Wild New Jersey Exclusive: 2010 Salamander Migration
Female Spotted Salamander swollen with eggs. When dark spotted salamanders, with their yellow spots,
cross the center line on the road, they are often very hard to see. Great camouflage!
All photos by Richard Wolfert
Depending on weather conditions, the 2010 Salamander migration could start as soon as this weekend. NJNatureNotes.com's Richard Wolfert gives a brief description of the migration around East Brunswick:
In the 1950’s, when East Brunswick was still a small and sleepy (mostly) farming community, there were hundreds of vernal pools scattered throughout the township. (These are usually temporary bodies of water that form in low areas as a result of snow melt and spring rains. While they may persist throughout most of the year, they often dry up until the next year’s rain and snow.) These pools may have existed since the last glacial epoch, but due to massive development, nearly all vernal pools here now exist only in memory. Due of this wet/dry cycle, these pools do not support fish, and this is a very good thing for some species of salamanders who like to breed in such bodies of water.
In East Brunswick, we have (so far) identified one small remaining area that still contains vernal pools in which Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) breed. These salamanders spend most of their year buried in forest leaf liter searching for insects, worms and other things they like to feed upon. During the cold months, they hibernate, waiting for the first warm soaking rains of March, when temperatures are at least in the low 40’s. This time is nearly here.
In East Brunswick, however, there is one very significant problem. The area in which they live is separated from the pools in which they breed by a tertiary road, and the road kill was decimating this population. When weather conditions are optimal, Spotted Salamanders will migrate to the pools after sunset, and continue to migrate throughout the night. They may have to stop for several days and wait for the next proper set of weather conditions to occur.
Several years ago one of the members of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, Dave Moskowitz, asked the town to close the road on those nights when migration was likely, and the town enthusiastically agreed. Since then, the road has been closed as many as 10 nights over a 3 week period, from dusk to dawn. As a result of this action, the road kill has dropped to close to zero. We believe that there is some evidence that the population is increasing, but this will take several more years to confirm.
In the intervening years, Rich Wolfert, now Chairman of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, has administered the road closings and has been on the road each time to guide the large groups people who come with flashlights and cameras to watch as many as 75 salamanders, hundreds of frogs and several other salamander species cross on a given evening.
For more information on how you can see this year’s migration, go to the Salamander Page at www.njnaturenotes.com.
Red-backed Salamander. We get a dozen or so each year.
Not yet adult Spotted Salamander.
Red-eft.
We see several Leopard Frogs each night the road is closed.
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 3/12/2010 7:00 AM 
Categories: WNJ Exclusives, Amphibians
Tags: spotted salamanders Red-backed Salamander vernal pools Leopard Frogs Red-eft east brunswick
Categories: WNJ Exclusives, Amphibians
Tags: spotted salamanders Red-backed Salamander vernal pools Leopard Frogs Red-eft east brunswick
Interesting article! My 10 year old son and I love to explore NJ's nature and the creatures that share their homes with us!
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