Plethodon Richmondi Research Articles

Diet of the southern ravine salamander Plethodon richmondi

The diets of many small North American Plethodon species are poorly studied despite their important roles in forest ecosystems. Using a non lethal gastric lavage method, we examined the spring-season diet of 31 southern ravine salamanders (Plethodon richmondi) from a second-growth forest in south-eastern Kentucky (USA). We recovered and identified a total of 452 prey items from 14 different prey groups. The three most important prey groups were Formicidae (ants), Acari (mites and ticks), and Collembola (springtails). Together, these groups accounted for more than 80 % of all prey items. Examining the diets of terrestrial salamanders may help us better understand their roles in the regulation of invertebrate communities and the transfer of accessible nutrients back to the soil.

Environmental gradients in old-growth Appalachian forest predict fine-scale distribution, co-occurrence, and density of woodland salamanders.

Woodland salamanders are among the most abundant vertebrate animals in temperate deciduous forests of eastern North America. Because of their abundance, woodland salamanders are responsible for the transformation of nutrients and translocation of energy between highly disparate levels of trophic organization: detrital food webs and high‐order predators. However, the spatial extent of woodland salamanders’ role in the ecosystem is likely contingent upon the distribution of their biomass throughout the forest. We sought to determine if natural environmental gradients influence the fine‐scale distribution and density of Southern Ravine Salamanders (Plethodon richmondi) and Cumberland Plateau Salamanders (P. kentucki). We addressed this objective by constructing occupancy, co‐occurrence, and abundance models from temporally replicated surveys within an old‐growth forest in the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky. We found that Plethodon richmondi had a more restricted fine‐scale distribution than P. kentucki (mean occupancy probability [ψ¯^] = 0.737) and exhibited variable density, from <250 to >1000 individuals per hectare, associated with increased soil moisture and reduced solar exposure due to slope face. While more ubiquitously distributed (ψ¯^ = 0.95), P. kentucki density varied from <400 to >1,000 individuals per hectare and was inversely related to increased solar exposure from canopy disturbance and landscape convexity. Our data suggest co‐occurrence patterns of P. richmondi and P. kentucki are influenced primarily by abiotic conditions within the forest, and that populations likely occur independently and without evidence of biotic interaction. Given the critical role that woodland salamanders play in the maintenance of forest health, regions that support large populations of woodland salamanders, such as those highlighted in this study—mesic forest stands on north‐to‐east facing slopes with dense canopy and abundant natural cover, may provide enhanced ecosystem services and support the stability of the total forest.

Novel Courtship Behaviors in Three Small Eastern Plethodon Species

Plethodontid salamanders provide an opportunity to investigate mating behaviors and pheromonal communication within the context of well-established phylogenetic relationships. Courtship in many members of the genus Plethodon has been well studied, but critical gaps exist in observations of pheromone delivery methods (vaccination or olfactory) in species phylogenetically intermediate between those having the two pheromone delivery methods. I observed courtship interactions in three small eastern plethodontids, Plethodon cinereus, Plethodon angusticlavius, and Plethodon richmondi. I documented several novel female behaviors, as well as interspecific variation in courtship patterns that otherwise have been highly conserved for over 70 million years. I confirmed that olfactory pheromone delivery occurs in P. angusticlavius, a species that is phylogenetically in the transition from vaccination to olfactory pheromone delivery within the genus Plethodon. The deviation from typical courtship patterns observed for the three study species revealed that females play a more active role in courtship than has previously been documented for Plethodon species.

Avoidance of Chemical Alarm Cues Released from Autotomized Tails of Ravine Salamanders (Plethodon richmondi)

The ability of animals to detect and avoid areas containing chemical alarm cues from conspecifics is well documented in aquatic species. The ability to detect chemical alarm cues in terrestrial organisms has not been tested until recently. In this study, we tested the ability of the ravine salamander (Plethodon richmondi) to detect and avoid areas containing chemicals released from the autotomized tails of conspecifics and sympatric zigzag salamanders (P. dorsalis). We also ascertained whether any avoidance response could be attributed to the size or sex of the animal. Our results suggest that ravine salamanders avoid substrates containing odors released from the autotomized tails of conspecifics, but not of heterospecific salamanders and that this response occurs independent of the size and/or sex of the animal. By avoiding areas where a conspecific has recently been injured, an organism could reduce its chances of encountering a predator and thus increase its chances of survival.

