I am starting a petition to protect the tiger salamander. The tiger salamander is a widely spread  salamander species that can be found in North America, throughout most of the United States, southern Canada, and Eastern Mexico. Its normal habitat includes areas near water sources and underground burrows. The population ranges throughout the area, but we can estimate it at about one million. The tiger salamander is currently stable, but it is facing multiple issues that it has been declared an endangered species. 

One way that the tiger salamanders are being impacted negatively is by the destruction of wetlands, which is important because “tiger salamanders rely on wetlands, especially vernal pools, for breeding, and their loss due to development, agriculture, and other human activities severely impacts their populations.” (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). Another issue is climate change, the changes in precipitation patterns and temperature are affecting their habitat and their ability to reproduce. 

The tiger salamander are secondary consumer, meaning they eat insects, worms, and invertebrates. One key biotic factor in their ecosystem includes their prey such as insects, worms, small invertebrates, and tadpoles. Another biotic factor is plants in their environment, like aquatic vegetation and forest plants. One example of abiotic factors is water, which is central for breeding and keeping the skin moist for the tiger salamander. Another factor is temperature, because tiger salamanders are sensitive to heat or cold. One unique symbioticrelationship the tiger salamanders have is with green algae called Oophila amblystomatis, where the algae lives within the salamander's egg capsules and embryonic cells, providing oxygen and carbohydrates. 

One of the biggest  limiting factor for the tiger salamanders is habitat loss. For example the destruction of, ponds and rivers where they reproduce greatly affects their survival . The carrying capacity of female tiger salamanders can lay “clutches containing 25–50 eggs per mass, and some populations may lay up to 7,631 eggs”( Robb).  Tiger salamanders are also  negatively affect by fossil fuels and other non- renewable sources. The Extraction of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and other gases can destroy wetlands, forests, and other habitats. Also in addition, pollution from fossil fuels releases gases into the air and water, poisoning the water and eggs.

The tiger salamander is most affected by secondary succession when wetlands are damaged by fires, floods, or human activities make the salamander lose moist soil, shelter, and other essentials. Rule 10 explains “when energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy is passed on, with the remaining 90% lost, primarily as heat” (Robb). Rule 10 is affecting tiger salamanders because it limits the energy available at each trophic level also tiger salamanders are tropical level 3 . Decomposers are  also important because it’s part of the nutrient cycle that keeps their habitat healthy. One possible solution is restoring and fixing wetlands for Tiger Salamanders and also creating tunnels under roads for Salamanders to travel.