Correlation between Climate and Distribution of the Color Morphs of the Salamander Plethodon cinereus

Lotter, Fred; Scott, Norman J.

doi:10.2307/1443166

Cited by 56 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…the erythristic morph has been found in four provinces (Brown 1928;Bleakney and Cook 1957;Cook and Bleakney 1961;Rosen 1971) and 10 states (Reed 1908;Reed and Wright 1909;Barbour 1914;Burt 1945;Matthews 1952;Pfingsten 1969;Mueller and Himchak 1983;deMaynadier 1995;McDonald et al 2011), but it is more frequently found in united States than in Canada. the prevalence of this morph in the united States can sometimes be as high as 35-50% (Pauley et al 2001;Cassell and Jones 2005), but generally rarely exceeds 20% (lotter and Scott 1977;tilley et al 1982). According to Pauley et al (2001), the distribution of this morph would be limited to cooler climates of glaciated areas of southern Canada and the northeastern united States.…”

Section: The Erythristic Colour Morphmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For intermediate colorations of this morph, the author noted the possibility of only partial dominance or the involvement of more than one locus. other studies suggested that erythristic P. cinereus may be the Batesian mimic of the Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) at the elf stage (lotter and Scott 1977;tilley et al 1982;Cassell and Jones 2005), which is known to be toxic for potential predators (Brodie et al 1974). this phenomenon would partly explain the high abundance of the erythristic morph in some forests where the red eft is present.…”

Section: The Erythristic Colour Morphmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…of all North American amphibians, the Eastern Redbacked Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is probably one of the most studied species, because of its wide distribution and abundance in forests of eastern Canada and northeastern united States (Highton 1962;Burton and likens 1975;Petranka 1998), its ecological role (Burton and likens 1975;Wyman 1998), and its potential as indicator of climatic change (lotter and Scott 1977;Gibbs and Karraker 2006) and habitat disturbances (deMaynadier and Hunter 1995) in forest ecosystems. Striking colour polymorphism of this salamander species has long attracted the attention of scientists, herpetologists, and naturalists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kentucky, Minnesota, and tennessee are at the limit of the species' range and the lead-backed morph of P. cinereus has not been reported there. in the last decades, studies have suggested that the lead-backed morph of P. cinereus is more closely associated with warmer climates than the red-backed morph (lotter and Scott 1977;Moreno 1989;Gibbs and Karraker 2006; Anthony et al 2008). However, it seems that the possible role of climate in the distribution of the lead-backed morph has never been unanimously recognized; some doubts still persist in the scientific community about the validity of using this morph as indicator of climatic changes (Angleberger and Chinnici 1975;Pfingsten and Walker 1978; Petruzzi et al 2006; Anthony et al 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of colour phenotypes of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, <em>Plethodon cinereus</em>, in North America

Moore

Ouellet²

2014

Can Field Nat

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Moore, Jean-David, and Martin ouellet. 2014. A review of colour phenotypes of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, in North America. Canadian Field-Naturalist 128(3): 250-259.the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is the most abundant salamander species in many forests of northeastern North America. it is well-known for its colour polymorphism, which includes eight colour phenotypes: the red-backed (striped), lead-backed (unstriped) and erythristic morphs, as well as the iridistic, albino, leucistic, amelanistic and melanistic anomalies. Here we review the various colorations of P. cinereus, with the objective of facilitating the identification of these different phenotypes and of generating interest among field herpetologists and scientists reporting on this species. We also list six previously unpublished occurrences of colour variants in this species (1 case of erythrism, 3 of iridism, 1 of leucism, and 1 of partial leucism). to our knowledge, these cases include the first documented occurrence of iridism in the red-backed morph of P. cinereus, and the first two mentions of this colour anomaly in the lead-backed morph from Canada. showed that they are of the same species (Highton 1959). Both morphs can be found across the species range, throughout southeastern Canada and the eastern united States (Petranka 1998), but in very different proportions (Moore and ouellet 2014). in some areas, both morphs are abundant, while in others, one or the other is more abundant. Monomorphic red-backed populations are not uncommon, while in other cases, redbacked individuals can be scarce or absent (thurow 1955;Highton 1959;Pfingsten and Walker 1978;Reichenbach 1981;Fisher-Reid et al. 2013). the redbacked morph has been reported in five Canadian provinces and 22 American states (table 2), which represents the distribution range of this species. Kentucky, Minnesota, and tennessee are at the limit of the species' range and the lead-backed morph of P. cinereus has not been reported there. in the last decades, studies have suggested that the lead-backed morph of P. cinereus is more closely associated with warmer climates than the red-backed morph (lotter and Scott 1977;Moreno 1989;Gibbs and Karraker 2006; Anthony et al. 2008). However, it seems that the possible role of climate in the distribution of the lead-backed morph has never been unanimously recognized; some doubts still persist in the scientific community about the validity of using this morph as indicator of climatic changes (Angleberger and Chinnici 1975;Pfingsten and Walker 1978; Petruzzi et al. 2006; Anthony et al. 2008). Based on new discoveries in the northern areas of the species' range and on the largest compilation ever made for this species, Moore and ouellet (2014) demonstrate however that climate and geographic variables do not influence the colour morph proportions in P. cinereus populations. Fitzpatrick et al. (2009) mentioned that the most reasonable hypothesis to explain the existence of visual polymorphism across a geogr...

