68 Charles R. Blem and Leann B. Blem 



pH, substantial numbers of spotted salamanders may breed successfully 

 (e.g. Cook 1983), suggesting that simple acidification is not the entire 

 cause of mortality. Furthermore, high concentrations of organic mate- 

 rials in such ponds may ameliorate the impact of toxic ions by binding 

 with them (Seip et al. 1984). 



The present study documents concentrations of 20 of the more 

 common cations present in the waters of temporary ponds used as 

 breeding sites by spotted salamanders in Virginia and analyzes the 

 relationships of water chemistry to reproductive success of the spotted 

 salamander in these ponds. 



MATERIALS AND METHODS 



We counted egg masses in 218 temporary ponds in a 16-county area 

 around Richmond, Va., in the spring (March-May) of 1988, 1989, and 

 1990. At least two counts per year were made in each pond, at least one 

 of which was made well after all breeding activity ceased (usually late 

 March). We have monitored pH and the number of egg masses in a 

 majority of these ponds for 8 years (see Blem and Blem 1989). In 

 addition, we measured the pH of each pond two to four times each year. 



In March 1989 we obtained a 20-ml water sample from each of 48 

 temporary ponds that had contained egg masses over most of the 8 

 years of the study. The surface area, depth, and pH of each pond were 

 measured at the same time. All 48 ponds were similar in altitude, 

 exposure, and surrounding vegetation. All were in forests consisting of 

 loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) or mixed pine-hardwoods. The two most 

 widely separated ponds were 64 km apart. The ponds seldom froze 

 during late spring and only ponds of sufficient depth to protect eggs 

 from freezing (i. e. > 20 cm deep) were studied. Egg masses of spotted 

 salamanders were counted in each pond, and pH was measured with an 

 Orion SA250 portable pH meter. The water samples were filtered 

 through No. 4 filter paper and analyzed for tannic acid using the 

 HACH (1975) test. Samples of filtered water were stored in cleaned 35- 

 ml borosilicate EPA water analysis vials, and were analyzed by the 

 Chemical Analysis Laboratory at the Institute of Ecology, The Univer- 

 sity of Georgia, by means of inductively coupled argon plasma analysis. 

 Twenty cations were quantified (Table 1). Replicate samples were run 

 from several ponds to test for sampling variation; no determination 

 differed by more than 8%. All data sets were tested to determine if they 

 were normally distributed (SAS 1985: UNIVARIATE), and those deviat- 

 ing from normality were transformed to natural logarithms before 

 further analyses were performed (Zar 1984). 



We categorized ponds as "successful" (> 20 egg masses were 

 present and produced larvae in all 8 years and the number did not 



