Fifteen to eight inches tall and conspicuously spotted with black and yellow: This is the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). The amphibians were once found in many places in Bavaria. They were particularly common in the cool and moist mixed deciduous forests of the low mountain range – for example in the Rhön or the Spessart, but also in the Upper Palatinate Forest and in the Alpine foothills.
In the meantime, fire salamanders have become rare, and they are listed on the red list as endangered. And now they also face great danger from a deadly skin fungus. In order for the fire salamander to have a future in Bavaria, Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber (Free Voters) is starting a species aid program for the amphibian species this Friday in Weißenohe in Franconian Switzerland.
The place is well chosen. Weißenohe is not only located in the Forchheim district, home of Environment Minister Glauber. Instead, the Lillach flows through it. The 2.8 kilometer short stream is known for its peculiar sinter steps. And the fire salamander still occurs comparatively often at the source of the Lillach. The species aid program, for which the Ministry of the Environment has made 1.7 million euros available, is the Federation of Nature Conservation (BN), the State Association for Bird Protection (LBV) and the State Association for Amphibian and Reptile Protection (Lars) in Bavaria.
Fire salamanders are mostly found under dead trees, tree roots or flat stones, but also between boulders. They eat earthworms, small soft beetles, snails, spiders and all kinds of insects. The females lay the larvae alive in spring streams and other cool, clean small bodies of water from February to May. In the meantime, the deposits have not only shrunk significantly, but are mostly widely isolated from one another. The main reasons for the decline are the loss of mixed forests and the canalization of many streams.
The fungus is transmitted through physical contact
And now the salamander eater is threatening the species. This is the colloquial name of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, or Bsal for short. The skin fungus comes from East Asia and was probably introduced to Europe through the import of Asian salmon amphibians. The fire salamanders are at the mercy of Bsal without protection, the fungus eats holes in their skin, so that they ultimately suffocate because their main breathing no longer works. In Holland, Bsal has almost completely eradicated the fire salamander. In Germany, the Eifel and the area around Essen have so far been particularly hard hit. In 2020, Bsal was detected for the first time in Bavaria – on a dead fire salamander in the Steigerwald.
Scientists assume that the salamander eater mainly spreads through direct physical contact between the animals, for example when mating. Like amphibians, the fungus itself depends on a cool, moist environment. The spores can encapsulate. As so-called permanent spores, they can even survive for a long time without a host. But foresters and hikers can also pass the pathogen on, for example through soil on their shoes.
In order to prevent the spread of Bsal as much as possible, hikers and walkers in amphibious areas should stay on the trails as far as possible. As part of the species aid program, BN, LBV and Lars first want to get an overview of how things are going with the fire salamander. To do this, they search the streams for larvae of the amphibians in eight known larger occurrences across Bavaria.