Safeguarding the Symphony: Protecting Common Species While They’re Still Common
Ecosystems are like symphonies, each species like an instrument. Some are bold and loud; others are subtle and quiet.
In conservation efforts, imperiled species tend to be the soloists, getting all the attention. But common species are the percussion, strings, and winds. If we lose them, the music is no longer harmonious.
At ARC, we care a great deal about the soloists. Protecting Threatened and Endangered amphibians and reptiles is at the core of our mission. But we’re equally focused on the other musicians: the frogs, salamanders, turtles, lizards, and snakes that aren’t yet at risk but are critical to their ecosystems.
Proactive Conservation
Conservation often begins when a species is in trouble. Historically, we tend to step in when population sizes have plummeted, habitats have vanished, and expensive recovery efforts are the only remaining option.
Alternatively, proactive conservation means acting before a species becomes Endangered. To avoid losing irreplaceable genetic diversity and having to invest limited funding on costly interventions to bring species back, we should prevent them from becoming rare in the first place.
Safeguarding them while their populations are still strong is a more strategic and forward-thinking approach for species that are common now. These animals regulate pests, enrich soil, distribute seeds, and serve as food for countless others. Amphibian and reptile declines often go unnoticed until the effects disrupt food webs and trickle through the ecosystem.
To help prevent these losses, we’ve established PARCAs (Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas) across the US, the cornerstone of our proactive strategy at ARC.
In hundreds of PARCAs, from the deserts of the Southwest to the wetlands of the Southeast, we focus on protecting and restoring entire ecosystems to support healthy populations and keep common species common. Through extensive surveys, threat assessments, and science-driven actions, we aim to stop species declines before they start.
Protecting Common Species in PARCAs
In many ways, the southern black racer is the quintessential common species throughout its range in the Southeastern US. In fact, in some PARCAs, we see so many of these snakes, that it’s hard to count them all. Nevertheless, we’re always excited to find this quick-moving black snake with its big dark eyes that help it spot prey.
Though the southern black racer may not get as much attention as some rarer species, its speed and visual hunting make it an important predator. Racers thrive in warm, open habitats like dry grasslands and forest edges. In the Francis Marion PARCA, South Carolina, we’re restoring habitats with both open clearings and shaded patches to help this species continue to be one of the most frequently spotted reptiles here.
Then there’s the spotted salamander—slow and secretive—a relatively common species across much of its range in the Eastern and Midwestern US (but considered imperiled locally in some states). These amphibians spend much of their lives underground, emerging only during late winter and early spring rains to migrate en masse to ephemeral (seasonal) pools to breed.
They need mature forests with plenty of cover and seasonal wetlands that hold water just long enough for their larvae (like tadpoles) to develop. If either habitat type disappears, their remarkable annual migrations will likely disappear too.
In the Balsams Pisgah PARCA, North Carolina, and several other PARCAs throughout their range, we’re making sure both forests and ephemeral ponds remain intact with comprehensive restoration that includes repairing wetland hydrology and invasive species removal. These efforts not only give them what they need to keep the cycle going but also help ensure that genes can flow across habitats that were once more fragmented.
And let’s not forget the western fence lizard. This common sun-loving species is quietly heroic. Found throughout the Western and Southwestern US, this active reptile does more than just scurry across rocks and logs.
It plays a surprising role in reducing the spread of Lyme disease. Young ticks feed on these lizards, but instead of becoming a disease reservoir, the lizards have a protein in their blood that kills the Lyme-causing bacterium. Not only do the lizards not carry the disease but the ticks that bite western fence lizards are essentially “cleaned” of the infection.
We’re working alongside partners to protect and restore the diverse habitats of the Bootheel PARCA, New Mexico, Cochise PARCAs, Arizona, and several others for these unsung reptilian heroes.
Each of these species may be common in parts of their ranges, but they all have very specific habitat needs. By safeguarding a diversity of landscapes—from grasslands and forest floors to ephemeral ponds and rocky deserts, we’re giving these species their best chance to remain plentiful.
Let the Symphony Play On
Together with you and the rest of our partners, we’re investing in landscape-scale habitat restoration, local partnerships, and long-term monitoring in PARCAs before crisis strikes. It’s a smarter, more efficient way to protect biodiversity, and it’s rooted in science, collaboration, and a deep commitment to the animals we love.
So let’s continue to keep the beat steady. Let’s keep common species common. If we wait until the music starts to fade, it’ll be too late.