The Effects of Severe Winter Weather on Plethodon dorsalis and Plethodon richmondi Populations in Central Kentucky

The Effects of Severe Winter Weather on Plethodon dorsalis and Plethodon richmondi Populations in Central Kentucky

Reproductive Biology and Population Structure of the Western Red-Backed Salamander, Plethodon vehiculum (Cooper)

Certain aspects of the life history of Plethodon vehiculum from Benton and Lincoln Cos., Oregon, were studied. Mating occurs primarily from November through January with oviposition in the spring. The number of yolky ovarian ova is a function of body size; the mean for all sizes was was 10.4/female. Incubation is in the summer, with hatching in the fall at 13 to 15 mm SVL. Growth rates for both sexes are about 10mm SVL/year for the first 3 years. Both sexes mature between their second and third years: males at 42 mm SVL and females at 44 mm SVL. Females have a biennial gonadal cycle as has been described for other species of Plethodon, and males have annual cycle. Spermatogenesis begins in the spring and culminates in the fall. Mature females are larger (mean SVL = 49.1 mm) than mature males (mean SVL -45.7 mm). In general, P. vehiculum, a western plethodon, has a life history similar to that of eastern small and eastern large plethodons. * * * The genus Plethodon can be divided into 3 natural groups (Grobman, 1944; Highton 1962a): the eastern large plethodons, the eastern small plethodons, and the western plethodons. Highton (1956, 1962b) and Pope and Pope (1949) described the reproductive cycle of the slimy salamander, Plethodon glutinosus, an eastern large plethodon; and Sayler (1966) studied the reproductive ecology of the red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, an eastern small plethodon. Werner (1971) provided further notes on P. cinereus, and the reproductive biology of a second eastern small plethodon, the northern ravine salamander, Plethodon richmondi richmondi, was studied by Angle (1969). The geographically isolated Jemez Mountains salamander, Plethodon neomexicanus, is thought to be related to the eastern small plathodons

Food as a Limited Resource in Competition between Two Species of Terrestrial Salamanders

The terrestrial salamander Plethodon richmondi shenandoah occurs primarily in areas of talus, apparently excluded from surrounding areas of deep soil by Plethodon cinereus. Although the two species are closely related P. r. shenandoah grows to a longer body length and has a broader head. All ages classes of P. r. shenandoah emigrate out of the talus and are found within 3 m of the talus edge, but only adults which are as large as or larger than the largest P. cinereus are able to survive farther than about 3 m from the talus. This distribution is not explained by a tendency for large adults to wander more than juveniles. The large P. r. shenandoah in the soil take prey that are significantly larger than prey taken by conhabiting P. cinerueus, indicating that food may be the limited resource for which competition occurs. Both species are euryphagic and prey upon the same taxa of small animals. Food is periodically limited in availability, but not in abundance. Following a rain, salamanders forage freely and consume a large quantity of prey, based on stomach contents, but prey become increasingly unavailable as the soil and leaf litter dry and the salamanders are restricted to isolated pockets of moisture. Stomachs remain virtually empty until the next rain, at which time they are full again indicating that the abundance of prey is not greatly affected by the intervening dryness. Food may periodically become a limited resource during long dry seasons and as such may affect the survival of the salamanders or their ability to produce eggs. It is not clear whether interspecific competition is through differential exploitation of the limited resource or through interference. Lack of evidence for interspecific aggression may indicate that the former occurs, although it could not be demonstrated experimentally. Contiguous allopatry between the two species seems to result from an interaction of competitive exclusion and differential tolerance to dryness; P. cinereus is presumably a superior competitor for food in the soil and excludes P. r. shenandoah to areas of talus which P. cinereus cannot enter due to its tolerance of drier conditions in the rocks.

Competitive Exclusion as a Factor Influencing the Distributions of Two Species of Terrestrial Salamanders.

The salamander Plethodon richmondi shenandoah is restricted to areas of talus on Hawksbill Mountain, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, while P. cinereus inhabits the soil outside the talus. To test the hypothesis that the former species is excluded from the soil by the latter species, three enclosures were constructed in each of four habitats: (i) in talus consisting only of bare rocks, (ii) in talus where soil has infiltrated between but not under rocks, (iii) in isolated pockets of shallow soil within the rocky confines of the talus, and (iv) in deep soil outside the talus. In each habitat one enclosure contained an isolated sample of shenandoah, another an isolated sample of cinereus, and the third a mixture of the two species. The above testes indicated that: (i) neither species survived the extremely dry conditions of the bard rocks for more than a week, (ii) shenandoah expressed a higher survivorship than did cinereus in this relatively dry habitat, (iii) in the shallow soil shenandoah had lower survivorship in the presence of cinereus than it did in isolation, and (iv) in the deep soil shenandoah had poorer survivorship than cinereus in the mixed species enclosure and poorer survivorship than its isolated control. P. cinereus apparently inhibits the presence of shenandoah in areas of soil, while shenandoah survives better under rocky conditions. However, the talus is a suboptimal habitat for shenandoah, since its survivorship in isolated enclosures is significantly better in the presence of soil. It seems unlikely that salamanders other than cinereus could exclude shenandoah from the soil or that other animals exert a strong influence. Predation, diseases, and parasites also do not appear to exclude shenandoah from areas of deep soil. Competitive exclusion by cinereus has probably restricted the distribution of shenandoah to the suboptimal talus refugium.

