Field-Testing a Standard Metabolic Rate Estimation Technique for Eastern Red-Backed Salamanders

Abstract

Abstract Plethodontid salamanders are often monitored as indicator species for mature forest ecosystem health. In addition to relative abundance, differences in standard metabolic rate (SMR) between harvest treatments have been used to explain physiological stress in response to timber harvest. Nearly ubiquitous in forested stands throughout the northeastern United States, the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is often the focal species of such studies. In 2010, a predictive multiple regression equation was developed to calculate SMR of P. cinereus to 95% accuracy using salamander body mass and temperature. This method of SMR estimation has been implemented in field studies as a measure of salamander health. In these studies, temperature regime is the only variable measured, and SMR is calculated by standardizing on a 1-g salamander. In this study, we measured both body mass and temperature of each salamander encountered in harvested and unharvested stands and compared the published SMR c...