dermal oxygen exchange of transforming amphibians (Porter 1972) . Insects 

 dying from pesticides often go into convulsions, and adult toads and frogs may 

 orient towards these struggling insects (Sassamon 1978). Frogs and toads were 

 found to have concentrations of 6 to 222 ppb Orthene (Acephate) immediately 

 following a spray to kill spruce budworm, but after 30 days there were no 

 detectable residues (Sassamon 1978). 



Impoundments . Small artificial dams have created new ponds and wetlands 

 in coastal Maine. Cook (1967) discovered that many salamander and frog 

 species had increased in abundance on Prince Edward Island, Canada, because of 

 these dams. Millponds used by the logging industry have formed new habitat 

 for several species, principally the red-spotted newt, green and leopard 

 frogs, and the American toad. The adverse effects such structures would have 

 on species such as the dusky and two-lined salamanders, which prefer small, 

 flowing streams have not been investigated. Similar structures in coastal 

 Maine may provide additional habitat for aquatic herptiles. 



Land, water, and forest disturbances . Many small gravel extraction 

 operations are present in coastal Maine, especially in region 6. When gravel 

 eskers are mined near bodies of water the quality of herptile habitat may be 

 reduced through erosion and siltation. 



Peat mining, conducted principally in Washington County (region 6), probably 

 does not reduce significantly the preferred habitat (sphagnum bog) of most 

 herptile species, with the possible exception of the four-toed salamander. 

 However, increased siltation due to peat mining could reduce water quality. 



Rights-of-way maintained along highways and beneath power lines or pipelines 

 may provide brushy habitat for species such as the black racer (personal 

 communication from D. F. Mairs, Pesticide Control Board, Augusta, ME; 

 February, 1979). Transmission corridors may alter the abundance of herptiles 

 locally, by changing drainage patterns in adjacent areas, and thereby creating 

 small, temporary palustrine areas that may serve as breeding areas for 

 herptiles (blue-spotted and spotted salamanders and most frogs). 



Forest cutting practices have great potential for altering habitats. Clearcut 

 or strip harvesting methods expose areas of the forest floor that have been 

 shaded previously, causing them to dry out. Such activities destroy preferred 

 habitat of many terrestrial salamanders and the wood frog. Subsequent brushy 

 growth in these clearings provides new habitat for black racer and garter 

 snakes. As a result of these logging practices adjacent bodies of water may 

 be subject to silting and lowering of pH. These processes could reduce the 

 abundance of herptiles (Porter 1972). 



Road construction adjacent to breeding areas increases the hazard of roadkills 

 for some herptile species, especially those that move in large numbers to 

 breeding ponds (blue-spotted and spotted salamanders, the American toad, and 

 all frog species and turtles). Brush removal and landscaping in suburban 

 areas can have an adverse effect on many herps because they depend on brush 

 and fallen logs for their shelter and habitat. 



18-8 



