Download or read book Spatial Variation in the Abundance Trophic Ecology and Role of Semi aquatic Salamanders in Headwater Streams written by Philip Robert Gould and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Headwater streams are common features of forested landscape and provide critical resources to near-stream riparian forests and downstream aquatic habitat. In many small streams in the southern Appalachians, often narrow and heavily shaded, these systems are almost entirely dependent on external input of nutrients. The volume and quality of nutrients available to headwater ecosystems varies through space and time, depending on the species of trees present in riparian forests, the time of year, and the rate of litter-processing by invertebrates. Additionally, nutrients are not distributed uniformly through aquatic ecosystems, and may be moved or aggregated by both physical and biological processes. Despite the perceived greater reliance on allochthonous input, there has been little work to identify how wildlife inhabiting smaller streams are facilitating stream nutrient dynamics both within streams and riparian systems. To increase our understanding of the role of animals in headwater streams, my research investigates the patterns of density, biomass, foraging, and excretion in the Black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus), the largest, most-aquatic species of salamander occurring in fishless headwaters of the southern Appalachians. Desmognathus quadramaculatus forage both within and directly around streams, spending significant amounts of non-foraging time in stream banks or under partially submerged cover objects. Additionally, D. quadramaculatus have a 3-year larval period in this region and require permanent aquatic habitat for larval development.
Download or read book Spatial Variation in the Abundance Demography and Physiology of the Montane Endemic Salamander Plethodon Shermani and the Consequences of Climate Change written by Meaghan R. Gade and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As climate change marches on, it is imperative to understand how species respond via distribution, abundance, physiology, and behavior to their environment present-day in order to inform possible responses in the future. Populations of species exist across heterogeneous environments that may differentially influence particular responses. The scale at which these responses are assessed must be considered because patterns can emerge at a local scale that may not be detectable at broader scales. Yet, only assessing local-scale patterns and responses neglects the broader landscape patterns that ultimately shape fine-scales. Montane biodiversity experience extreme abiotic variation over small spatial scales. To increase our understanding of how these gradients influence wildlife across scales, my research examines the patterns of distribution, abundance, demographic life-history traits, behavior, and physiology in the red-legged salamander, Plethodon shermani, across multiple abiotic gradients in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The primary objectives of my research are to (1) understand the effects of spatial patterns on ecological responses of P. shermani and (2) use that knowledge to predict how responses will change in the future. Terrestrial Plethodon salamanders lack lungs and depend on cool and moist microhabitat to facilitate gas exchange across their skin surface. As such, salamanders are restricted to specific habitats. We know that salamander abundance increases with elevation due to the cool and moist regional climate at high elevations. However, my research investigates the role of both elevation and stream distance gradients as broad and fine-scale abiotic gradients, respectively, that salamanders may be responding. Although low elevations are regionally warm and dry, microhabitats near streams are buffered and tend to be cooler and wetter. I found that salamander distribution and abundance track these landscape patterns such that at low elevations, animals are distributed in their highest abundance near stream sides but become less dependent on stream-side habitat at high elevations due to the regionally cool and moist habitat. Salamander life history also varies across these gradients; survival decreases with elevation but reproductive rates and growth increase with elevation. Both survival and reproduction decrease with stream distance at low elevations, but growth and movement increase with stream distance. I also found that a metric for stress, dermal Corticosterone, (dCORT) was lowest in animals at low elevations and stream distance had no effect. Salamander dCORT additively increased in response to experimental conditions reflective of future climate change. I also found that the surface activity probability of salamanders will likely increase in the future in response to rising temperatures. Using a highly integrative approach, my research collectively shows that salamanders have multi-faceted responses to spatial variation of landscapes and will be impacted by future climate change.
Download or read book Community Ecology and Salamander Guilds written by Nelson G. Hairston and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1987-11-27 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This informative book, first published in 1987, presents the theories of community ecology within the context of a natural example. The text describes and examines issues in community ecology and shows how research on salamanders has helped to solve some of the problems surrounding the theories. Salamanders exist in stable populations of the kind assumed in community theory and are more appropriate than most other animals for research on the applications of that theory. The interesting and meaningful results, collected from observation on these excellent subjects posed challenges to beliefs within community ecology. Life histories of salamanders, fieldwork in distinctly differing habitats, competition, predation and evolution are discussed in an easily readable text. Professional ecologists and students of community ecology and herpetology will be interedted in the information synthesised in this book.
