Recent elevational range expansions in plethodontid salamanders (Amphibia: Plethodontidae) in the southern Appalachian Mountains

Abstract

AbstractAimApproximately 32.5% of all amphibian species are globally threatened, and amphibian extinctions have been recorded worldwide. Individual studies rarely give full consideration to multiple potential drivers of observed biological change, instead tending to attribute changes to a single driver. Here, I tested for impacts of land use and climate change on range changes in a community of plethodontid salamanders living from 518 to 2036 m elevation in a global hotspot for amphibian diversity.LocationThe southern Appalachian Mountains.MethodsI resurveyed 18 elevational transects that had originally been surveyed by Nelson Hairston in 1940, 1947 and 1949. I recorded range changes for nine species that Hairston studied and determined the extent to which the recorded expansions or contractions could be attributed to changes in forest stand, climate and competition, singly or in combination.Results‘Montane’ species, which occur only on mountaintops, had expanded their lower elevational limits downwards. ‘Foothill’ species, which occur at lower elevations than montane species, had expanded their upper elevational limits upwards.Main conclusionsFor montane species these downward expansions appear to be the result of two processes: local cooling of the climate and maturation of forests after the cessation of large‐scale logging operations c. 80 years ago. In contrast, changes in upper elevational range limits of foothill species are probably the result of a suite of complex and interacting drivers, including, but not limited to, maturation of forests, changes in climate, and interactions with other species.