Migration Patterns of Pacific Newts

Here's the scoop about the newt migration:

"With the first rains in late November or early December, adults emerge from the saturated ground and migrate from their upland habitat to ponds and streams for breeding. Males migrate before females and remain at the breeding site longer...

The female newt lays her fertilized eggs in water where the larvae hatch and grow. Young newt larvae look like frog tadpoles but with longer, thinner bodies. When metamorphosis is complete, the juveniles emigrate from the breeding site and spend the next few years growing to sexual maturity. When they are fully grown, they typically return to the same breeding site year after year to mate.

When the breeding phase is over, females are the first to return to their upland habitat, followed by males and juveniles. However, some adults might remain in the pools for an additional few months to feed. Since the return migration is more sporadic and less weather-dependent than migration to the vernal pools, it is much harder to protect the newts as they make their way back to the forest."

References:
• Migration Patterns of Taricha torosa in Tilden Regional Park
https://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/es196/projects/1989final/ClaggettP_1989.pdf

• Bay Nature Article: Citizen scientists tracking roadkill on Alma Bridge Road have found thousands of dead newts this season.
https://baynature.org/2019/02/06/traffic-is-driving-a-newt-massacre-in-the-santa-cruz-mountains/

Publicado el lunes, 20 de enero de 2020 a las 02:39 PM por truthseqr truthseqr

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