The high cost of movement in an arid working landscape for an endangered amphibian

Connectivity is essential for the maintenance of genetic diversity and stability of wildlife populations. Drought and changing precipitation regimes have caused natural aquatic amphibian breeding habitats to disappear or become isolated and have led to the replacement of natural surface water with artificial livestock water tanks. Terrestrial movement is the only means of responding to aquatic threats in arid landscapes and to allow population connectivity. Aridity may present an impenetrable barrier in hydrologically fragmented environments. We used a facultatively paedomorphic and federally endangered salamander to assess the challenges of movement across arid working lands. Sonoran tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium stebbinsi) are endemic to the San Rafael Valley of southeastern Arizona, United States of America, where they depend on livestock water tanks as breeding habitat. The ecology of this species’ metamorphs outside of stock tanks is virtually unknown. To assess survival o..., , , # The high cost of movement in an arid working landscape for an endangered amphibian

Description of data:

ID: animal ID

Tank: tank where the salamander was originally captured

HR (0/1): Home range calculated for the individual. 0=no; 1=yes

Massb4; body mass (g) of the salamander at implantation day

SVL: Snout–vent length (cm)

Left tank (0/1): whether the salamander ever left the tank of origin during the survey period (1=yes) or not (0=no)

ID_Interval: numer of days between implantation date and date when the salamander left the tank. na shoed if the salamander never left the tank

Dispersal_Month: the month when the salamander left the tank (na if it never left the tank)

Dispersal: Date when for the first time the salamander was recorded as away from the tank (na if it never left the tank)

Final: last day of tracking

Days_terrestrial: days in dispersion (na if it never left the tank)

Total_Fixes: number of telemetry locations. na if the transmitter malfunctioned or signal w...