 || 6/a || Deciduous trees
 * 6/3/10 || 6/b || Deciduous trees
 * 6/3/10 || 5/b || Littered || 25
 * 6/3/10 || 5/b || Littered || 25
 * 6/4/10 || 5/a || Littered || 30 Degrees C || 26 degrees C || Hot- not humid || 6.5 || 0 || 0 ||