Reintroduction and Post-Release Survival of a Living Fossil: The Chinese Giant Salamander.
Captive rearing and reintroduction / translocation are increasingly used as tools to supplement wild populations of threatened species. Reintroducing captive-reared Chinese giant salamanders may help to augment the declining wild populations and conserve this critically endangered amphibian. We released 31 captive-reared juvenile giant salamanders implanted with VHF radio transmitters at the Heihe River (n = 15) and the Donghe River (n = 16) in the Qinling Mountains of central China. Salamanders were monitored every day for survival from April 28th 2013 to September 3rd 2014. We attempted to recapture all living individuals by the end of the study, measured their body mass and total body length, and checked for abnormalities and presence of external parasites. Two salamanders at the Heihe River and 10 animals at the Donghe River survived through the project timeline. Nine salamanders were confirmed dead, while the status of the other 10 animals was undetermined. The annual survival rate of giant salamanders at the Donghe River (0.702) was 1.7-fold higher than that at the Heihe River (0.405). Survival increased as individuals were held longer following surgery, whereas body mass did not have a significant impact on survival rate. All salamanders recaptured from the Donghe River (n = 8) increased in mass (0.50 ± 0.13 kg) and length (5.5 ± 1.5 cm) after approximately 11 months in the wild, and they were only 7% lighter than wild animals of the same length (mean residual = -0.033 ± 0.025). Our results indicate that captive-reared Chinese giant salamanders can survive in the wild one year after release and adequate surgical recovery time is extremely important to post-release survival. Future projects may reintroduce older juveniles to achieve better survival and longer monitoring duration.
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America.|Conservation and Research Department, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.
Lu
L
Zhang
Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Wei
W
Jiang
Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Qi-Jun
QJ
Wang
Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Hu
H
Zhao
Shaanxi Institute of Zoology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
Hong-Xing
HX
Zhang
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America.
Ruth M
RM
Marcec
Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology Department, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America.
Scott T
ST
Willard
Conservation and Research Department, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America.|Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States of America.
Andrew J
AJ
Kouba
D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D056727:Endangered Species; D005580:Fossils; D005843:Geography; D045483:Rivers; D013997:Time Factors; D014562:Caudata / Q000502:physiology*; D059015:Wireless Technology