Aurora (00:07):

Welcome to today's episode of Naturally Speaking, the podcast from Nature Up North where we will be diving in deep on the cool lives of Celebrators, who these unique critters are and where you might be able to find them in your own backyard. And welcome back to another episode of Nationally Speaking. Hi, my name is Aurora

Darlenne (00:37):

And I'm Darlenne.

Aurora (00:38):

And we are current undergraduate students at St. Lawrence University. We are both Digital Media interns at Nature Up North. I am currently a senior this semester majoring in Environmental Studies and Sociology with a minor in Spanish. My favorite outdoor hobbies include hiking, running on nature trails, and kayaking.

Darlenne (00:57):

And I'm a sophomore this semester doing combined major Environmental Science with a Biology, uh, with a minor of English. I like cloud watching and going on walks with friends and then trying to impress them by telling them the type of trees we're walking past, even though I can only confidently identify maples, but they don't need to know that <laugh>.

Aurora (01:17):

Um, I only know of one tree identifying tip and trick for when it's wintertime and I can't identify trees by their leaves. Do you want to learn of another way to impress your friends the next time you're out on a trail?

Darlenne (01:30):

Oh my god, yes.

Aurora (01:32):

Okay. So the trees that have bark, which look like it's peeling, they are the black cherry trees. How I remember them is that at least to me the bark looks like burnt corn flakes or burnt corn chips. And BC - burnt corn - is the same initials as BC - black cherry. And that's how I remember.

Darlenne (01:52):

Oh my, that's so helpful. I can now add that into the exclusive inventory of trees I now know of.

Aurora (02:00):

<laugh>. Yeah. Um, so instead of talking about trees today, although I feel like we could keep talking about them forever, we wanted to share and talk with you guys about salamanders, the cool baby lizard-looking creatures that are found here in the North Country. You can usually find them within piles of leaf litter, under logs and around the riverbed. We will be talking about their importance to the environment, particularly, particularly in the Corth Country, some seasonal habits of theirs and unique fun facts about them. So before we begin into the really cool details, Darlene, why did we decide to talk about salamanders? What started our appreciation and love for these creatures?

Darlenne (02:42):

Well, it was a brisk wet day in early May when my best friends and I went on a hike on the trails behind my charter high school, uh, since my high school was on West Rock Park because school got let out early due to a power outage, it was pouring rain and when I mean pouring, I mean like buckets and buckets of water getting dumped on top of us, which is so horrible for someone who depends on glasses to see. So we were not at all prepared, um, but continued on because we were having fun, um, spending time with one another. And because we loved how close and tender this experience meant for us, it was an intimate moment with us and the woods on the trails. We found multiple frogs jumping around and then found two brightly colored salamanders and named them. I was really sad to let them go since I heavily bonded with them. But at the end of the day, you got to learn how to let go of those you love. They'll be happier doing their services to the ecosystem then to be manhandled by a blinded orange raincoat girl excited to apply to colleges that year.

Aurora (03:45):

<laugh>, Honestly, I probably would've just gone home and read a book. That is so cool you went out adventuring the rain. Personally, the bright orange salamanders are my favorite as well. Do you remember any of their names?

Darlenne (03:57):

So I named one Citrus and the other one I think Darlene Jr. Dennis, I'm not really sure, but I can assure you is probably really weird. I'm not at all creative when it comes to names. I usually just go off what they look like or their unique personality. Like if I was to name a tiger, no idea why I would be tasked and naming a tiger, I would name them Clem. Short for Clementine, but enough of my bad name choices. What's your favorite memory surrounding salamanders?

Aurora (04:26):

For me, I had a really great childhood memory and introduction to salamanders. So when I was about eight or 10 years old. Wow, I feel really old saying that. But anyways, as a child, my grandparents had a cabin, although not in the north country but in a wooded area in western New York. So every summer we would have our annual family reunions there and I, alongside with my younger siblings and cousins, would run off in the woods with a bucket on a mission to collect salamanders. Sometimes we would find some toads, but usually were on a more interested um, search in these tiny lizards that aren't actually lizards, which we'll talk about later. Um, but yeah, we would have competitions on who could find the most salamanders, the biggest one, the smallest one, and the environment was absolutely perfect. The soil was always damp and the forest bed was always covered with leaves. After collecting them, we would show our parents and grandparents, all of them laughing and asking if we had named them. Of course I don't remember the exact names, but I would also name them after their color.

