The effects of perceived mortality risk on habitat selection in a terrestrial salamander

Roberts, Alexandre M.; Liebgold, Eric B.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arn012

Cited by 34 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…cinereus in the buckets was about three times the average density of salamanders reported in some years (6.55 salamander/m 2 in 2006; Buderman and Liebgold 2012). However, the “high” densities in the enclosures are closer to the actual “salamander to habitat ratio” because, unlike my enclosures, these and other published density data include unsuitable space and poor habitat (e.g., bare ground, trees, and rocks that contain few prey items; Roberts and Liebgold 2008). The leaf litter, primarily consisting of Q.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 66%

Comparison of direct, indirect, and ecosystem engineering effects of an earthworm on the red‐backed salamander

Ransom

2012

Ecology

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In addition to creating or modifying habitat, ecosystem engineers interact with other species as predators, prey, or competitors. The earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris, interacts with the common woodland salamander, Plethodon cinereus, via: (1) ecosystem engineering, by providing burrows that are used as a refuge, (2) direct effects as a prey item, and (3) indirectly, by competing with microinvertebrates, another prey item for P. cinereus. Using enclosures in the forest, I examined the relative strengths of these component pathways between seasons and salamander age classes. I found that the relative strength (partial eta2) of the positive direct (trophic) effect of L. terrestris on the change in mass of P. cineresus was greater than that of the negative indirect effect, but only in summer. Positive effects of ecosystem engineering were only evident over the winter as increased adult survival. This research has implications for how habitat provisioning complements more well-studied species interactions, such as competition and predation, within communities.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 66%

Comparison of direct, indirect, and ecosystem engineering effects of an earthworm on the red‐backed salamander

Ransom

2012

Ecology

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“…Field studies versus artificial laboratory experiments may yield greater insight on burrow selection behavior and the potential benefits to the use of social cues during dispersal (Regosin et al 2004). Unlike salamanders in the adult stage, who likely focus on resource acquisition within permanent refugia sites, salamanders in the juvenile stage must assess habitat quality as they move through heterogeneous landscapes in order to locate suitable refugia (Roberts and Liebgold 2008;Osbourn et al 2014). The spatiotemporal dynamics of salamander populations are dependent on the dispersal mechanisms and the interactions of juveniles in conjunction with the environment, available resources, and other organisms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of conspecifics on burrow selection in juvenile spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

Greene

Pittman

Dorcas

2016

J Ethol

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Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are pond-breeding amphibians that disperse into terrestrial habitat from natal wetlands after undergoing metamorphosis, relying on small-mammal burrows and coarse woody debris for refugia. The effect of conspecifics on burrow use in juvenile salamanders is poorly understood. Determining how the presence of conspecifics influences the settlement decisions of juvenile salamanders can increase our understanding of amphibian dispersal and our ability to predict population dynamics. We conducted behavioral laboratory trials using 58 recently metamorphosed salamanders to examine how salamanders selected burrows in the presence of conspecifics. Salamanders were more likely to settle in a burrow that was occupied by a conspecific versus an unoccupied burrow. Our results indicate that juvenile salamanders may show conspecific attraction and/or trailing behavior during the dispersal phase.

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“…Because size is used as an indicator of age, differential growth rates between years could result in misclassification of adults and juveniles. Although we standardized our surveys, especially night searches, with regards to the presence of precipitation in the previous 24 h, further research could look at additional biotic and abiotic covariates such as weather during surveys, which can affect habitat selection by different age classes (Roberts and Liebgold 2008). In addition to conducting nocturnal searches, we recommend that terrestrial salamander populations be sampled across multiple years to account for natural variation in recruitment ( Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of search method and age class on mark‐recapture parameter estimation in a population of red‐backed salamanders

Buderman

Liebgold

2011

Population Ecology

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Mark-recapture methods are generally considered to more accurately reflect population trends than count data, which is especially important for indicator species. Terrestrial salamanders are often used as indicators of forest ecosystem health and may be monitored through diurnal cover object searches or nocturnal activity searches. Our goal was to determine whether search method affected encounter probabilities, whether these probabilities differed between age classes, and whether the inclusion of search method in mark-recapture models affected abundance estimates. We used program MARK to analyze 3 years of red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) mark-recapture data using Pollock's robust design taken from a 144 m 2 plot. Initial encounter probabilities during night searches were consistently greater than during diurnal cover object searches. As a result, inclusion of search method in models sometimes affected abundance estimates. There was no difference between adult and juvenile encounter probabilities nor were abundance estimates affected by inclusion of age class, but there was yearly variation in the juvenile abundance estimates. For these reasons, we recommend that sampling of terrestrial salamanders include nocturnal activity searches and be conducted over multiple years. Monitoring programs of other species should take into account whether the selected search method(s) may be more likely to sample different subsets of the population of interest and how this may restrict their inferences.

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The effects of perceived mortality risk on habitat selection in a terrestrial salamander

Cited by 34 publications

References 39 publications

Comparison of direct, indirect, and ecosystem engineering effects of an earthworm on the red‐backed salamander

Comparison of direct, indirect, and ecosystem engineering effects of an earthworm on the red‐backed salamander

The effects of conspecifics on burrow selection in juvenile spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

Effect of search method and age class on mark‐recapture parameter estimation in a population of red‐backed salamanders

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