Reproductive Biology and Population Structure of Eurycea chamberlaini in North Carolina

Abstract

Eurycea chamberlaini (Chamberlain's Dwarf Salamander) is a small spelerpine salamander with scant reproductive and life-history data available. Therefore, the objectives of our study were to examine the reproductive life history and population structure of E. chamberlaini from a North Carolina population. From February 2008 to February 2009, monthly collections were made in Craven County, North Carolina. All specimens (n = 392) were histologically examined for reproductive life history and population characteristics by month. Overall, male and female E. chamberlaini follow a reproductive cycle similar to other spelerpine species with sperm in the Wolffian ducts of specimens from September to February; however, spermatidogenesis was delayed until August and September with the presence of mature sperm in testes from August through November. We captured 201 female salamanders of which 36 were considered immature. We caught 191 males of which 27 were considered immature. The mean snout–vent length (SVL±1 SD) of mature females (27.13±2.33 mm) and males (25.84±2.03 mm) was statistically different from one another. Females tended to be larger than males from our monthly samples, with a greater proportion of the largest specimens being female. Overall, population structure of E. chamblerlaini appears similar to other coastal plain salamander species.