Download or read book The Ecological Role of Salamanders as Predators and Prey written by Salvidio Sebastiano and published by Mdpi AG. This book was released on 2022-04-02 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Salamanders are relevant components of many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. However, despite the importance of salamanders in many resource-consumer networks, their functional role remains remarkably understudied. Therefore, this volume, entitled The Ecological Role of Salamanders as Prey and Predators, provides an opportunity for researchers to highlight the new research on the ecological role of salamanders and newts in prey-predator systems, their trophic behavior, and the variability of their trophic niche in space and time. Various innovative methods, such as COI metabarcoding and network analysis, are applied in the present study to test both the classical and new hypotheses concerning the trophic ecology of salamanders and their interactions with their prey. The present volume is composed of one review and seven research papers, all of which are published after undergoing a complete and impartial peer-review process.
Download or read book Behavioral Ecology of the Eastern Red backed Salamander written by Robert G. Jaeger and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-04 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The small, terrestrial eastern red-backed salamander is abundant on many forest floors of northeastern North America. Dr. Robert Jaeger and many of his graduate students spent over 50 years studying this species in New York and Virginia, using ecological techniques in forests and behavioral experiments in laboratory chambers in an attempt to understand how this species interacts with other species in the forest and the components of its intra- and intersexual social behaviors. The competitive and social behaviors of this species are unusually complex for an amphibian. This species is highly aggressive towards other similar-size species where they cohabit in forests, often leading to very little geographic overlap between the species. The authors examine the fascinating behavioral traits of this species including social monogamy, mutual mate guarding, sexual coercion, inter-species communication, and conflict resolution.
Download or read book The Abundance and Diversity of Stream Salamanders on Montane Golf Courses written by Mark Joseph Mackey and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stream salamanders are often the most abundant vertebrates in headwater streams and they play an integral role as both predators and prey in these ecosystems. Because they often use both terrestrial and aquatic habitat and because of their susceptibility to a range of environmental disturbances, it is widely believed that stream salamanders are useful as biological indicators of ecosystem health. The first study in this thesis examines how stream substrate complexity influences both capture rates and observed species richness of stream salamanders of two common sampling techniques. We found that catch per unit effort (CPUE) did not differ significantly between litter bag sampling and visual encounter surveys (VES). Overall, we detected significantly more species in transects with complex substrate using both leaf litter bags and VES. Recent studies indicate golf courses have a potential role in biodiversity conservation and management. We monitored larval and adult stream salamanders in reaches located upstream, on, and downstream of managed areas of 10 golf courses in western North Carolina, USA. We measured in-stream and riparian habitat characteristics and tested for fertilizer and pesticide chemicals to explain trends in salamander abundances and diversity. Salamander abundance and diversity did not differ in stream reaches located upstream and downstream of managed areas on golf courses (i.e. fairways). Reaches located on managed areas contained lower abundances and less diverse stream salamander communities.
Download or read book Visual Behavior in Salamanders written by Gerhard Roth and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Salamanders are subject to misconceptions even among vertebrate zoologists and physiologists. They are often said to exist only in northern temperate zones, being bound to aquatic or very moist cool habitats. In reality, more than half of all salamander species live in subtropical and tropical zones, ex clusively in the New World. Again, more than half of the salamand~r species have become totally independent of aquatic habitats following the loss of a free larval stage. Many of the subtropical and tropical salamanders have become adapted to rather high temperatures up to 26-28 DC. The brain and the sensory systems of salamanders are often considered to be primitive, and their behavior is thought to be simple and uninfluenced by learning. However, careful studies show that the salamander brain possesses virtually all the ana tomical and functional properties found in anurans, which are usually regarded as being much more evolved with respect to the guidance of comparable behavior. Most of the salamander species not only possess a highly efficient visual system, which is the topic of the present work, but can orient themselves almost as effectively by means of olfaction, vibration sense, and electroreception. Furthermore, it has recently been shown that at least part of their behavior, especially that concerned with feeding and prey preferences, is strongly influenced by individual experience.