Darlenne (05:28):

Imagine if scientists took the same path we took and named all speeches for their color or a characteristic. Actually now thinking of it, they probably did. Urodela is their scientific name and it means "the group with tails". So it's kind of cool how scientists name groups based on characteristics like shape, size, or color. If only we knew enough Latin and Greek to figure it out.

Aurora (05:51):

You're so right. Look at how much we can learn just by playing outdoors. But the even funnier thing is that we would also try to create the best mini-homes for the salamander in our little buckets by making sure there was a mini area of water or what we called a pool, some leaves, sticks, and of course mud. Also making sure we kept the little creatures in shady areas under the tree canopies surrounding the cabin. Of course we would release them back into the woods after a couple hours or so just to make sure they're getting enough food and releasing them exactly back where we found them. And we tried to find them again the next day.

Darlenne (06:25):

Oh my God, that's so cute. How many others have not had the opportunity to catch and learn about these amazing amphibians? And that's why we're here to tell you Yes, you the listener about them. So buckle in!

Aurora (06:42):

So you may be asking who are these little guys? Salamanders are amphibians a type of animal classification that are born in water, but by adult stage have land breathing lungs. There are about 500 different species commonly found across North America, southern Canada, and South America. The most common salamanders here in the North Country are the red back salamanders, the spotted salamanders, and the blue spotted salamanders. Personally, I find the blue spotted salamanders my favorite type here in the North Country, and that's because they're quite unique in comparison to other salamanders. The Corth country as well as the Ontario and Quebec provinces in Canada create the perfect homes for these amphibians as they prefer deciduous forests and swampy woodlands. First they are a dark blackish blue based color with blue and white tiny spots across the backs and tails of their bodies.

Darlenne (07:38):

Wait, sorry to interrupt, but their tails, that's why scientists name the Urodela because of their tails!

Aurora (07:44):

Yes, you're so right. That's the classification the scientists used. Well, focusing in on their tails, their sizes range from three to six inches in length. But what I find even more exciting is that 40% of their body is actually just their tail. I don't know why, or I don't know any amphibian or other mammal that their tail is that long of their body besides like dolphins or whales. Right? Do snake do snakes count?

Darlenne (08:14):

I'm not sure that would be a fair comparison since they are a different species in many ways. But that's really cool to think about. I mean, even though lots of species are complete opposites of one another, you can still find something that connects them together.

Aurora (08:27):

And like other salamanders, they use opposite legs to walk in a side-to-side motion and to swim in the water. All salamanders tend to live in moist areas and habitats, such as under logs, leaf litter, and near vernal pools. Vernal pools are the big seasonal puddles that pop up towards the end of spring and remain during the summer or fall season, creating the perfect habitat for these fellas. Usually these habitats are found around the low areas in woods or forests surrounding trees, especially here in the North Country. However, these vernal pools have become threatened in becoming smaller in size across the world as a result of global warming and deforestation through logging or agricultural purposes. Therefore, there is a further push in the science and local communities to protect these lands. These pools are essential and valuable homes to unique amphibians such as these salamanders. But wait, we explained about where these creatures homes are and what blue spotted salamanders look like, but as we said earlier, there's about 500 different species. So what do the other salamanders look like?

Darlenne (09:34):

What a great question Aurora. And like any animal species there are of different sizes and these different species have different colors and patterns including spots, stripes, and other colorations. But the most common are darker colors of brown and black with shades of blue, red, and orange. But as you may have guessed, these creatures generally share the same characteristics. Many critters, including amphibians, have similar characteristics for protection purposes. For example, salamanders who are darker in color such as a deep brown and orange use this as a camouflage against their predators like snakes and bullfrogs. Others who have bright colors as either their spots or as the main color are used as warning signs for their predators. Bright colors usually mean poisonous, even if they aren't really poisonous <laugh>, it's a hiding and plain sight tactic to not get eaten - quite smart I think. Also salamanders have moist and mostly smooth skin, kind of like aquatic lizards, but salamanders are not lizards, and that is because of other characteristics. They are vertebrate animals where they will be born in water and give birth in water by laying jelly-like eggs, whereas reptiles will lay shelled eggs on land and usually remain on land. Lizards for a reptile example, have claws and are most likely to attack their prey, or get ready to defend themselves from predators. Salamanders don't attack, but rather hide from danger nor have any claws. Imagine if salamanders had claws.

