Jefferson Salamander - Habitat

Habitat

The secretive adults tend to hide under stones or logs, or in leaf litter and other underbrush in deciduous forests during damp conditions. They are usually not found in conifer forests, likely due to the dryness and prickliness of some pine and spruce needles, which may injure amphibians with their thin skins. They are found burrowed underground for most of the year during dry or freezing conditions. They must get below the frost line (about 18 inches) in order to survive winter conditions in northern latitudes. They often burrow in rich sandy soils found in upland deciduous forests or sometimes in older-growth damp hemlock forests.

Migration to their breeding area is quick, and is usually done during or right after a heavy rainfall. since breeding sites are usually close to the over-wintering burrows. The breeding sites they choose are fishless ponds and vernal pools, filled with spring snow meltwater in northern latitudes. Some breeding ponds may be hundreds of yards (meters) away from their forest home in fragmented landscapes.

Jefferson salamanders are one of the first amphibians to emerge in springtime at the northern edge of their range in southern Ontario, Canada where they are seen "snowshoeing" across the still frozen understory of the forest to reach partially melted breeding ponds. Males migrate first with females following shortly thereafter. Jeffersons have small pores on their heads which, when handled, exude a whitish liquid, suggesting that they may leave a scent trail during migration (Jaeger et al. 1993). Ambystoma Jeffersonianum is often found in the same habitat as the spotted salamander.