Productivity and significance of headwater streams: population structure and biomass of the black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus)

Summary 1. Headwater streams are a significant feature of the southern Appalachian landscape, comprising more than 70% of the total stream length in the region. Salamanders are the dominant vertebrate within headwater-riparian forest ecosystems, but their ecological role is not clearly understood. 2. We studied a population of black-bellied salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) at a headwater stream in the southern Appalachian Mountains using radio-telemetry and mark-recapture methods. The length and area of headwater streams in the region were estimated using GIS. 3. Home ranges of radio-tracked salamanders were relatively small (mean = 1.06 m2). Adult salamanders in our telemetry study inhabited edge microhabitats significantly more often than either stream or riparian microhabitats, and the same trend was observed in the mark-recapture study. 4. We estimated the population density at this site to be 11 294 salamanders ha−1, amounting to 99.30 kg ha−1 of biomass, an estimate that is six times greater than reported in previous studies. The majority of this biomass was found within the stream, but 22% was found in the surrounding riparian habitat more than 1 m from the stream. Using headwater stream length and area estimates, we extrapolated biomass estimates for black-bellied salamanders inhabiting stream and riparian microhabitats across the study region. 5. We report one of the largest estimates of secondary consumer biomass for a headwater ecosystem, attesting to the overall productivity of headwater streams. Headwaters are known to be important for ecological and ecosystem processes and our biomass estimates suggest that salamanders are a critical component to these systems.

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