Aurora (11:02):

Hmm, maybe they would be like mini amphibian wolverines <laugh> Because they don't have claws, salamanders catch their prey with their sticky tongues or with their small teeth (depending on the species). And also these amphibians are carnivores. So what they like to eat is a range of bugs, including flies, larvae, worms, crustaceans, beetles, ticks, and mosquitoes. Although not limiting to just that as their diet, but also small mammals like fish salamanders are also cannibals as they will eat other salamanders that are smaller than themselves. When given the opportunity,

Darlenne (11:41):

Salamanders also have a rich and interesting story about them. Like, did you know that the salamander has come to be closely associated with fire insurance because of the folklore associated with the animal? Well, if you didn't, according to a Wired article written by Matt Simon in August, 2014 in the first century ad, Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder threw a salamander into a fire. He wanted to see if it could indeed not only survive the flames, but distinguished them as Aristotle had claimed such creatures could, but the salamander didn't make it. Yet that didn't stop the legend of the fireproof salamander, a name derived from the Persian meaning "the fire within" from persisting for 1500 more years from the ancient Romans, the Middle Ages, all the way up to alchemists of the Renaissance. Some even believed it was born in fire like the legendary Phoenix only slimier and a bit less traumatic.

Darlenne (12:33):

Part of the problem it seems is that in addition to disproving the salamanders powers, Pliny also wrote extensively that it had such powers, and then some. His natural history, which has survived over the centuries as a towering catalog of everything from mining to zoology, describes the salamander as such. "It is so chilly that it puts out fire by its contact in the same way as ice does. It vomits from its mouth a milky slaver, one touch of which on any part of the human body causes all the hair to drop off, and the portioned touch changes its color and breaks out in a letter" a sort of itchy skin disease. The salamander was mythologized as both a miraculous survivor and a menace.

Aurora (13:17):

<laugh>. What an interesting story. I have not heard that yet, but I think that's so cool and I think I find it even cooler that historically people were trying to find these connections and explanations for the natural world kind of being their own scientists. This relation between salamanders and being fireproof or so-called fireproof, I guess, uh, the story to express this connection between biotic and abiotic things in nature through the eyes of humans, I find super cool. But although this association, as you mentioned, aren't truly real as salamanders aren't truly fireproof, but rather it's their ability to survive wildfires and some heat is due to their ability to escape into the water and hide in moist soils underneath the fires because of their skin and their ability to breathe through their skin.

Darlenne (14:12):

Not only are their stories about salamander's fireproof, unfortunately not so fireproof abilities, but there are still some cool fun facts about salamanders. Fun fact, one, the earliest salamander species lived before the dinosaurs. The salamander species, Triassurus sixtelae lived 230 million years ago during the Triassic period, a fossil from one of these Triassic-era stem salamanders discovered in Kyrgyzstan in 2020 is the oldest salamander ever found. And fun fact two, salamanders don't have vocal cords.

Aurora (14:46):

Wait, wait. So salamanders wouldn't be good singers?

Darlenne (14:49):

<laugh>, Unfortunately, probably not. They have been known as a silent amphibians for the longest time. However, less than a year ago, some scientists discovered very quiet vocalization from a "ptaat" kind of noise through the communication process between salamanders. But further research still needs to be done before declaring truth to this discovery.

Aurora (15:10):

Now you along with the both of us might be curious as to how salamanders survive the North Country winters in addition to communication with each other. And as you may know, if you live in the North Country, the winters are absolutely beautiful. There is a lot of snow and the temperature can get quite cold. Many salamanders have different winter characteristics and actions. Some species migrate to warmer areas with more favorable conditions like birds. While others burrow underground or find other places to shelter from the cold, they burrow into small crevices and other tight spot areas beneath the ground in which they call home during these winter months. Some salamanders also enter a state of dormancy called brumation in which their metabolism slows down significantly and they remain inactive for long periods of time. When temperatures start to drop, salamanders begin to look for places to shelter from the cold.

