Researchers from the Purdue University have discovered the population of hellbenders, the biggest salamanders in the United States, is decreasing at an alarming rate.
"These are animals that live up to 30 years in the wild, so if you have populations declining, that alerts us that there could be a problem with the water quality," Rod Williams, a Purdue University associate professor of herpetology, told the Associated Press.
These amphibians breathe through their skins, and they are adequate indicators of the water quality. Hellbenders are extremely sensitive to pollution and silt, and these could be some factors affecting their population.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services launched a study to assess the population of the subspecies, called the eastern hellbender. A study was conducted to see if this species should be included in the endangered species list. The other subspecies of the hellbender, the Ozark hellbender, was enlisted as endangered in 2011 after suffering from 75 percent decline in their population. The Ozark hellbenders are only found in Arkansas and Missouri.
"There's nothing else like them in North America," federal biologist Jeromy Applegate told the Associated Press. Applegate led the assessment on the eastern hellbender.
The scientists could not determine the reason of the disappearance of the hellbenders from the wild. One theory is that dams have softened the flow of the waters in their habitats, and they preferred fast currents, so they decided to migrate somewhere else. Also, the sediment runoffs have accumulated in the nooks and spaces of their homes, and these prevented young hellbenders from seeking shelter. Another factor was the fungus that affected amphibians all over the world.
To help increase their population, the researchers appealed to landowners to plant trees along swamps, rivers, and lakes. They also urged the public to help in improving water quality. As of now, the researchers were taking care of young hellbenders in captivity and they would release them into the wild once they are fully grown.
