SPARCnet

A regional collaborative network focused on research, education and community science to understand the effects of environmental change on woodland salamanders.

[Bartlett College of Science and Mathematics @STEMatBSU]

🚨 BREAKING NEWTS! 🚨
@BridgeStateU awarded $3M @NSF grant! SPARCnet RaMP is a 1-year mentored research opportunity where students study climate change effects on salamander populations & explore STEM career options. Congrats to PI @ProfMCFR & team! https://t.co/nqREUADzvx

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

Spooky #Salamander Alert! Yesterday, a SPARCnet team observed red-backed salamander cannibalism under a cover board at the Harris Center for Conservation Education in Hancock, New Hampshire – the #SPARCnet version of a Halloween horror flick! 📷s by Brett Amy Thelen

[Salamander Jill (Fleming) @salamander_jill]

Our tech Claire with a begrudgingly cooperative salamander 📸
@SPARCnet_Sals

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

It's the time of year many of us begin seeing red-backed salamanders on the soil surface! They prefer cool conditions around 50F/11C (dash line). In the summer, belowground temps are cooler and more stable, as seen here in temps across soil depth profiles at a Massachusetts site.

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

And a new #SPARCnet preprint!

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

New #SPARCnet paper!!

[Ecological Applications @ESAApplications]

New in @ESAApplications:

Experimental evaluation of spatial capture–recapture study design

#SCR #StudyDesign #RedBackedSalamanders

@salamander_jill @amphecology @SeanSterrett @chrissuthy

https://t.co/L7aGxAZNV0

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

New course module available – human dimensions!
https://t.co/M7m6k4SyTk

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

#SPARCnet M.S. student at @SUNY_Oneonta, Bethany Shaw, was recently profiled on the Oneonta website about her pandemic research perseverance! Go, Bethany! https://t.co/qCn3gfBnFy

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

Thanks to all who attended our session and asked fantastic questions!

[GangloffLabofAmphibianandReptileEcophysiology @GangloffLab_OWU]

Beautiful day to inaugurate a new @SPARCnet_Sals study plot! Along with @meaghan_regina and @abaxter_10, we proudly present Salamander #1:

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

New Blog Post! What’s your relationship status? In the case of your relationship with salamanders, hopefully it’s going strong. #Salamanders play an important role in our lives, but we threaten their existence...read more at https://t.co/wL84xnua2b

[Kristine Grayson @KGrayson_UR]

The @SPARCnet_Sals IUSE project shares its teaching modules on QUBES - check it out! https://t.co/mPbiRHg8YO

[Algonquin Wildlife Research Station @AlgonquinWRS]

The Life Underground.—Living beneath the soil surface may be dark, but a subterranean lifestyle moderates exposure to temperature extremes. It's not too hot and not too cold in this 'Goldilocks zone'. 1/n

#Salamander #SoilScience #Ecology

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

New Blog Post on the interactions between earthworms and salamanders by #SPARCnet member @SeanSterrett! Check it out!

https://t.co/LOYZUqLkXN

We're revitalizing our blog and plan to have monthly posts by our members, posting around the middle of the month. Stay tuned for more!

[Kristine Grayson @KGrayson_UR]

@urichmond and @MSU_IBIO students connected virtually today to compare independent project plans. Both classes are using @SPARCnet_Sals data this semester for CURE experiences connected across the range of this widespread salamander #TeachwithData

@louisesmead @BEACON_Center

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

Unlike most amphibians, red-backed salamanders practice some parental care. Females aggressively defend eggs against predators and neighbors. There are even some records of post-hatching attendance of offspring, like this rare find at a Western MA #SPARCnet site in 2017!

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

It's courtship season in Western MA! @salamander_jill, student Taylor, & field assistant Marley 🐶 saw many pairs under boards in #WendellStateForest. Females here nest when they become active in spring. They're REAL good at finding cryptic nest sites, so good luck finding them!

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

Welcome to the network! Happy salamandering!!

[GangloffLabofAmphibianandReptileEcophysiology @GangloffLab_OWU]

Very excited to work with @OhioWesleyan student @abaxter_10 to set up some new coverboard arrays as part of @SPARCnet_Sals! Many thanks to @meaghan_regina & @Peterman_Lab!

[SPARCnet @SPARCnet_Sals]

Richmond, VA is at the southern edge of the range of eastern red-backed salamanders, but don't let that catch you off guard - it has some of the highest salamander densities we have seen in #SPARCnet! Six sallies under one board is just a normal day in RVA!

[Kristine Grayson @KGrayson_UR]

Cool and wet = lots of red-backed and lead-backed salamanders in RVA! 38 on one plot + 6 beauties under one board while doing maintenance on another @SPARCnet_Sals

[Thomas Hossie 🐸🐛🦎🔍🧬🔬 @hossiet]

Very excited to announce that I received financial support from Symons Trust Fund for Canadian Studies to support start-up costs associated with launching a long-term #salamander research program here @Trentbiology in collaboration with @SPARCnet_Sals!