cheers,
Steffen
> Von: "geoff" <gkimber2_at_alltel.net>
> Antworten an: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Datum: Wed, 7 Jan 2004 22:45:32 -0500
> An: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
> Betreff: NANFA-- (hellbenders
>
> Here's a report on hellbenders prepared for US Fish and Wildlife Service in
> June 2003.
>
> To my non-herper eye, it seems very detailed at 43 pages.
>
> http://midwest.fws.gov/endangered/amphibians/eahe-sa.pdf
>
> According to the article, hellbenders have never been bred in captivity, but
> there is a group attempting to do so.
>
>
> Geoff Kimber
> Lexington,KY
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-nanfa_at_aquaria.net On Behalf
> Of Bruce Stallsmith
> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 7:40 PM
> To: nanfa_at_aquaria.net
> Subject: Re: NANFA-- Columbia trip gear (hellbenders plus!)
>
>
>> From: archimedes_at_bayspringstel.net
>> I'll admit I haven't followed the literature on hellbenders, so if the
>> evidence
>> is there then I stand corrected. But denial based on lack of evidence is
>> not
>> the same thing as rationalization. My point was not intended to be "they
>> do it,
>> therefore so can I" but rather "I don't see any facts showing that removal
>> of
>> hellbenders by fishermen is contributing to their extinction, therefore
>> there is
>> even less rationale behind the suggestion that aquarists are causing harm."
>
> OK, fair enough. Following is much of the commentary from the
> natureserve.org site on the status of hellbenders. The major threat to
> hellbenders is habitat degradation. But both fishing bycatch and collecting
> have effects on local populations. Hellbenders are also not very fecund, so
> their populations recover slowly if at all from any local disasters. At
> least one NANFA member is cited below, B.K. Wagner from Arkansas who was at
> last year's NANFA convention.
> Global Trend Comments: Though abundant in certain areas, there have been
> significant local population declines in many areas throughout the range
> (Nickerson and Mays 1973, Williams et al. 1981). Minton (1972) stated that
> the species "seems well on its way to extinction in Indiana." Apparently
> secure in Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West
> Virginia. In the Missouri Ozarks, recent surveys indicate that populations
> appear to be stable and in high enough numbers to ensure their continued
> presence (see Figg 1993). In Arkansas, a decline was noted in the early
> 1990s (1992, End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 17[9-11]:14). A formerly abundant
> population in the Spring River, Arkansas, apparently declined in the 1990s
> (B. K. Wagner, H. Kucuktas, and R. Shopen, unpublished abstract).
>
> Threats: A habitat specialist with little tolerance of environmental change
> (Williams et al. 1981). Degradation of habitat is the principal threat. This
> animal breathes primarily (approximately 90%) through the skin (Guimond
> 1970) and is therefore dependent on cool, well-oxygenated, flowing water.
> Construction of dams stops swift water flow and submerges riffles. Logging,
> mining, road construction and maintenance, and other activities can cause
> extensive sedimentation that covers the loose rock and gravel important to
> nest sites, shelter, and food production. In Illinois, "most former rocky
> habitat has been buried under silt" (Phillips et al. 1999). Chemical
> pollutants and acid mine drainage are probably destructive, especially to
> eggs and larvae. Thermal pollution of water with a consequent oxygen loss
> would be detrimental. Several streams in Alabama "have been polluted,
> impounded, or otherwise modified to the extent that they are, from all
> indications, incapable of supporting hellbender populations" (Mount
> 1975:109). Injuries and deaths sometimes result when the salamanders are
> hooked by anglers. Some fishermen still believe that hellbenders are
> dangerously poisonous and also destroy game fish and their eggs (both
> beliefs are false), and kill them at every opportunity. In the past, there
> were even attempts by organized sportman's groups in West Virginia to
> eradicate them. There is some collecting of hellbenders for sale as live
> animals or as preserved specimens. Overcollecting has been considered a
> serious threat in Arkansas (Osborne, pers. comm. 1992); a decline was noted
> in the early 1990s, apparently due to collecting (1992, End. Sp. Tech. Bull.
> 17[9-11]:14). Nickerson and Mays (1973) noted additional factors they
> suspected may affect local populations, such as gigging, heavy canoe
> traffic, dynamiting of large boulders to enhance commercial canoe traffic,
> and riverside cattle and hog pens. Hellbenders generally are intolerant of
> heavy recreational use of habitat.
>
> Fragility Comments: Low vagility and recruitment rate make this species
> vulnerable to local extirpation.
>
> submitted by:
> Bruce Stallsmith
> Huntsville, AL, US of A
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org