{"id":11302,"date":"2021-04-02t08:19:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-02t08:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/the-salamanders-at-the-end-of-the-world\/"},"modified":"2023-02-28t18:37:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28t18:37:19","slug":"salamander-sanctuary-austin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/salamander-sanctuary-austin\/","title":{"rendered":"the salamanders at the end of the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">at the heart of the austin science &amp; nature center, a mosaic of a salamander scales the exterior of an otherwise nondescript cinder-block building. the salamander\u2019s body is a deep, royal blue, with a gold stripe cut through the center. chunks of reflective glass scatter light, making the salamander look like the inside of a kaleidoscope, or perhaps, like a deity. the salamander\u2019s tail almost brushes the grass at the building\u2019s base, and its snout reaches just shy of the roof. it\u2019s looking up, perhaps even crawling up, as if it wants to know what\u2019s on the other side.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"488\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/building.jpeg\" \/><figcaption>the interior of the austin science &amp; nature center, with tanks stacked ceiling-high. (eva legge\/dartmouth college)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>inside the building, in tanks stacked ceiling-high, the mosaic\u2019s real-life counterpart peers through glass, hiding behind plastic sea grass. aside from the size difference (these salamanders are just three inches long as adults), the striking patterns of the mosaic aren\u2019t far off. their translucent skin is spotted sometimes with yellow and opal; other times with orange, or purple, or magenta. in the right light, their tiny hearts beat through luminous skin. pink gills protrude from their necks like an old-fashioned ruff. looking at their gills through a microscope, one can see red blood cells absorbing dissolved oxygen. close observation is crucial, each scientist knows, for when the tank water\u2019s chemical balance is just slightly off \u2014 too much or too little calcium or dissolved carbon dioxide or heat \u2014 the salamander may expand, balloon-like, or develop other strange health problems. in response, an irrigation system sends well-fresh spring water to each tank, drip by drip.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201ci find them very fascinating animals,\u201d said dee ann chamberlain, an environmental scientist with the city of austin and the steward of this captive population. \u201cthey\u2019re small. they\u2019re beautiful when you see them up close.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/salamander in tank_0.png\" \/><figcaption>(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/96763751@n00\/7090693995\">roger shaw<\/a>\/flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">years ago, chamberlain spent 12 hours watching a female salamander lay her eggs, which are stored in her abdomen. that day, the salamander lay each egg with great care, choosing each location separately before placing her eggs in the safety of the plastic plants, netting, and filter media. once laid, the eggs take three to four weeks to mature. looking closely, one can see the white orb morph into a white squiggle, then into something that resembled the tiniest salamander \u2014 just half a centimeter in length at hatching. when i visited the captive breeding facility, i saw salamanders so slim they could have been a splinter, and so short they could easily be squashed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">this pampered population exists as a backup, ready to sire offspring that would be released if the wild population were to die off \u2014 a wild population that exists just a few hundred meters but also a world away from the captive species \u2014 where water emanates, myth-like, from deep within the earth. but, some say, even if that population were to be released, it may not be enough to save the species.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">***<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">the barton springs salamander is endemic to the cool, isothermal waters of barton springs pool \u2014 a three-acre, one-eighth-mile swimming-hole and terminus of the vast edwards aquifer of central texas \u2014 one of the largest artesian aquifers in the world. barton springs natural haven for austinites \u2014 home to ancient religious rituals, ardent scientific inquiry, and polar plunges alike \u2014 and is lauded as the city\u2019s \u2018crowned jewel.\u2019 the barton springs salamander was discovered in the late 1980\u2019s by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cornell.edu\/video\/david-hillis-how-barton-springs-salamander-saved-austin-texas\">david hillis<\/a>, a professor at the university of texas at austin. soon after describing the species, hillis\u2019 team discovered that the species was most likely critically endangered from the effects of development, poor water quality, and the aggressive cleaning methods used on barton springs pool. if added to the endangered species list, the barton springs salamander would receive special protections from the government to help species recovery.