wes_von_papineäu
Our Roving Correspondent
WAVY (Hampton Roads, Virginia) 06 August 07 Biologist embarks on a census of the Shenandoah salamander
Harrisonburg, Va. (AP): Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shenandoah National Park, a mystery lies in the shadows of stony cliffs and sinkholes.
That mystery is a 3- to 4-inch-long salamander that hasn't been found anywhere else in the world.
Officials don't know how many Shenandoah salamanders live in the 300-square-mile park.
But now a biologist with the Smithsonian Institution plans to study the salamanders for the next three years. The study will determine their population numbers and be used for a long-term management plan.
Biologists say the Shenandoah salamander is 1 of many amphibians across the globe experiencing such a dramatic decline in their numbers that they face possible extinction.
The Shenandoah salamander was listed as federally endangered in 1989 because of its restricted range, limitations on expansion and potential threats within defined population areas.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=6888432&nav=menu45_2
Harrisonburg, Va. (AP): Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Shenandoah National Park, a mystery lies in the shadows of stony cliffs and sinkholes.
That mystery is a 3- to 4-inch-long salamander that hasn't been found anywhere else in the world.
Officials don't know how many Shenandoah salamanders live in the 300-square-mile park.
But now a biologist with the Smithsonian Institution plans to study the salamanders for the next three years. The study will determine their population numbers and be used for a long-term management plan.
Biologists say the Shenandoah salamander is 1 of many amphibians across the globe experiencing such a dramatic decline in their numbers that they face possible extinction.
The Shenandoah salamander was listed as federally endangered in 1989 because of its restricted range, limitations on expansion and potential threats within defined population areas.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=6888432&nav=menu45_2