Download or read book Individual Population and Landscape scale Effects of Timber Harvest on the Red legged Salamander Plethodon Shermani written by Grant McClintock Connette and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Habitat loss and alteration are widely recognized as major threats to global biodiversity and the vulnerability of animal species to these disturbance processes can depend on the behavioral responses of individuals to modified landscapes. In response to a changing environment, individuals may either attempt to adapt to changing conditions or disperse to new habitat. At the local scale, the emigration of individuals or changes in activity patterns could lead to reduced counts of animals in ecological studies. At broader spatial scales, organismal movement may enable population rescue or reestablishment after disturbance and maintain demographic connectivity among populations. These complex mechanisms underlying the perceived abundance and distribution of species often requires a careful deconstructing of demographic trends and sampling variation in ecological data. Lungless salamanders (Family Plethodontidae) are extremely abundant in many forest and headwater stream ecosystems of eastern North America. These salamanders breathe across their moist skin surface, making them sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and moisture conditions. Thus, changes in habitat characteristics are known to have a considerable effect on populations of these salamanders. However, studies identifying the behavioral or demographic causes of declines as well as patterns of long-term recovery are critically needed. My dissertation research combined behavioral, population and landscape-scale studies to identify the effects of timber harvest on a lungless woodland salamander (Plethodon shermani). The primary objectives of my research were to 1) to describe the short-and long-term effects of timber harvest on salamander abundance and 2) to determine the behavioral or demographic processes dictating the abundance and distribution of salamanders at both local and landscape scales. To characterize baseline population dynamics of the salamander, P. shermani, I conducted a 5-year capture-mark-recapture study which revealed substantial annual variation in survival, recruitment, and population size under natural conditions. Initial results suggest that differences in recruitment and over-winter survival might be responsible for the lower abundances of terrestrial salamanders in logged areas at the end of this study. In an experimental translocation of salamanders into a timber cut and nearby forest habitat, I found that salamanders respond to differences in habitat quality by altering their movement behavior. This type of behavioral shift might help mitigate the risk of sustaining activity in recently logged forest. In an additional study, I tracked salamanders using a PIT-tag telemetry system in order to identify mortality, rather than emigration or reduced activity, as the likely cause for perceived declines in salamanders immediately following timber harvest. Finally, in a series of landscape-scale surveys, I found that salamander abundance was positively correlated with forest age (i.e., years since harvest), that full population recovery can require greater than 100 years, and that populations of species with greater movement ability may recover faster due to immigration of individuals from surrounding forest. Collectively, these studies identify key behavioral and demographic processes responsible for observed changes in salamander populations and suggest specific strategies for conservation and management.
Download or read book Feeding Ecology of Larvae of the Pacific Giant Salamander Dicamptodon Tenebrosus and Their Role as Top Predator in a Headwater Stream Benthic Community written by Michael S. Parker (Professor of biology) and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Effect of Road Crossings on Stream associated Salamanders Within Holly Springs National Forest written by Caleb A. Aldridge and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Road crossings have significant effects on wildlife, but there is limited information on how road crossings affect stream-associated salamanders. Stream-associated salamanders are vital to their ecological communities and are likely to experience the effect of roads more readily than other species due to their physiological characteristics. To test the effects of road crossings on stream-associated salamanders, I surveyed 12 pairs of confluent streams – one stream crossed by a road and the other not in each pair – within Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi. Surveys in the summer of 2015 were used to measure abundance and species richness of stream-associated salamanders. Transects were established across streams and abundance and species richness were measured at different distances from the road crossing (or stream midpoint where no road was present). Although salamanders were not abundant and only about 40% of samples contained any salamanders, abundance and richness varied between road-free and road-crossed streams, having 2.5 times as many individuals and 2.4 as many species per transect in road-free streams. The effect on abundance associated with roads was greater than previously found in Appalachia where salamanders are more abundant and species rich. There was no significant difference in abundance or species richness with distance (0–36 m) from the road crossing, but greater statistical power was needed to detect significance for the small effect size observed. Road-free and road-crossed sampling locations varied from 300–2500 m apart and no relationship existed for distance between and difference in abundance or species richness for paired locations. This lead to the conclusion that the extent of the road-effect zone lies between 36 and 300 m. When the data were re-analyzed without including the least stream-associated species (Plethodon mississippi), the results were essentially the same. There was a significant period × position interaction effect, suggesting that the first effort might have affected salamander abundance in the late summer sampling. Abundance and species richness were not associated with microclimate factors that differed between road-free and road-crossed streams. Considering the difference in magnitude for road-effects between this and Ward et al. (2008), characteristically similar disturbances in different regions may vary in their magnitude and extent – this could help explain the effect of sampling disturbance and no association between microclimate factors and salamander abundance and species richness. Additional sampling in other seasons and surveys that include additional, further from the road or midpoint might help to resolve uncertainty about spatial and temporal variation. Future research might also include components of salamander movement using mark-recapture techniques, since there are some suggestions that there are substantial temporal changes in location of the salamanders in this community.
