You may find it hard to believe, but if you took all the moose or deer in a northeastern forest and put them on a scale, they wouldn’t weigh as much as the superabundant but often overlooked red-backed salamander.

In his latest Nature Moments video, Anne T, and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences Nat Wheelwright  explains how these hardy amphibians manage to prosper and where they can be found.

If you want to make your own natural history observations, The Naturalist’s Notebook by Wheelwright and Bernd Heinrich (Storey Publishing, 2017) provides guidance and a systematic format, with 100% of royalties going to conservation and environmental education.

Watch previous Nature Moments.