{"id":20,"date":"2013-11-10T21:46:07","date_gmt":"2013-11-10T21:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lscwatershed.org\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2026-03-16T17:47:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:47:15","slug":"jefferson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/?page_id=20","title":{"rendered":"Jefferson Salamander"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"metaslider-id-1499\" style=\"width: 100%;\" class=\"ml-slider-3-107-0 metaslider metaslider-flex metaslider-1499 ml-slider has-dots-nav ms-theme-default-base\" role=\"region\" aria-label=\"Salamanders\" data-height=\"600\" data-width=\"700\">\n    <div id=\"metaslider_container_1499\">\n        <div id=\"metaslider_1499\">\n            <ul aria-live='off' class='slides'>\n                <li style=\"display: block; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-1500 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2026-03-16 17:43:57\" data-filename=\"up_close_salamander-472x405.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/up_close_salamander-472x405.jpg\" height=\"600\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-1499 slide-1500 msDefaultImage\" title=\"up_close_salamander\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\"><div>Up close view of a Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma jeffersonian), one of 22 different types of salamanders found in PA.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-1501 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2026-03-16 17:44:37\" data-filename=\"stephen_henschke-482x413.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/stephen_henschke-482x413.jpg\" height=\"600\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-1499 slide-1501 msDefaultImage\" title=\"stephen_henschke\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\"><div>Stephan Henschke (spring 2012) holds a Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) another common salamander found at the site.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-1502 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2026-03-16 17:45:17\" data-filename=\"salamandersearch-445x382.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/salamandersearch-445x382.jpg\" height=\"600\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-1499 slide-1502 msDefaultImage\" title=\"salamandersearch\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\"><div>QV Creekers (Jovanna Valladares and Emily Frigon 2009) search for salamanders in a spring seep along Little Sewickley Creek.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-1503 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2026-03-16 17:45:47\" data-filename=\"salamander_approach_food-472x405.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/salamander_approach_food-472x405.jpg\" height=\"600\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-1499 slide-1503 msDefaultImage\" title=\"salamander_approach_food\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\"><div>Jefferson Salamander approaching one of its favorite foods.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li>\n                <li style=\"display: none; width: 100%;\" class=\"slide-1504 ms-image \" aria-roledescription=\"slide\" data-date=\"2026-03-16 17:46:06\" data-filename=\"bucket_salamander-540x462.jpg\" data-slide-type=\"image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/bucket_salamander-540x462.jpg\" height=\"600\" width=\"700\" alt=\"\" class=\"slider-1499 slide-1504 msDefaultImage\" title=\"bucket_salamander\" \/><div class=\"caption-wrap\"><div class=\"caption\"><div>Bucket containing Jefferson salamanders saved from the sewage pits in \u00a0the spring of 2007.<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Coloration: black with iridescent blue spots which intensify during mating<\/li>\n<li>Size: up to 4-5 inches when mature<\/li>\n<li>Length of life: 10-25 years<\/li>\n<li>Habitat: As an adult- in underground burrows in an upland deciduous forest. As a developing egg and salamander- in vernal ponds from Feb-August<\/li>\n<li>Breeding: one third of an amphibian population migrates each year to mate, returning to the same water source which lies within 1,000 feet of their burrows.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Habitat Restoration Project Timeline:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spring 2008- blocked off sewage treatment tanks, opened first \u201csafe pond\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spring 2009 migration- Jefferson salamanders- 13 males\/15 females<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Fall, 2009- installed pond fencing and pit traps to capture and mark salamanders<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spring, 2010 migration: Jefferson salamanders- 47 males\/ 101 females<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Fall, 2010- QV Creekers installed a second cattle tank as a \u201csafe pond\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spring, 2011 migration: Jefferson salamanders- 42 males\/ 55 females<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Fall, 2011- second cattle tank was replaced<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spring, 2012 migration: 149 Jefferson salamanders- 149 males\/ females and 6 spotted salamanders<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Fall, 2012- observation trails alongside the two ponds were constructed<\/li>\n<li><strong>Spring, 2013 Migration<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>46 Males<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>55 Females<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>3 Juveniles<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>43 Recaptures<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In 2012, the QV Creekers began working with Dr. Catie Hanna of Robert Morris University\u2019s Biology Department to conduct more intensive studies of the Jefferson salamander population. Breeding salamanders captured in the pit traps around the two tanks are marked to establish estimates of population growth, weight gain or loss and number of breeding migrations per specific salamander.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the state of Pennsylvania\u2019s Fish and Game Commission considers the Jefferson salamander a \u201cspecies of interest;\u201d but not yet \u201cendangered.\u201d<\/p>\n<h6>Last updated: March 16, 2026 at 17:47 pm<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coloration: black with iridescent blue spots which intensify during mating Size: up to 4-5 inches when mature Length of life: 10-25 years Habitat: As an adult- in underground burrows in an upland deciduous forest. As a developing egg and salamander- <span class=\"excerpt-dots\">&hellip;<\/span> <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/?page_id=20\"><span class=\"more-msg\">Continue reading &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":339,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1505,"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions\/1505"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lscwatershed.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}