Developing a predictive geospatial habitat model for a rare species of salamander in Tennessee: a case study for the green salamander (Aneides aeneus)

Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus; Cope and Packard 1881) are a secretive and cryptic species of salamander that can be relatively difficult to detect, due to their occupation of arboreal habitats. The incorporation of geospatial tools is critical in developing models that can be used to predict undocumented locations in Tennessee and elsewhere. Locating the species in Tennessee was accomplished through a total of 18 localities and with that, several habitat characteristics were able to be identified including, but not limited to: appropriately shaded and structured rocks, typical fauna co-occurring within the area, and general topography of the area. Of the 91.8% of sites that were deemed to have suitable habitat, 40% of those had positive presence, the remaining 60% is indeterminate for presence at this time as more field visits should be conducted in the future.