Assessment of Potential Indicator Species for Monitoring ...

ROUGH-SKINNED NEWT Taricha granulosa
1a. Present in the Fraser Basin year-round?
Yes.
1b. Broad distribution?
Found along the Fraser River as far up as Lillooet (Orchard 1984).
1c. Common in the Fraser Basin?
No, occurs only on the coast and up the Fraser Valley as far as Lillooet (Orchard
1984).
1d. Proportion of diet within the aquatic food web.
Females feed on a variety of terrestrial arthropods (Orchard 1984). Males and
larvae eat aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms and tadpoles (Orchard 1984).
2a. Has the home range of the species been described?
No.
2b. Habitat selection is well documented?
Mixed forests usually near permanent ponds or swamps. They prefer open woods
with plenty of deadfall and leaf litter. They do not like dense damp cedar forests but
prefer coastal Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock. Adult females hibernate on land
while males are mostly aquatic. Males may be found in lakes, ponds, fresh water
marshes and slow-moving streams (Orchard 1984).
2c. Breeding biology is well understood?
During the breeding season females move down stream to where the males are
located. Breeding occurs in early spring in shallow ponds, bogs, swamps and
lakes. Eggs are laid shortly after mating and are attached singly to aquatic plants.
The larvae eat small aquatic invertebrates and may take one or two seasons to
transform (Green and Campbell 1984; Orchard pers. comm.1994).
2d. Migration behaviour is well documented?
Large numbers will migrate to breeding sites on warm rainy nights in spring
(Orchard pers. comm.1994). Where busy roads intersect migration routes adult
females and transformed juveniles are killed in great numbers (Orchard 1984).
2e. Information on historic abundance?
No.
3a. Can nests or animal be easily located?
Breeding sites should be easy to locate (Orchard pers. comm. 1994).
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