Displaying items by tag: salamander biodiversity
Zigging and zagging to find the Zigzag
UT doctoral student Bryce Wade examines a Southern zigzag salamander he found at Ijams Nature Center in South Knoxville. Keenan Thomas/Hellbender Press
On the happy herping trail: Bryce Wade searches for salamanders
KNOXVILLE — Bryce Wade scours the nature trail, turning over rocks and logs. On this overcast day at Ijams Nature Center, he searches beneath the leaves on the ground for one creature: salamanders.
Underneath the rocks, logs and leaves, salamanders populate the cool, moist earth, avoiding the sun whenever they can. Wade is looking for a particular type: a winter species informally called the Southern zigzag salamander (Plethodon ventralis).
- ijams nature center
- salamander biodiversity
- southern zigzag salamander
- applachian salamander
- salamander hunting
- bryce wade
- fitzpatrick lab
- utk salamander research
- plethodon ventralis
- herping
- southeastern us
- biodiversity
- University of Tennessee
- oak ridge national laboratory
- oak ridge reservation
- oak ridge national environmental research park
Amorous salamanders heat up the Southern winter
Rob Hunter/Hellbender Press
Knox News: Winter a key time in salamander reproductive calendar
The woods, fields, rivers, creeks and wetlands of Southern Appalachia aren’t as barren as one would think in the midst of winter.
News Sentinel science reporter Vincent Gabrielle gives a solid rundown of why some of our amphibious denizens, including hellbenders, put themselves out there when so many other Appalachian critters retreat to burrows, dens and nests when the snow begins to blow.
“There are more salamander species that call the Southern Appalachians home than any other place on Earth. There are 30 salamander species present in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Out of the 550 known salamander species on the planet, 77 live here in our backyards. Their bright colors make them the living jewels of Appalachia,” Gabrielle reports.