Why do the Salamanders Cross the Road?

Many New-Englanders have witnessed the amazing annual mass migrations of spotted salamanders and other amphibians to and from their breeding grounds. But the movements of these cryptic animals are not well understood. Why do they travel so far from their homes to their breeding ponds? Noah Charney is currently studying the movement patterns of these critters, and trying to learn what we need to do to protect their habitat. On warm rainy spring nights, Noah goes out in search of the salamanders to see where they're headed. To aid his studies, Noah invented a couple of salamander-tracking devices: an automatic salamander-camera that takes pictures of salamanders migrating by; and a system similar to the EZPass toll booths on the Mass-Pike in which salamanders carrying tags are detected when they walk past antennae in the woods. This summer, Noah will be driving all over Massachusetts looking for salamander egg masses.

Contact Noah