Download or read book Salamanders written by Rashid Gerasimov and published by Nova Science Publishers. This book was released on 2020-12 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Waterton Lakes National Park, located in southwest Alberta, Canada, under-road crossing structures were installed in 2008 to protect a population of long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) at Linnet Lake from mortality during breeding migrations that intersected with the park's entrance road. This compilation first investigates orientation and movement patterns of marked individuals at Linnet Lake in 2013 and 2014, and at a smaller, shallower wetland Stable Pond in 2014 to document in detail how long-toed salamanders used the terrestrial landscape around breeding sites during adult migration and juvenile dispersal. Following this, the authors use generalized linear models to model salamander occurrence and abundance in the Beaver Hills region of north-central Alberta as a function of land cover type and pocket gopher density. The authors go on to address whether any ecological barriers exist in the distribution range of the two newt species N. strauchii and N. crocatus. According to the findings of this study, an identity test was found to be significantly different from the null distribution, whereas a background test was not significantly different from the null distribution. The concluding chapter summarizes the processes by which light is converted into neural signals by rods and cones and then transmitted to downstream neurons in the retina, with a focus on salamander photoreceptors. The different types of photoreceptor cells and other light-sensitive cells in salamanders and their role in vision are also discussed.
Download or read book Ecology of Populations of Van Dyke s Salamanders in the Cascade Range of Washington State written by Aimee P. McIntyre and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Van Dyke's salamander (Plethodon vandyke,) is a rare species endemic to Washington State. It has been found in cool moist microhabitats along streams, splash zones of waterfalls, and headwater seeps. We explored the association of the Van Dyke's salamander with hydrologic condition, geomorphology, disturbance characteristics, and vegetation structure in first- and second-order streams, and headwater seeps in the Cascade Range of Washington. We conducted salamander surveys and measured habitat characteristics at 50 streams and 40 seeps May-October 2000-2002. We described Van Dyke's salamander occurrence in stream and seep sites at three spatial scales: between sites, within sites, and between microhabitat sites. Using presence and absence as the response, we fit logistic regression models predicting Van Dyke's salamander occurrence. To identify the model that best fit the data, we ranked a priori models using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Results were consistent for both stream and seep sites, at all three spatial scales. Best approximating models indicated that Van Dyke's salamander occurrence at sites was related to geological and hydrological habitat characteristics that provided hydnc and thermal stability. The probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence along streams was associated with habitat characteristics that protected salamanders from exposure, provided a source cover, and stream habitat types providing splash zone areas. Between streams, Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with the proportion of valley walls with canopy cover 5%, the proportion of the stream channel dominated by bedrock, boulder, or soil substrates, and additional stream channels entering the main channel. Within streams, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence increased with the presence of non-forested areas, the presence of bedrock dominated stream habitat types, and the presence of vertical or V-shaped valley wall morphology. Between microhabitat sites, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence increased with an absence of trees, the presence of seeps, and the presence of small cobble sized substrates. The probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence in seeps was associated with habitat characteristics that protected salamanders within the larger landscape, provided a moisture gradient from dry to saturated, and the presence of cover objects. Between seeps, Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with seep faces having a dry and sheeting hydrology, and with seep faces5 m high. Within seeps, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was negatively associated with seeps that had proportionately more point measures of total overhead cover that were>25%. Between microhabitat sites, the probability of Van Dyke's salamander occurrence was positively associated with an increase in the percent cover of small cobble, small gravel, and bedrock substrates. We conducted mark-recapture surveys of the Van Dyke's salamander at two high-gradient stream sites located within the Cascade Range of Washington State, June-November 2002. Sites known to support populations of the Van Dyke's salamander were chosen, and were ecologically different. One site, lacking significant overstory and located within the blast zone created by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, was surveyed 10 times. The other site, located in an old-growth coniferous stand, was surveyed 11 times. Abundance of salamanders at the blast zone site was estimated to be 458 (95% Cl: 306-739). Abundance of salamanders at the old-growth site was estimated to be 100 individuals (95% Cl: 61-209). Capture probabilities were extremely low (5 =
