Abstract/Summary

The Chinese giant salamander, Andrias davidianus Blanchard, 1871 (Caudata: Cryptobranchidae), is the world’s largest amphibian. It is endemic to China and is currently listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (Liang et al. 2004) and ranked as the number 2 global priority for amphibian conservation on the basis of threat and evolutionary history by the Zoological Society of London’s Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) programme (Isaac et al. 2012). Wild populations are threatened and some have already become extinct (Wang et al. 2004). Population declines have been attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation, and especially hunting for luxury food markets and potentially to stock salamander farms (Wang et al. 2004, Feng et al. 2007, Dai et al. 2009, Liang et al. 2004). Andrias davidianus is particularly vulnerable to overexploitation due to its slow growth and age at which it attains sexual maturity; generation length has been estimated to be 15 years (Liang et al. 2012). Guizhou Province, located in southwestern China, is considered an important region for A. davidianus, with wild populations recorded historically from 30 counties in the province (Fei et al. 2006). Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve (FNNR) is 41,900 ha in size and characterised by a mid-subtropical montane moist monsoon climate. The reserve was established in 1978 specifically to protect A. davi dianus as well as other threatened species (UNESCO 2013). The core area of FNNR contains approximately 1,100 people, with a further 15,000 people living in the buffer zone surrounding the reserve. It is situated in one of the poorest areas in China, but …