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Plethodontid salamanders are potentially good ecological indicator species in woodland habitats due to their abundance and sensitivity to changes in the environment. The use of terrestrial salamanders as ecological indicators depends on effective means of surveying their abundance and distribution. Our study examined the use of old and new artificial cover boards by Eastern Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). We also considered the effects of season (spring vs. fall) and habitat type (deciduous vs. coniferous vs. mixed) on cover board use by P. cinereus. Our results indicated that P. cinereus abundance was greater under old cover boards compared to new cover boards. However, the difference between the use of old and new cover boards was greater during the spring than the fall, suggesting that the effect of cover board age became weaker over time. Plethodon cinereus showed strong seasonal variation in observed abundance, with peaks during the spring and fall seasons and very low surface activity during the summer. Plethodon cinereus had higher observed abundance in deciduous habitats than in coniferous and mixed habitats. Our results suggested that care should be taken to account for cover board age in long-term monitoring programs, especially if cover boards are replaced during a study. cover object size (Carfioli et al., 2000; Moore, 2005), the frequency cover objects are checked (Marsh and Goicochea, 2003), and the construction material (Hampton, 2007). Given the common use of artificial cover objects in the study of salamanders, it is surprising how little is known about the effect of cover board age on their effectiveness (see Miller Hesed, 2012). Understanding the effects of cover board age on observed abundances of P. cinereus (or other salamanders) is potentially important since any change in the use of cover boards by salamanders as boards age would introduce bias into estimates of population trends or studies of habitat use or temporal change if boards of differing ages were used in different habitats or at different times. Over time the physical structure of the artificial cover board likely will change as it starts to decay and be affected by moisture and insects, and the microclimate under the cover board will change as the cover board settles into the soil and the board fits into the soil more closely (G.R. Smith, pers. observ.). It is thus likely that soil moisture and temperature under cover boards change as they age. The microclimate under older cover boards (e.g., more moist) is likely better

EFFECTS OF COVER BOARD AGE, SEASON, AND HABITAT ON THE OBSERVED ABUNDANCE OF EASTERN RED-BACKED SALAMANDERS (PLETHODON CINEREUS)