Moisture as a factor influencing the distributions of two species of terrestrial salamanders.

Plethodon richmondi shenandoah occurs in at least three geographically isolated talus slopes in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, U.S.A., each surrounded by a continuous population of Plethodon c. cinereus in the soil outside the talus. Distributions are contiguous but largely non-overlapping. The talus presents a much drier habitat than does the surrounding soil. Four experiments were designed to test the responses of the two species to moisture and substrate. Although shenandoah lives in a habitat generally drier than that of cinereus, both species choose the wet end of a moisture gradient and do not differ significantly in moisture preference. When given choices between a substrate of rock or soil, the two species respond similarly: neither expresses a preference when both substrates are moist and both choose soil over rock as the substrates dry, showing that substrate preference is based on moisture content and not texture. A third experiment demonstrates that cinereus suffers significantly greater mortality and loss of body water when subjected to a drying rock substrate than when subjected to a soil substrate, since the latter holds moisture longer. Thus the talus most likely presents a greater stress of dehydration to salamanders than does the soil. A fourth experiment shows that when forced to dehydrate, shenandoah survives longer, loses significantly less body water per hour, and withstands a greater loss of body water before death than does cinereus.The conclusions drawn are that cinereus inhabits areas of deep soil not due to a preference for that substrate but due to the requirement of a moist substrate, and it cannot enter the talus due to the dry conditions there. P. r. shenandoah, on the other hand, neither prefers the rocky nor the dry conditions of the talus and is probably excluded from the soil by the presence of cinereus. The survival of shenandoah in the talus is due, at least in part, to its ability to withstand the stress of dehydration for a longer period than can cinereus.

A New Salamander of the Genus Plethodon from Virginia

Plethodon richmondi shenandoah, n. ssp., occurs with P. cinereus in the Blue Ridge physiographic province of Virginia. It has a modal number of 19 trunk vertebrae, color phase dimorphism, a narrow dorsal stripe in the striped phase, reduced brassy iridophore pigmentation in the unstriped phase, and a dark belly. It is apparently separated into three isolates because of its restricted habitat distribution (north-facing talus slopes above 3000 ft). The differences between P. r. shenandoah and P. cinereus are not ecophenotypic since offspring of the two forms reared under the same laboratory conditions show the differential characteristics of the respective species. Some introgression between the two species is occurring at the periphery of one of the three isolates of shenandoah.

A Striped Color Phase of Plethodon richmondi in Virginia

A Striped Color Phase of Plethodon richmondi in Virginia

A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of the United States and Canada East of the 100th Meridian

This is No. 12 in the well-known Peterson Field Guide Series. Accordingly, it needs little introduction to anyone who is familiar with preceding field guides of this series such as those to birds, butterflies, animal tracks, etc. This book is somewhat more than a field guide for identifying reptiles and amphibians. author states that nine times out of ten the reader will have his specimen at hand before he attempts identification and we might add that many times the reader will desire to keep his catch at least for short periods of time once identification has been effected. Conant has wisely included information of interest to the professional and layman alike on the care and handling of reptiles and amphibians both in the field and in captivity. first four chapters (28 pages) are entitled Introduction, Making and Transporting the Catch, Care in Captivity, About the Snake-Bite Each is well-written and the latter three are illustrated with full page photographs showing techniques for handling reptiles (poisonous and non-poisonous) and amphibians. Drawings of tools for catching and transporting, as well as illustrations of living quarters for small captive specimens are included. author gives a classic retort to his question What About the Snake-Bite Problem? in the lead sentence to this chapter: The best answer is not to get bitten. This answer is supported by the fact that most people are bitten through carelessness. A full page plate illustrates first aid for poisonous snake bite. Each species or subspecies is treated under the following headings in the text: Identification. Similar Species, Voice (when pertinent), and Range. This book contains the finest color plates (24 full pages) of reptiles and amphibians ever assembled under one cover for $3.95 and the illustrator, Isabelle Hunt Conant, is to be highly commended for her outstanding achievement in reproducing color from live animals. Unfortunately in some cases the diagnostic value of the indicating lines of the Peterson Series has been lost in reduction. Most readers would probably have difficulty in identifying the Texas Map Turtle, Graptemys versa, from Plate 8 even though advised to examine closely for the horizontal or J-shaped line behind eye. animals depicted in any one plate are all headed in more or less the same direction, the attainment of which must have been a constant exercise in patience for author and illustrator. hellbenders (Plate 35) and the narrow mouth toads (Plate 39) provide two of several refreshing exceptions which are not in the least considered adversely by this reviewer. A notable handicap to anyone interested in the information that the scientific name conveys is that scientific names are not included with common names on both plates ;nd range maps. This is most regrettable, for common names of reptiles and amphibians are far from stable even though there is some progress toward stability as present. reader is thus forced to thumb back to the text to inform himself that the Cheat Mountain Salamander is Plethodon richmondi nettingi if this information was not conveyed by the salamander's photograph or its distributional map. One can hardly justify this omis-

