Rhyacotriton cascadae

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	CAUDATA	RHYACOTRITONIDAE

Scientific Name:

Rhyacotriton cascadae

Species Authority:

Good & Wake, 1992

Common Name/s:

English

–

Cascade Torrent Salamander

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Near Threatened ver 3.1
Year Published:	2004
Assessor/s:	Geoffrey Hammerson
Reviewer/s:	Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Near Threatened because its Extent of Occurrence is probably not much greater than 20,000 km2, and its habitat is in decline, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species can be found on the west slope of the Cascade Mountains from just north of Mount Saint Helens, Skamania County, Washington, south to north-eastern Lane County, Oregon, USA (Good and Wake 1992).
Countries:	Native: United States
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	McAllister (1995) mapped approximately 53 collections or verified sighting locations in Washington. It is fairly common in appropriate habitat (Leonard et al. 1993), and its population is stable in Oregon (E. Gaines pers. comm.).
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It can be found in coniferous forests in small, cold mountain streams and spring seepages. Larvae often occur under stones in shaded streams. Adults also inhabit these streams or the streamsides in saturated moss-covered talus, or under rocks in the splash zone. This species is found primarily in older forest sites since the required microclimatic and microhabitat conditions generally exist only in older forests (Welsh 1990). Two Rhyacotriton nests were found in deep, narrow rock crevices, and the eggs were lying in cold, slow-moving water (Nussbaum et al. 1983).
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

It can be found in coniferous forests in small, cold mountain streams and spring seepages. Larvae often occur under stones in shaded streams. Adults also inhabit these streams or the streamsides in saturated moss-covered talus, or under rocks in the splash zone. This species is found primarily in older forest sites since the required microclimatic and microhabitat conditions generally exist only in older forests (Welsh 1990). Two Rhyacotriton nests were found in deep, narrow rock crevices, and the eggs were lying in cold, slow-moving water (Nussbaum et al. 1983).

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is sensitive to increased temperature and sedimentation, such as may result from logging or road construction for logging access. Timber harvesting negatively affects Rhyacotriton salamanders more than it does other amphibians in the same area (Bury and Corn 1988b; Corn and Bury 1989). Some populations are isolated by intervening areas of unsuitable habitat, and these are then vulnerable to extirpation through natural processes exacerbated by timber harvest (especially of old growth stands on north-facing slopes). This species is moderately threatened in Oregon (E. Gaines pers. comm.).

Major Threat(s):

This species is sensitive to increased temperature and sedimentation, such as may result from logging or road construction for logging access. Timber harvesting negatively affects Rhyacotriton salamanders more than it does other amphibians in the same area (Bury and Corn 1988b; Corn and Bury 1989). Some populations are isolated by intervening areas of unsuitable habitat, and these are then vulnerable to extirpation through natural processes exacerbated by timber harvest (especially of old growth stands on north-facing slopes). This species is moderately threatened in Oregon (E. Gaines pers. comm.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It occurs in some protected areas. Its conservation needs include retention of old-growth forest buffers around headwater streams (Petranka 1998).

Conservation Actions:

It occurs in some protected areas. Its conservation needs include retention of old-growth forest buffers around headwater streams (Petranka 1998).

Citation:	Geoffrey Hammerson 2004. Rhyacotriton cascadae. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2013.
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