Preference for Soil Moisture, Soil pH, and Light Intensity by the Salamander, Plethodon cinereus

Sugalski, Mark T.; Claussen, Dennis L.

doi:10.2307/1565392

Cited by 49 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This is significant in the context of population monitoring and making inferences to terrestrial ecosystem health as a whole, because a combination of both abiotic and biotic ecosystem components should be taken into account when examining changes in salamander populations and demography. It is also significant because many previous studies have cited soil moisture and pH to be the two major drivers of salamander population but have not included the influences of heterospecific burrows and tunneling in their modeling (Farallo, 2016;Grover, 1998;Sugalski & Claussen, 1997). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the results of this analysis, a next step is to include step-wise multiple regression analysis to examine the most influential factors influencing RBS demography and abundance, combining analysis of abiotic factors known to influence RBS (moisture, pH, litter composition) and biotic factors examined above, as they have shown to have statistical significance in relation to RBS population (Sugalski & Claussen, 1997). Investigation of the RBS food-web and performing in-situ observations are necessary to determine what species are creating tunneling and burrows under cover boards.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The influence of non-salamander heterospecifics on the demography and abundance of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in the Credit River Watershed

Varty¹

2017

JSST

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:Red-backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) are widely used as a biological indicator of terrestrial ecosystem health in North America due to their large range, potentially high biomass and large influence on ecosystem regulation. Monitoring projects often overlook the potential influence of intraspecific interactions and how Red-backed Salamander (RBS) abundance and demographics can be affected by symbiotic relationships. The adult to juvenile ratio was explored in relation to presence of ants, tunneling, number of small and large burrows. It was found that between 2011-2015 there was a significant increase in small and large burrows. It was found that ants, small burrows and large burrows were significantly related to both maximum salamander counts and adult-juvenile ratios. The relationship between both abundance and demographics with ants showed a negative relationship, while small and large burrows had a positive relationship. Tunneling was found to have no statistical significance ( Table 1, Table 2). These results highlight the importance of considering biotic interactions when analyzing indicator species populations. Future steps should include determining how both biotic and abiotic properties interact to influence RBS populations and determining what type of interspecific interactions are occurring under cover boards via controlled experiments.Les salamandres cendrées (Plethodon cinereus) sont largement utilisées comme des indicateurs biologiques de la santé des écosystèmes terrestres en Amérique du Nord, en raison de leur portée vaste, de leur biomasse potentiellement élevée et de leur influence importante au niveau de la régulation des écosystèmes. Les projets de surveillance négligent souvent l'influence potentielle des interactions intraspécifiques, ainsi que la façon dont les relations symbiotiques peuvent affecter l'abondance et la démographie de la salamandre cendrée (SC). L'abondance de la SC et le rapport entre le nombre d'adultes et de jeunes ont été explorés en relation avec la présence de fourmis, de leurs tunnels et du nombre de petits et grands terriers. On a déterminé qu'entre 2011 et 2015, il y a eu une augmentation importante du nombre de petits et grands terriers et que la présence de fourmis, de petits et grands terriers était fortement liée au nombre maximal de salamandres et aux rapports adultes-jeunes. Les rapports trouvés entre la présence de fourmis, l'abondance de la SC et la démographie de l'espèce ont présenté une corrélation négative, alors que la présence de petits et grands terriers a présenté une corrélation positive. L'excavation des tunnels n'avait pas d'importance statistique (Tableau 1, tableau 2). Ces résultats soulignent l'importance de considérer les interactions biotiques lors de l'analyse des populations d'espèces indicatrices. Les prochaines étapes devraient inclure l'identification de la façon dont les propriétés biotiques et abiotiques interagissent pour influencer les populations de la SC et de déterminer quels types d'interactions interspécifiques...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of non-salamander heterospecifics on the demography and abundance of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in the Credit River Watershed

Varty¹

2017

JSST

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Studies show that soil acidity may affect habitat selection of salamanders [60,68]. Soil pH has been shown to influence the density and distribution of red-backed salamanders in New York, which prefer substrates near neutral pH [110].…”

Section: Soil Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the same study by Wyman and Hawksley-Lescault [110], juvenile salamanders were not found in areas where soil pH was ≤3.7. Another study claimed that soil pH was more influential than soil moisture or light intensity in affecting salamander distribution [68].…”

Section: Soil Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Salamanders in Riparian Forests: A Review

Clipp

Anderson

2014

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Salamanders and riparian forests are intimately interconnected. Salamanders are integral to ecosystem functions, contributing to vertebrate biomass and complex food webs in riparian forests. In turn, these forests are critical ecosystems that perform many environmental services, facilitate high biodiversity and species richness, and provide habitat to salamander populations. Due to the global decline of amphibians, it is important to understand, as thoroughly and holistically as possible, the roles of environmental parameters and the impact of human activities on salamander abundance and diversity in riparian forests. To determine the population responses of salamanders to a variety of environmental factors and anthropogenic activities, we conducted a review of published literature that compared salamander abundance and diversity, and then summarized and synthesized the data into general patterns. We identify stream quality, leaf litter and woody debris, riparian buffer width, and soil characteristics as major environmental factors influencing salamander populations in riparian forests, describe and explain salamander responses to those factors, and discuss the effects of anthropogenic activities such as timber harvest, prescribed fires, urbanization, road construction, and habitat fragmentation. This review can assist land and natural resource managers in anticipating the consequences of human activities and preparing strategic conservation plans. OPEN ACCESSForests 2014, 5 2680

show abstract

“…Several studies have suggested that roads might aVect terrestrial salamanders, such as red-backed salamanders (Gibbs 1998;deMaynadier and Hunter 2000;Marsh and Beckman 2004). Also, roads may aVect salamanders' reproduction or survival rates because they have limited mobility and are dependent on soil moisture (Sugalski and Claussen 1997;Grover 1998;Marsh and Beckman 2004) and other components of forest habitat quality, such as air temperature (Welsh and Droege 2001). If our conservation goal is to protect most or all of the endangered species, roadless areas may contribute only partially to this goal, and additional conservation approaches are needed.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Roadless areas and biodiversity: a case study in Alabama, USA

Chen

Roberts

2008

Biodivers Conserv

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Roadless areas are important for biodiversity maintenance and nature conservation but remain politically controversial due to conXicting interests of conservation and development. In this study, we applied a recently developed index of roadless volume (RV) across 67 counties of Alabama, USA as a case study to examine the relationships between roadless areas and local species richness. Our results indicated that with the increase of RV across counties, both the number of total Wsh and exotic Wsh species increased, but the relationship was not signiWcant for endemic Wsh species. The number of both herpetofaunal and plant species also increased with the increasing RV. For all included species, there was a signiWcant positive correlation between species richness and RV values. The number of endangered species decreased with the increase of RV per-capita. WildWre occurrences increased with the increase of RV. Preserving roadless areas is an important component of biodiversity conservation.

show abstract

Preference for Soil Moisture, Soil pH, and Light Intensity by the Salamander, Plethodon cinereus

Cited by 49 publications

References 15 publications

The influence of non-salamander heterospecifics on the demography and abundance of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in the Credit River Watershed

The influence of non-salamander heterospecifics on the demography and abundance of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) in the Credit River Watershed

Environmental and Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Salamanders in Riparian Forests: A Review

Roadless areas and biodiversity: a case study in Alabama, USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About