Download or read book Patterns of Diversity in Plethodontid Salamanders in the Eastern United States written by John R. Meyer and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders written by Richard C. Bruce and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a state-of-the-art overview of plethodontid salamanders. Readers will find the best current understanding of many aspects of the evolution, systematics, development, morphology, life history, ecology, and field methodology of these animals.
Download or read book Speciation and Patterns of Diversity written by Roger Butlin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-22 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together the viewpoints of leading ecologists concerned with the processes that generate patterns of diversity, and evolutionary biologists who focus on mechanisms of speciation, this book opens up discussion in order to broaden understanding of how speciation affects patterns of biological diversity, especially the uneven distribution of diversity across time, space and taxa studied by macroecologists. The contributors discuss questions such as: Are species equivalent units, providing meaningful measures of diversity? To what extent do mechanisms of speciation affect the functional nature and distribution of species diversity? How can speciation rates be measured using molecular phylogenies or data from the fossil record? What are the factors that explain variation in rates? Written for graduate students and academic researchers, the book promotes a more complete understanding of the interaction between mechanisms and rates of speciation and these patterns in biological diversity.
Download or read book The Historical and Ecological Biogeography of the Eastern Red Backed Salamander Plethodon Cinereus written by Brian P. Waldron and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patterns in the distributions of species result from numerous ecological and evolutionary processes, including competitive interactions, evolved physiological tolerances, and the historical environmental fluctuations that have caused ranges to shift, expand, or contract over long time periods. For some groups of species, these processes have resulted in an elaborate diversification of traits. For other groups, however, such as woodland salamanders (genus Plethodon), closely related species may be phenotypically similar or even identical. It is less clear what drives the formation of such species, whether and how they maintain their identities and interact after initial divergence, and how such similar species might have evolved ecologically in subtle ways to differentially utilize the landscape. The Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a small, fully terrestrial woodland salamander notable for its wide distribution and high phylogeographic diversity in the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Most of its current distribution, however, was covered by ice sheets at the end of the Pleistocene, suggesting recent and rapid post-glacial expansion. It is not yet clear how P. cinereus colonized these landscapes, and what ecological characteristics made P. cinereus so successful in its range expansion compared to other species. Some studies comparing narrowly-distributed montane Plethodon to their lowland counterparts have suggested a combination of physiological specialization and competitive superiority of montane species relative to generalist lowland species such as P. cinereus, but it is unknown if this asymmetry applies to sets of lowland species outside of montane systems. In this dissertation, I explore the biogeography of woodland salamanders, with special attention to P. cinereus, at ecological and evolutionary time scales to uncover the processes that shape genetic diversity and species distributions. Chapters 1 and 2 concern the historical biogeography and evolution of P. cinereus, while Chapters 3 and 4 compare the habitat use of P. cinereus to two of its more broadly distributed relatives, the Northern Ravine Salamander (P. electromorphus) and the Southern Ravine Salamander (P. richmondi), to test if they have diverged ecologically, including multiple ecological scales. In Chapter 1, I used next-generation DNA sequencing to explore the phylogeographic structure and demographic history of P. cinereus, using the species as a model for the formation of incipient lineages of Plethodon. I identified several groups that diverged within the Pleistocene, yet I also found numerous and sometimes extensive regions of admixture between groups, suggesting a model of range fragmentation and fusion during incipient species formation. In Chapter 2, I focus on the most recent post-glacial expansion of P. cinereus, using DNA sequencing from range-wide samples to uncover the origins and routes of colonization. Results generally supported a southeastern coastal origin that expanded northward, westward into the Great Lakes region, and then a novel colonization route southward back into unglaciated areas. In Chapter 3, I used ecological niche modeling to test if niche differentiation between P. cinereus, P. electromorphus, and P. richmondi explains their broad distributional patterns. All species had estimated niches that were more different than expected by chance, and historical habitat suitability has fluctuated dramatically in the Holocene epoch, although I did not find strong evidence that climatic or topographic variables differentiated occurrences of P. cinereus and P. electromorphus within their overlapping distribution. Finally, in Chapter 4, I explore microhabitat differentiation between P. cinereus and P. electromorphus where they occur and interact at fine spatial scales. Plethodon cinereus greatly outnumbered P. electromorphus, and P. electromorphus used cooler, wetter microhabitats that were also occupied by P. cinereus, with no evidence for a negative correlation in their occupancies or abundances. Taken together, my work suggests that current distributions, including patterns within and between species, are shaped by historical range expansion and contractions, as well as subtle differences in habitat use at multiple spatial scales.
