Real Life Students Research

Some Southwestern biology students are getting the opportunity this year to conduct research that will have real-life impact.

Working under Biology Professors Ben Pierce and Romi Burks, the students are doing studies that will be used to help determine whether the Georgetown Salamander is placed on the Endangered Species List.

The Georgetown salamander (Eurycea naufragia) is a small salamander that is believed to exist only in Williamson County. It lives in springs found in the South, Middle and North Forks of the San Gabriel River and in wet caves. The salamander is threatened because many of the springs where it lives have been degraded by development.

In 2010, Pierce received a $25,000 grant to study the local salamander populations. He has received an additional $35,000 to continue the research through July.

Pierce is studying salamander populations at two locations – the county-owned Twin Springs Preserve west of Lake Georgetown and a spring on the North San Gabriel River. He now has five years of data on the salamander population at the North San Gabriel Spring and three years worth of data on the salamander population at the Twin Springs Preserve. The data are collected through monthly counts of salamanders and studies known as “mark-recapture” studies.

This semester Pierce has three students helping him with the research. The students meet every Friday, with two days a month dedicated to field work and the other two Fridays dedicated to analyzing their findings.

Last fall, three additional students working with Burks began visiting the springs to collect bugs in the water that the salamanders might eat. These studies will help determine how much food is available to them. “These insects are also a good indicator of water quality,” Pierce said.

Burks said she and her students hope to have a poster ready to present at the Texas Academy of Sciences meeting in March.