Spotted salamander in middle of winter

Observation by Haillie Mesics:

A spotted Salamander was sighted in late January while I was out for a snowshoe. Late December consisted of extremely warm and wet weather yielding conditions akin to a mud season in early spring. During the month of January, temperatures dropped again with significant snowfall. The salamander seen on Jan. 25th.

LEO Network says:

LEO Network is interested in the effects of unseasonable weather and other signals of climate change on amphibians. One good resource is a USFWS article by Deanna Olson from the Pacific Northwest Research Station and Daniel Saenz from the Southern Research Station (attached). They write,

"Several types of likely changes may prove to be lethal to amphibians: altered hydroperiods; altered seasons and phenology (cyclical timing of events); increased incidence of severe storms and storm surge; rise in sea level; fluctuating weather conditions; and warmer, drier conditions." Climate change may result in shifts in phenology, especially for species that breed early or late in the season. A shift to earlier breeding may leave amphibians exposed to fluctuating weather conditions. For example, a warm spell in late winter followed by a cold storm after breeding can freeze animals. A deep freeze may penetrate below the ground surface to affect animals emerging in spring, or overwintering hibernacula in winter."

Thank you Haillie for sharing your post and the great picture. We hope that everything turned out for this little salmander.