Are salamanders good bioindicators of sustainable forest management in boreal forests?

Salamanders have been identified as potential indicators of sustainable forest management in boreal Ontario, Canada. However, little information is available on their distribution, abundance, and habitat associations within the boreal forests on which to base a monitoring program. We surveyed salamanders near White River, Ontario, and related their distribution to climate and vegetation information and to habitat suitability models currently used for forest planning within the region. Primarily red-backed salamanders ( Plethodon cinereus Green) and blue-spotted salamanders ( Ambystoma laterale Hallowell) were recorded, although both were observed in low numbers and captures varied spatially and temporally. Capture rates were 3–7 times lower for P. cinereus than has been reported elsewhere. Trend monitoring will be expensive and have low power to detect significant declines over moderate time frames unless capture rates can be doubled and within-site variability in capture rates halved. We found few strong habitat relationships using either coverboard or pitfall trap data. Plethodon cinereus was negatively correlated with the volume of downed wood, which has been noted in other regions and may be an artefact of the coverboard survey technique. Further focused studies in the boreal forest are required to support the use of both habitat supply models and trend analysis to monitor salamander populations.