Observations on the Eggs and Young of Plethodon richmondi

Observations on the Eggs and Young of Plethodon richmondi

The Salamander Plethodon richmondi in Southwestern Ohio

ber 9 to October 15, eight females delivered 13 dead young and three delivered five weak ones. In order to determine the possible cause of fetal death, five gravid females were sacrificed on October 15. In each one, two fully developed young were found dead within the oviducts. Two remaining gravid animals delivered dead young on October 22, and October 27, 1952. Thus, one may conjecture that if the young of Xantusia vigilis are retained in utero beyond a certain period, they will expire and probably be expulsed within a month. The cause of fetal death is possibly due in part to the inability of an aging placenta to meet the increasing oxygen demand of a growing organism and failure of excretory mechanisms. The abnormal conditions of the laboratory probably account for oviducal retenti of young, as it is presumably a rar occurrence in nature.

A Northern Extension of the Range of Plethodon richmondi in Ohio

A Northern Extension of the Range of Plethodon richmondi in Ohio

American Caudata. III. The Status of Pseudotriton montanus in Ohio

The presence of Pseudotriton montanus ssp. in Ohio was first reported by Walker (1933: 224), on the basis of specimens in the Ohio State Museum. Subsequently, Bishop (1941: 14) described Pseudotriton montanus diastictus from Carter County, Kentucky, and various West Virginia stations, and later extended the range of this race to include southern Ohio to the exclusion of other forms of P. montanus (1943: 386; map 45). As matters stand today, most workers follow Bishop in considering diastictus the only representative of I seudotriton montanus in Ohio. That the salamanders of southern Ohio do not fit readily into any arrangement predicated largely on specimens from adjacent areas is not surprising. The region is poorly represented in most herpetological collections, although it has been an increasingly fruitful source of novelties within the past fifteen years, yielding such unusual and important records as: the allotype and many paratypes of Plethodon ricbmondi (Netting and Mittleman, 1938), the type of Gyrinophilus porphyriticus inagnoscus (Mittleman, 1942), and the only known Ohio specimens of Plethodon wehrlei (Walker, 1933), Leiolopisma utnicolor (Stupka, 1933), and Scaphiopus h. holbrookii (Gier, 1945). This general region forms the northern and western range limit of many caudate genera and species, such as Gyrinophilus, Pseudotriton, Aneides aeneus, and Plethodon richmondi. These terminal populations are often perceptibly different from others within the range of their species, although they are not always recognizable taxonomically. Taxonomic treatments of groups including forms occurring in this region are likely not to be consonant with local conditions, unless specific attention has been given to specimens collected in southern Ohio. The status of Pseudotriton montanus ssp. is an excellent case in point. Our collecting experience in southern Ohio has produced many specimens of montanus thoroughly distinct from diastictus, at least as compared with large series of topotypic specimens from northern Kentucky, but we have seen and collected other specimens indistinguishable from diastictus. In an effort to determine the status of these Ohio specimens, we have reviewed the extant

Additional Ohio Records of Plethodon richmondi

Additional Ohio Records of Plethodon richmondi

Plethodon richmondi in Greene County, Ohio

Plethodon richmondi in Greene County, Ohio

Description of Plethodon richmondi, a new salamander from West Virginia and Ohio

Description of Plethodon richmondi, a new salamander from West Virginia and Ohio