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PAGE 8 - WESTSIDE MESSENGER - <strong>January</strong> 24, <strong>2021</strong><br />
www.columbusmessenger.com<br />
Photos courtesy of Metro Parks<br />
Spotted salamanders are among the best indicators of healthy vernal pool/woodland ecosystems. This photo<br />
was shot by David Celebrezze.<br />
Tunnels for safe travel<br />
Mating season for eastern tiger salamanders and<br />
spotted salamanders at Battelle Darby Creek Metro<br />
Park can get a bit dicey as these determined creatures<br />
surface from their underground burrows and march en<br />
masse, by the hundreds, across the roadways to vernal<br />
pools to mate and lay eggs.<br />
Road crossing mortality is high for salamanders as<br />
they move quite slowly on their stubby little legs. Their<br />
breeding success can be variable depending on the success<br />
of this migration. They are sometimes joined by<br />
other vernal pool breeders like frogs and spring peepers.<br />
Migration usually occurs during the first warm<br />
seasonal rains, in late February or early March, after<br />
dark and with temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit<br />
or above.<br />
To protect migrating amphibians from squishy<br />
deaths and reduce the effects of road mortality by cars,<br />
Metro Parks built two experimental tunnels across the<br />
road into the nature center. Tunnels are less expensive<br />
than going over the road. Since salamanders don’t like<br />
dark enclosed spaces where they cannot see the other<br />
end, staff came up with overhead grates to let in some<br />
natural light. The grates are strong enough to withstand<br />
the weight of vehicles. Exclusion fencing was put<br />
at the end of each tunnel to help funnel the amphibians<br />
into the trenches.<br />
If the project is successful, Metro Parks hope to<br />
work with other agencies to put tunnels across Battelle<br />
Darby Creek Drive. Hopefully, the <strong>2021</strong> breeding season<br />
will prove to be a light at the end of the tunnel for<br />
the eastern tiger salamander and other creatures as<br />
they make their annual trek to their seasonal breeding<br />
pools.<br />
- Peg Hanley, Metro Parks<br />
The Metro Parks salamander underpass system will hopefully facilitate safe passage for these critters on<br />
their journey from woodlands to wetlands.
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