Variation in Flatwoods Salamander Survival Is Unrelated to Temperature and Rainfall

Survival rates are known to vary over the course of an individual’s lifetime and among individuals within a population. Quantifying the natural variability in survival rates is crucial when scaling up to infer the dynamics of populations. Using ten years of mark–recapture data from two adjacent wetlands on the Florida Panhandle, we investigated individual and temporal variability in survival rates of Reticulated Flatwoods Salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi). Our objectives were to 1) provide the first estimates of survival for the species, 2) evaluate the relationship between body size and mortality risk, 3) quantify the degree of variability in survival rates across the study period, and 4) discern whether variability in survival or detection correlates with environmental conditions. To address these objectives, we constructed a modified Cormack-Jolly-Seber model that includes body size and year as covariates. Mean annual survival was estimated to be 0.72 and was strongly correlated with body size; survival rates of the smallest individuals in the study were 0.5 and those of the largest individuals were 0.85. Survival also varied considerably across years, but it did not correlate with temperature extremes or rainfall. Therefore, a key priority for future research should be to identify the ecological correlates of mortality risk in A. bishopi. Our results can be integrated into demographic projections for Reticulated Flatwoods Salamanders and will help managers to discern population viability, evaluate alternative management strategies (e.g., habitat restoration), or buffer the impacts of climate change. More broadly, our work highlights the need for more long-term studies that will garner accurate estimates of vital rates to aid ongoing recovery efforts for endangered and at-risk species.