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">the barton spring salamander was filed for the official endangered species listing in 1990. seven years later, after many legal battles, political faux pas, and scientific surveys, the salamander joined the endangered species list. developers and politicians feared the endangered species listing of a creature whose habitat happened to be in the heart of austin would stifle development. austin did craft a stricter watershed protection ordinance, but instead of hindering economic growth, austin became an even bigger boomtown. <a href=\"https:\/\/austin.culturemap.com\/news\/city-life\/02-02-21-austin-growth-suburbs-take-off-says-city-agency\/#:~:text=the%20city%20of%20austin%20measures,the%203.05%20percent%20in%202020.\">in austin\u2019s southwest suburbs<\/a>, construction rumbles over the aquifer\u2019s fragile recharge zone. and the wild population of salamanders, sensitive to the slightest change in their habitat, continues to stare extinction in the face.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">in 1998 \u2014 one year after the barton springs salamander (or eurycea sosorum) got its endangered species listing \u2014 the captive breeding program began. the captive facility of barton springs salamanders (and the endangered austin blind salamander) exists as a backup population, in an effort by the city of austin to conserve the species. \u201cin case there\u2019s an issue with wild populations, you can put them back \u2014 noah\u2019s ark,\u201d said andy glusenkamp, the director of conservation and research at san antonio zoo and a member of the barton springs salamander scientific advisory committee. the population\u2019s technical name is a \u201ccaptive assurance colony,\u201d which means that it must represent 85% to 95% of the wild genetics. this effort requires meticulous tracking of which salamander breeds, and when. dante fenolio, vice president of the center of conservation and research at san antonio zoo said it took him ten years just to figure out how to breed one species on command. \u201cthe answers to these things,\u201d fenolio said, \u201cthey\u2019re not intuitive. and they\u2019re not easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/salamander_full tank.png\" \/><figcaption>(eva legge\/dartmouth college)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>one of the reasons the questions are so hard to answer is that there\u2019s a significant knowledge gap when it comes to salamanders. \u201csalamanders overall are not well studied,\u201d said chamberlain. \u201cwe\u2019ve had to learn a lot in order to maintain them.\u201d and after decades of close observation, chamberlain remains in awe of these creatures. \u201csalamanders have amazing abilities,\u201d chamberlain added. \u201cthey can regenerate more organs than any other vertebrate on the planet.\u201d talking to chamberlain, it seems that the body of unanswered questions about salamanders are as boundless as the edwards aquifer itself.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">but perhaps the most salient question is, what would happen if the wild population disappeared? \u201cdespite decades of preparation,\u201d wrote a journalist for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.austinmonthly.com\/save-our-salamanders\/\">austin monthly<\/a> in 2018, \u201cthere\u2019s just too many variables.\u201d herpetologists have devised countless doomsday scenarios \u2014 each worse than the next. the oil pipelines that stretch across the area\u2019s recharge zone could crack. a pathogen could infect the water table. a sewage line could bust. a drought could de-water the aquifer. the city of austin does have development regulations, but that doesn\u2019t stop construction in the suburbs. local protections can\u2019t halt the threats of climate change leading to bigger droughts, and the omnipresent threat of a chemical spill that could wipe out the species faster than biologists could save them. \u201cto date,\u201d&nbsp;glustenkamp&nbsp;said, \u201cthere&#8217;s no way to remove any of those threats once they appear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">even if the aquifer were to become restored, the question remains, in the words of fenolio: \u201chow do you put a salamander back into an aquifer?\u201d fenolio knows of no successful reintroductions of salamanders to a groundwater system \u2014 nor of any attempts to reintroduce the species. chamberlain believes that it might take years of releasing salamanders and monitoring the population\u2019s response before reintroduction is successful. glusenkamp is not so optimistic. \u201cit&#8217;s very difficult to put a three-inch salamander back in the springs without it washing out,\u201d he said. \u201cdo i think that we&#8217;re gonna be able to t-shirt cannon salamanders back to their habitat and we&#8217;re gonna restore species after extinction events? no.