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Section: The Erythristic Colour Morphmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Erythristic Colour Morphmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of colour phenotypes of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, <em>Plethodon cinereus</em>, in North America

Moore

Ouellet²

2014

Can Field Nat

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“…Selon certaines études, la forme à dos de plomb serait plus sensible aux températures froides comparativement à la forme à dos rouge (Lotter et Scott, 1977 ;Moreno, 1989 ;Gibbs et Karraker, 2006 ;Anthony et collab., 2008). Cependant, les travaux de Petruzzi et collab.…”

Section: Les Formes à Dos Rouge Et De Plombunclassified

Phénotypes de la salamandre cendrée (Plethodon cinereus) dans le nord-est de l’Amérique du Nord

Moore¹,

Gilhen²,

Ouellet³

2012

natcan

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La salamandre cendrée (Plethodon cinereus) est l’espèce de salamandre la plus abondante dans les forêts du nord-est de l’Amérique du Nord. Sept phénotypes sont présentement connus, soit les formes à dos rouge, à dos de plomb et érythristique, de même que les anomalies de coloration albinos, leucistique, amélanistique et mélanistique. Ces 2 dernières anomalies de coloration ont d’ailleurs été rapportées très récemment dans l’est du Canada. Les colorations de la salamandre cendrée sont passées en revue dans cet article afin de susciter l’intérêt des herpétologistes envers ces différents phénotypes lors d’études sur le terrain

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Evaluating within‐population variability in behavior and demography for the adaptive potential of a dispersal‐limited species to climate change

Muñóz

Hesed

Grant

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Multiple pathways exist for species to respond to changing climates. However, responses of dispersal‐limited species will be more strongly tied to ability to adapt within existing populations as rates of environmental change will likely exceed movement rates. Here, we assess adaptive capacity in Plethodon cinereus, a dispersal‐limited woodland salamander. We quantify plasticity in behavior and variation in demography to observed variation in environmental variables over a 5‐year period. We found strong evidence that temperature and rainfall influence P. cinereus surface presence, indicating changes in climate are likely to affect seasonal activity patterns. We also found that warmer summer temperatures reduced individual growth rates into the autumn, which is likely to have negative demographic consequences. Reduced growth rates may delay reproductive maturity and lead to reductions in size‐specific fecundity, potentially reducing population‐level persistence. To better understand within‐population variability in responses, we examined differences between two common color morphs. Previous evidence suggests that the color polymorphism may be linked to physiological differences in heat and moisture tolerance. We found only moderate support for morph‐specific differences for the relationship between individual growth and temperature. Measuring environmental sensitivity to climatic variability is the first step in predicting species' responses to climate change. Our results suggest phenological shifts and changes in growth rates are likely responses under scenarios where further warming occurs, and we discuss possible adaptive strategies for resulting selective pressures.

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Correlation between Climate and Distribution of the Color Morphs of the Salamander Plethodon cinereus

Cited by 56 publications

References 32 publications

A review of colour phenotypes of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, <em>Plethodon cinereus</em>, in North America

A review of colour phenotypes of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, <em>Plethodon cinereus</em>, in North America

Phénotypes de la salamandre cendrée (Plethodon cinereus) dans le nord-est de l’Amérique du Nord

Evaluating within‐population variability in behavior and demography for the adaptive potential of a dispersal‐limited species to climate change

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