Download or read book Patterns of Distribution of Amphibians written by William Edward Duellman and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1999-07-28 with total page 660 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sweet, University of California, Santa Barbara; Michael J. Tyler, University of Adelaide, Australia; Zhao Er-Mi, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Peoples Republic of China
Download or read book The Distribution Ecology and Evolutionary History of Plethodontid Salamanders in Tropical America written by David B. Wake and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Ecological Interactions and Phylogenetics of Desmognathine Salamanders Caudata Plethodontidae Across the Eastern Continental Divide written by Leslie Jane Rissler and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Salamanders of the Family Plethodontidae written by Emmett Reid Dunn and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 486 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Habitats and Feeding Niches of Sympatric Populations of the Salamanders Plethodon Dorsalis Angusticlavius and Plethodon Glutinosus Glutinosus in Northwest Arkansas written by James Michael Britton and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Precious Heritage written by Bruce A. Stein and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-16 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the lush forests of Appalachia to the frozen tundra of Alaska, and from the tallgrass prairies of the Midwest to the subtropical rainforests of Hawaii, the United States harbors a remarkable array of ecosystems. These ecosystems in turn sustain an exceptional variety of plant and animal life. For species such as salamanders and freshwater turtles, the United States ranks as the global center of diversity. Among the nation's other unique biological features are California's coast redwoods, the world's tallest trees, and Nevada's Devils Hole pupfish, which survives in a single ten-by-seventy-foot desert pool, the smallest range of any vertebrate animal. Precious Heritage draws together for the first time a quarter century of information on U.S. biodiversity developed by natural heritage programs from across the country. This richly illustrated volume not only documents those aspects of U.S. biodiversity that are particularly noteworthy, but also considers how our species and ecosystems are faring, what is threatening them, and what is needed to protect the nation's remaining natural inheritance. Above all, Precious Heritage is a celebration of the extraordinary biological diversity of the United States.
Download or read book A Comparative Study on the Activity Patterns of Some Plethodontid Salamanders in North Carolina written by James R. Stewart and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Distribution of the Salamanders of the Genus Plethodon in Eastern United States and Canada written by Arnold Brams Grobman and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evolutionary and Ecological Diversification in Eastern North American Plethodontid Salamanders written by Kenneth H. Kozak and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Activity Patterns of the Del Norte Salamander Plethodon Elongatus written by Sabrina Horrack and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Semi-fossorial plethodontid salamanders exhibit behavioral plasticity to avoid desiccation, retreating underground to shelter from adverse conditions such as low precipitation and high temperatures. In this study, I used passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag surveys to monitor this behavior in the Del Norte salamander (Plethodon elongatus), a small plethodontid native to northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. Within its range, a climatic gradient exists in which coastal areas experience milder temperatures and high precipitation, while inland areas tend to have colder winters, hotter summers, and lower precipitation. By monitoring the activity patterns of this species in inland and coastal areas, I aimed to observe which environmental variables had the greatest impact on the detection of individuals within the detectable range of the PIT tag antenna (~10 cm underground). Using this method, I obtained a 61.4% overall re-detection rate, compared a 17% recapture rate of above ground salamanders. The likelihood of detecting P. elongatus was significantly related to temperature, with the odds of making a detection increasing by 7.2% for every one-degree Celsius increase in ambient temperature. Relative humidity was also significantly associated with detection, with the odds of making a detection increasing by 12.3% for every one percent increase in humidity. Canopy cover and cloud cover were not significantly related to detection odds. Detection likelihood did not vary based on the body mass index or sex of each individual. Portable PIT tag antenna surveys are significantly less labor intensive than traditional amphibian monitoring techniques and are minimally invasive after the initial tag insertion. Using this method allows for direct monitoring of individual salamanders over time, including near-surface level activity that would be impossible to observe with traditional methodologies. Given that climate projections predict rising temperatures within the range of P. elongatus, monitoring the species’ activity patterns under current climate conditions can help predict how the species may respond to future climate conditions.
Download or read book Dissertation Abstracts International written by and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 902 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Speciation in salamanders of the plethodontid genus Ensatina written by Robert Cyril Stebbins and published by . This book was released on 1949 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gene Flow and the Relationship of Plethodon Stormi and P Elongatus Assessed with 11 Novel Microsatellite Loci written by Douglas James DeGross and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Plethodontid salamanders are model organisms for studying evolutionary questions of gene flow, restricted ranges, and speciation. Plethodon, a diverse genus within Plethodontidae, is widely distributed in eastern and western North America. Much research has been based in the eastern United States where diversity of these salamanders is high. Because of their morphological conservatism, genetic analysis has often been used to address the questions of population structure, speciation, and gene flow. The majority of these analyses have relied on allozyme and mtDNA markers. However, these markers have their shortcomings in resolving differentiation on a small geographic scale. To date no researchers have used nuclear microsatellites to address systematic questions in plethodontid salamanders. I developed 11 nuclear microsatellite loci to address evolutionary questions in two western members of the genus Plethodon, the sister species Plethodon elongatus and P. storni. The taxonomic status of these salamanders has been a source of contention. Although recent mtDNA analyses reveal the presence of a third species previously included as P. storini in the Scott River drainage, no samples from this possible new species are included in this thesis. Substructure inferred from the mtDNA analyses within the range of P. stormi is assessed, as well as gene flow between P. elongatus and P. stormi. My results provide strong support for treating P. elongatus and P. stormi as separate species.
