A Success Story: The Barton Springs Salamander

A Success Story: The Barton Springs Salamander
A success story from the Edwards Plateau in Texas illustrates the importance of baseline ecological data, current science, and the types of partnerships essential for conservation of amphibians. The recently described Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum) occurs only in three springs within about 300 m (984 ft) of each other within the city limits of Austin. This salamander has one of the smallest known distributions of any North American vertebrate.

		Barton Springs salamander (Eurycea sosorum). Courtesy W. Meinzer, USFWS
Pools associated with the two primary springs had been developed as municipal swimming and wading pools, and standard cleaning procedures had eliminated most salamanders. With cooperation of city authorities and local volunteers, pool maintenance practices detrimental to the salamander were modified, and populations of the salamander seem to be increasing and expanding their ranges within the spring system.