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">if the wild salamanders were to be wiped out, the captive salamanders would not be alone on the metaphorical ark. they would join the ranks of other species with the distinct red class listing of \u201cextinct in the wild,\u201d or ew \u2014 from the sky-blue spix&#8217;s macaw to the regal south china tiger to the acid-yellow panamanian golden frog \u2014 species that don\u2019t exist in the wild anymore, but instead live a captive half-life. this is the \u201cvery core of one of the key and critical problems with conservation biology,\u201d&nbsp;fenolio&nbsp;said. \u201cwhat do you call it when you have a species in captivity&#8230; their habitat is gone in the wild, (and) you can&#8217;t put them back anywhere? is it conservation anymore, or is it curation?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" height=\"487\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/salamander_exterior.png\" \/><figcaption>(eva legge\/dartmouth college)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">this beckons the question: should we reintroduce the species, if it goes extinct? if the aquifer remains polluted, should humans step in and try to salvage it? fenolio suggested that one may be able to inject medical-grade de-activated carbon into the water which tends to bond and sequester contaminants, but that may not be effective, and may do more harm than good. in that case, does one play god and find a new home for the species, risking the introduction of a new pathogen, or of another australian cane toad catastrophe? do we leave the salamanders in captivity for perhaps hundreds of years until a \u201ca \u201cbiblical flood,\u201d as glusenkamp puts it, refills the aquifer with clean water? this brings to mind john mcphee\u2019s remark in his book, &#8220;the control of nature&#8221;&nbsp;(and&nbsp;echoed by elizabeth kolbert&nbsp;in &#8220;under a white sky&#8221;) on how the rerouting of the mississippi in the eisenhower era \u201cwill come to mind more or less in echo of any struggle against natural forces \u2014 heroic or venal, rash or well-advised \u2014 when human beings conscript themselves to fight against the earth.\u201d would injecting de-activated carbon, and t-shirt-cannoning captive raised species into this fragile environment be a&nbsp;trespass over our role as humans, &#8220;to surround the base of mount olympus demanding and expecting the surrender of gods?\u201d or is it our unique duty to do just that?<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201ci think everybody involved in this would agree, (reintroduction) is the last tool you want to use,\u201d&nbsp;glustenkamp said.&nbsp;\u201cabsolutely the last tool. and it&#8217;s incumbent on all of us to do everything we can to avoid using that tool, by taking other actions.\u201d thankfully, there are many who continue to steward the aquifer and its inhabitants. documentary filmmakers <a href=\"https:\/\/livingspringsaustin.org\/\">educate the public<\/a> about the beauty and fragility of barton springs. the lawyers at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sosalliance.org\/\">save our springs alliance<\/a> hold local governments and developers accountable to clean water regulations. and the scientists at the city of austin who work to monitor wild populations and restore degraded habitat \u2014 those who grapple necessary truth that one day the wild salamanders may be gone \u2014 who cradle their black-spotted heads and watch oxygen diffuse through their gills \u2014 may be the species\u2019 fiercest advocates. \u201clast time i checked, two-inch long blind salamanders made of jelly aren&#8217;t very good boxers,\u201d&nbsp;glustenkamp&nbsp;said. but austin\u2019s scientists have their gloves on, ready to go to the mat on this one.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>in the heart of austin, texas, lies a salamander sanctuary that exists as a backup, in case the wild population were to be wiped out \u2014&nbsp;but is it enough to save the species?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10011,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5196],"tags":[506,144,262,826,3961,591],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-past-storyfest","tag-biodiversity","tag-climate-change","tag-conservation","tag-endangered-species","tag-native-species","tag-storyfest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- this site is optimized with the yoast seo plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>the salamanders at the end of the world - planet forward<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/salamander-sanctuary-austin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_us\" 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