Salamanders are Useful Bioindicators of Water Quality and Watershed Health in Eastern Kentucky

In the Appalachian region, coal mining and other land-use practices by humans are threats to headwater streams and entire watersheds. Here we investigated the usefulness of Desmognathus (Dusky) Salamanders as bioindicators in streams with different mining histories in Letcher County, Kentucky. We captured and measured Desmognathus salamanders in three streams, each with different mining histories. The three streams included one with no mining that served as the control in this study, a recently mined watershed with final reclamation ending nine months prior to the study; and a third that was mined in the 1970s before the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977. In the third pre-SMCRA watershed, a large sediment pond was left at the head of the stream but no reclamation efforts were performed and the land has reforested on its own. Water quality data was collected and habitat was assessed at each site using the EPA’s high-gradient Rapid Habitat Assessment protocol. The δ15N signature of the sediment in each stream was determined as well. Salamander abundance results revealed a decline in salamanders from downstream to upstream in headwaters affected by mining practices. More importantly, Desmognathus abundance was significantly and positively correlated with habitat scores, which is similar to a previous study of macroinvertebrate abundance