Aurora (16:05):

Brumation is similar to hibernation in some ways, but it is not as deep of a sleep. So salamander's in brumation will still wake up and move around occasionally during the winter, but they will not eat or mate during this time. This allows them to conserve energy and survive on their stored fat reserves until conditions improve or warm up and they can become active again. In their small amounts of food they do eat, their diets consist of worms, slugs, spiders, and other invertebrates. Burrowing and brumation are the most common winter survival tactics from salamanders here in the North Country. And going back to our example of the blue spotted salamander species that we were talking about earlier, this species could not withstand freezing temperatures like other amphibians. They will emerge from the ground as soon as the ground begins to thaw in the early spring. And on rainy nights, they will frequently move across the snow.

Darlenne (17:02):

As we continue to share about the amazing traits of how salamanders aren't only cute creatures that roam around the woods, but rather play an important role in the ecosystem. Another important role from salamanders is their essential role in keeping insect populations in balance. Salamanders prey heavily on such species. This is a valuable service to humans as salamanders act as a natural form of pest control. This includes consuming ticks and mosquitoes.

Aurora (17:27):

And another important role of salamanders is that they're keystone or focal species. That means that they play an important role in not only the trophic levels of maintaining the normal or typical balance between all habitat populations, but also are one of the first indicators of climate changes or any environmental changes within the habitat. The greatest risk to the salamander populations that drive these environmental changes are human actions in regards to large-scale impacts. Number one is, as you may guess, deforestation. Deforestation decreases the amount of homes as they live in logs, damp areas, and decreases the amount of plants that capture the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And as carbon dioxide increases as well as other pollutants, they become detrimental to amphibians. This is because amphibians have the ability to breathe through their skin, and the water pollution in particular can be immensely dangerous to the salamanders since they can also live in water and breathe the air in the water through their skin. So some species of salamanders become less symmetrical if they receive too much pollution from the air or water. One species is, as you may have guessed, the blue spotted salamanders. This one type of salamanders may lose their symmetry, which helps them hide from their predators and their functionality. So losing this important characteristic trait can decrease their survivability. Further challenges like most amphibians, salamanders are under-studied, under-researched, and therefore lack protection and conservation efforts across the world.

Darlenne (19:06):

So what can we do to help? Well, I think when and if we are trying to find salamanders and remove them from their environments, making sure they aren't away from their environments for long periods of time to decrease stress. Um, also picking up litter and avoiding throwing plastics and garbage out in environment will help as well. Other additional options include decreasing your own ecological footprint to help slow down the warming of the planet, um, such as taking shorter showers, or biking and walking instead of taking a car whenever possible, or even joining a local activist group, uh, who's against cutting trees. Um, and even at a local level, we can help collect data by marking where you find the salamanders, what's type of salamander you saw. If you don't know, you can take a picture and use identifying apps or ask a biologist or nature expert. Also, a great way to show spotted salamanders here in the North Country is sharing your pictures on the Nature Up North website under the Encounters page, not only can you share your salamander findings as well as other amphibians, mammals, birds, plants, and other cool nature findings, but you can also see others who post as well and comment on your favorite ones.

Aurora (20:16):

And I think that's a great way to kind of conclude our podcast unless Darlenne, do you have anything else you would like to add?

Darlenne (20:23):

Mm, I don't think so. But of course there's always more to talk about. The conversation and exploration shouldn't stop here. If you wanna learn more about salamanders, other amphibians and unique creatures, you can visit the Nature Up North website.

Aurora (20:36):

Thank you everyone for listening to this episode of The Naturally Speaking Podcast. We've learned about salamanders, their science and their stories. We've looked at how they have the ability to withstand forest fires and cold north country winters, as well as how they are being impacted by humans. We hope you enjoyed learning more about salamanders and their role here in the North Country as much as we did. Please stay tuned for further Naturally Speaking podcasts on more exciting nature information. Get up and get outside with Nature Up North.