In southwestern Ontario, the spotted salamander (an amphibian) has had its native habitat (wetlands and moist meadows) disrupted with the construction of major roads, splitting the
once-contiguous habitat into many smaller, isolated patches. Some of the surviving individuals
have chosen to live in a particular habitat patch to be in close proximity to a man-made water
reservoir that frequently gets treated with pesticides to keep the mosquito population (and
other insects) under control. A detailed survey of the population effective size (Ne) both within
that particular patch and across the remining patches has concluded that the population
growth rate (2) is less than one (i. e., in decline).
a) What biodiversity threats does this example illustrate? Justify your answer.
b) Describe and explain how this habitat selection for a subset of the salamanders
represents a maladaptive behaviour (i. e., an ecological .).
c) Conservation practitioners believe this population may be caught up in an extinction
vortex. Explain how and be specific.
d) Should conservation managers proclaim the habitat patch with the greatest number of
individuals as "Critical Habitat"? Justify your answer.