Vuursalamanderdrama: soort op rand van uitsterven in Nederland

Dramatic decline in the Fire Salamander in the Netherlands - a species on the edge of extinction The recent sharp decline in a hitherto flourishing and stable population of the Fire Salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is causing great concern. The species only occurs in the southernmost part of the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. The largest population is in the Bunderbos, a deciduous woodland with springs on the slopes of a stream valley. In the 1990s, this population was estimated at several hundred individuals. At the end of that decade, the maximum number that could be sighted during a single evening was well above 200. However, in 2010 came the first signs that something was seriously wrong: dead animals were reported. At the same time, the results of the “Netwerk Ecologische Monitoring” programme showed a dramatic decline in their numbers. In 2011, the Fire Salamander was present on only two out of six transects in the Bunderbos. Moreover, on a single evening, no more than four individuals were seen. A trend analysis of records based on all populations from 1997- 2011 showed a drop of 75%. RAVON has set up a broad action plan to study the cause of this decline and try to prevent the species from disappearing from the Netherlands. Future studies aim to examine the role of disease, their production success, and the quality and possible disturbance of the habitat. Monitoring is being continued and intensified. A number of the remaining salamanders is being kept in captivity until the cause of the decline has been ascertained. If we manage to do this, they will be returned to the Bunderbos.