Status of mudpuppy in lower great lakes region

[annmarie]

I was curious on the status of the mudpuppy in the lower great lakes region, specifically arround Chicago and its southern estruaries. When i was younger we used to go smelt fishing (right at the shedd aquarium) and in our nets we used to catch tons of mudpuppies. Smelt fishing has been bad( i dont even think you are allowed to fish by the aquarium anymore) and i have not seen a mudpuppy in a few years arround here. It seems everything where i live is disappearing(such as the salamanders and frogs at my cottage in IN).

 

[joan]

Sadly, mudpuppies, as all caudates it seems, are in decline. A lot of this is due to the uneducation of fishermen, killing them believing they're poisonous. I've found they also avoid water near heavily trafficed areas, and places with high development near the shore.

Mudpuppies usually come to the surface in the winter, and are in deep water in the summer.

 

[jacob]

I haven't see a specimen of any species of salamander in this area in 11 years. I have an injured tiger salamander from a couple of towns over, but I never see them here. People used to get them by the dozen sometimes in their window wells, but not any more. All of the old breeding ponds in my town were drained when the township got rid of the old forest preserve.

 

[annmarie]

Jacob, same thing is happening to the salamanders with the blue spots where my parents live. After the rain we would find them everywhere- in leaves, under rocks, in our garage, under tires/cars. Now we only see the ones that live in their sprinkler system. Behind our house is a "wetland habitat". It's pretty crappy and surrounded by subdivisions.

Its pretty crappy your township got rid of forrest preserve. Currently, I was thinking about doing a survey in the Orland Park/Palos IL area for newts and salamanders. That area is being built up even faster than where my parents live. Orland has lots of wetland and grass land, but all is turning into subdivions now. They town/parkdistrict has all this stuff set up to protect praries and little birds, but not wetlands and water monsters.

I have not seen a mudpuppy since I was in grade school. We used to smelt fish behind the Shedd Aquarium, and in the nets guys would catch mudpuppies. Smelt fishing is <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font> now, due to introduced species and onlything people catch is garabage and zebra mussels.

We also have a cottage that is near Culver in Indiana that has been in the family for ages-belonged to my great grandma. Anyways, my dad said when he was young and into the 1980's there would be tiger and spotted salamanders. In my life I have only seen toads there and baby cat fish.

Everything is disapearing, especially things that rock, like mudpuppy and tiger salamanders. Don't get me started about how nasty the reefs are in the Florida Keys these days.

I am trying to look for Illinios/Great Lakes Basin caudate conservation groups. When I go to my interview at the Shedd, I will see if they have information on conservation and data of caudata of Illinios.

 

[jacob]

There is a conservation park a few towns from me that just opened last spring. It is huge and has very few trails. I have seen leopard frogs in some of the ponds/swamplands there. There is also a small population of the rare Blanding's turtle in one of the ponds. I want to go up there in the spring to get photographs of native salamanders. The land there is wild. It used to be a summer camp in like the 1940's but closed shortly after it opened.