Page 32 - March/April 2020 - Outdoor Oklahoma

JeNA doNNeLL/odWC Traditional Meets Contemporary
Caves and streams are important for many salaman-
der species, including the grotto salamander and the
Oklahoma salamander, the only vertebrate named for the
state. In 2014, University of Tulsa researchers wrapped
up a project that tied a traditional survey for the two sal-
amanders with a genetic assessment. The survey team
inspected 74 Ozark streams and 26 of the region’s caves,
and found the target species in most of their study sites
and added several new sites for both species.
“Expanding the known range of both of these rare spe-
cies was a fantastic accomplishment,” Howery said. “But
their genetic data also served as proof that the Oklahoma
salamander has alternative life histories. Before the
study, the Oklahoma salamander was thought to be two
species, one with a land-dwelling adult and one with an
aquatic adult.”
This project was funded in part by ODWC’s State Wildlife
Grants Program Grant F11AF00082 and the University of Tulsa.
Habitat is Key
Mussels, or freshwater clams, have been the focus
of at least four research or survey projects in the past
MArK hoWerY/odWC decade. And while each project presents environmental
and personnel challenges, these projects have all had a
recurring and positive outcome.
“Oklahoma has a lot of rare and declining mussels, and
these species need conservation attention,” Tackett said.
“But I’m routinely surprised by the number of mussels
and the diverse assemblages of mussels you can find,
when habitat conditions are right. A lot of the large mus-
sel beds we find have more common species coexisting
with our very rare and declining mussels.”
Survey success often hinges on searching in the
right locations.
Mussel surveys were funded in part by ODWC’s State
Wildlife Grants F10AF00135, F11AF00027, F11AF00030 and
F14AF01355, Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma
Biological Survey.

JeNA doNNeLL/odWC No Success Is Still Success
Even though surveyors with the University of Oklahoma
were specifically targeting Texas kangaroo rats, a species
that hasn’t reliably been found in Oklahoma since the early
1900s, they increased understanding of the small-mammal
community in seven southwestern Oklahoma counties.
Intensive surveys of more than 250 locations surrounding
the rat’s historic records may have been unsuccessful, but
2,178 individuals of 18 other mammal species were trapped.
“This project gave us the best evidence to date that the
Texas kangaroo rat is likely extirpated from our state,”
Howery said. “This project is still a huge success even
though the target species wasn’t found.”
This project was funded in part by ODWC’s State
Wildlife Grants Program Grant F14AF01224 and the
University of Oklahoma.

30 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA