Effects of stand age, size, and juxtaposition on abundance of western redback salamanders (Plethodon vehiculum) in coastal British Columbia

Terrestrial-breeding amphibians live at high densities, show strong site fi delity, and have relatively stable populations, long life spans, and high v ulnerability to dehydration. These traits make them potentially useful indi cators of effects of canopy removal during logging. We compared the relativ e abundance of western redback salamanders (Plethodon vehiculum) in old-gro wth and managed second-growth stands on Vancouver Island, and found signifi cantly more individuals in old-growth stands. Salamanders were more abundan t in larger stands of old growth, but showed no relationship with stand or parch size among mature second-growth stands. Managed stands contained more salamanders when old growth was adjacent. Juvenile:adult ratios within man aged stands were significantly higher in stands not adjacent to old growth, suggesting poor survivorship to adulthood in younger stands.