Download or read book Local and Landscape scale Controls on the Distribution and Abundance of a Headwater Stream Salamander written by Winsor Hayes Lowe and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Resistance and Resilience of Stream Salamander Populations to Disturbance written by Steven J. Price and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Urbanization and drought represent two pervasive disturbances that affect animal inhabitants of small, first-order streams. Stream salamanders (Family Plethodontidae) represent the dominant vertebrate group and play important ecological roles in first-order streams, although they have often been neglected in previous studies on the effects of disturbance on system ecosystems. It was hypothesized that urbanization and drought would strongly influence vital rates (e.g., occupancy, abundance, survival, etc.) of salamander populations. One goal of this research was to use a before-after control-impact study design to determine occupancy probabilities and abundances of salamander life stages and species in streams with urbanized catchments, compared to streams with undisturbed catchments. Using both dynamic occupancy models and binomial mixed models, I not only estimated the state variables (i.e., occupancy and abundance), but provided estimates of colonization, survival, and detection while incorporating site-level and survey covariates. Four years post-urbanization, occupancy estimates of larval northern dusky (Desmognathus fuscus), larval and adult southern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera) declined by approximately 40%, whereas adult northern dusky salamander occupancy remained stable. Occupancy of salamanders in control streams remained relatively stable over five years. Abundance estimates followed somewhat similar trends, although response-time for salamanders was shown to be more rapid. Abundances of larval dusky and two-lined salamanders were different from control streams one-year after urbanization, whereas adult two-lined salamander and dusky salamander abundances differed from control streams two and three years' post-urbanization, respectively. A second main objective was to use capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data to estimate survival probability, temporary emigration probability and detectability of stream salamanders, with a focus on the northern dusky salamanders. I used Huggins Robust Design to construct a set of a priori candidate models. Strong support was found for models that included month-specific capture probabilities and recapture probabilities, which indicated a strong capture response. Furthermore, I found support for random temporary emigration and location specific survival. Findings suggest that it may be necessary to include survey and population-level parameters in order to estimate survival in stream salamanders. A final objective was to use occupancy and CMR data to examine the response of the northern dusky salamander to drought, specifically the supra-seasonal drought of 2007-2008. I used dynamic occupancy models to estimate salamander occupancy of adult and larval salamanders and Huggins Robust Design to estimate vital rates of adult salamanders. Occupancy of larval salamanders declined by 30% during supra-seasonal drought conditions, yet adult occupancy remained similar to non drought years. Adult temporary emigration rates were twice as high during supra-seasonal drought conditions than during non-drought and typical drought conditions and survival of adults during the supra-seasonal drought was similar to survival during non-drought conditions. These findings suggest persistence of dusky salamanders during drought is due to both between generation and within generation refugium-use strategies.
Download or read book Feeding ecology of larvae of the Pacific giant salamander and their role as top predator in a headwater stream benthic community by Michael Steven Parker written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trophic Ecology of an Imperiled Giant Salamander Cryptobranchus A Alleganiensis in Southern Appalachian Streams written by Ashley E. Yaun and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Baseline Survey and Habitat Analysis of Aquatic Salamanders in the Pigeon River North Caroliina written by Nikki J. Maxwell and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pigeon River was severely impacted beginning in the early 1900s by a paper mill located in Canton, North Carolina. The mill discharged chemical byproducts into the Pigeon River until 1992 when the paper mill modified their processes. As a result, water quality improved but the status of salamander species in the Pigeon River was unknown. Worldwide amphibian declines over the last 20 years have drawn attention to the need for more research and a better understanding of species-specific habitat relationships. There is concern about amphibian population declines because amphibians are critical to the balance of ecosystems and are considered exceptional indicators of environmental health. The objectives of this study were: 1) to conduct a baseline survey of salamander species composition in the Pigeon River watershed, 2) to determine if salamander populations differ above and below the Canton paper mill, and 3) to attempt to explain variance in salamander abundance, richness and diversity by comparing water quality and substrate characteristics among streams. Eight stations were examined on the Pigeon River, with four stations located above the paper mill and four stations below. We also chose three stations on each of four tributaries, Big Creek, Fines Creek, Jonathan Creek and Richland Creek. Snorkel surveys were completed in the summer of 2009. Five of eight species of stream salamanders were found that historically existed in Haywood County, NC: Eastern hellbender, Blue Ridge two-lined salamander, shovel-nosed salamander, black-bellied salamander and spring salamander. No salamanders were found in the main channel of the Pigeon River below the mill. Eastern hellbenders and Blue Ridge two-lined salamanders preferred substrates consisting of rubble and avoided bedrock. Percent rubble was the only variable retained in substrate models and was positively related to salamander abundance, richness and diversity. Conductivity, salinity, and water temperature were higher in the Pigeon River below the mill than at all other sites. Salamander abundance was explained by dissolved oxygen, pH, and stream width in water quality models. The results of this study suggest salamander abundance was negatively associated with the Pigeon River below the mill because of poor water quality and not habitat availability.
