A Striped Newt Population at the Southern Extent of Its Range in Osceola County, Florida
Kevin M. Enge1,*, James C. Blush2, Jason Hickson2, Amanda Lee3, and Sara Miller3
1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1105 SW Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32601. 2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 5285 N. Kenansville Road, St. Cloud, FL 34773. 3Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1231 Prairie Lakes Road, Kenansville, FL 34739. *Corresponding author.
Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 19, Issue 1 (2020): 62–73
Abstract
We discovered Notophthalmus perstriatus (Striped Newt) in 9 wetlands on Triple N Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Osceola County, FL, 57 km south of the nearest known breeding pond. Predominant habitats within 300 m of breeding ponds are mesic flatwoods (44%), dry prairie (24%), scrubby flatwoods (11%), and wet prairie (10%). One pond is 425 m from the nearest patch of xeric habitat (scrub or scrubby flatwoods), and 4 xeric upland patches closest to breeding ponds are 2 ha or smaller, suggesting that some newts may reside in surrounding atypical mesic habitats. Five breeding ponds are relatively large (>0.8 ha), and 7 ponds contained 3 or 4 fish species. Existing prescribed fire practices are apparently favorable for survival of 3 possible metapopulations.
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