Spotted salamander

Salamander, Asiatic (Megalobatrachus maximus) Salamander, European (Salamandra atra) Salamander, long-tailed (Eurycea lucifuga) Salamander, spotted (Ambystoma maculatum) Salamander, tiger (A. tigrinum)... 

Blem, C.R. and L.B. Blem. 1991. Cation concentrations and acidity in breeding ponds of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw) (Amphibia Ambystomatidae), in Virginia. North Carol. State Mus. Natur. Hist. 17 67-76. 

Spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum 247 LC50 (288 h), embryos 8... 

Cool and damp Frogs, toads, salamanders, beetles, and hoverflies may all make use of a cool, dark, probably damp site make a leaf mold pile see pp.44-45) or leave a pile of logs in a sheltered spot for them to nest in. 

Salamanders of the ambystomatid family may also use territorial marks. In contrast to red-backed salamanders, which are repelled by conspecific odors or fecal pellets (Jaeger and Gergits, 1979 Jaeger, 1986), spotted salamanders, Amhystoma maculatum, are attracted to paper towels on which conspecifics had lived for 4 days, whether the latter were familiar or unfamiliar (Ducey and Ritsema, 1988). 

Predators learn to avoid distasteful salamanders. When molested, spotted salamanders Ambystoma maculatum) discharge a white slime, mostly in the tail region. They also raise and wag their tail when a predator is near. In one experiment, four out of five chickens learned to avoid these salamanders by sight after... 

Howard, R. R. (1971). Avoidance learning of spotted salamanders by domestic chickens. 

Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianuirr, spotted salamander,... 

The red eft stage of the red-spotted newt contains toxic, bad-tasting chemicals in its skin. As a result, many potential predators learn to avoid this animal, and will not eat red efts. The range of the red salamander Pseudotriton ruber) overlaps part of the larger range of the red-spotted newt in the eastern United States. It appears that the superficially similar but non-toxic red salamander may be a mimic of the color of the red eft, taking advantage of the fact that many predators avoid this animal as food. 

Make a pile of logs or sticks in a quiet spot to provide a wintering site for a community of animals from pill bugs, spiders, and hoverflies to toads, frogs, and salamanders. If you bury the logs at the bottom of the pile in the soil, many different beetle species may even take up residence in the decaying wood. 

Reproductive failure of some acid-sensitive species of amphibians such as spotted salamanders, Jefferson salamanders, and the leopard frog... 

Butte Lake, British Columbia, do not undergo oxidative diagenesis because of a rapid rate of accumulation and short exposure time to dissolved oxygen in bottom waters. In Michigan, lakes with elevated concentrations of copper (34.0p,g/L) have low densities of fish populations. In the Elizabeth River estuary of southern Chesapeake Bay, anthropogenic copper and other chelatable metals are present at concentrations sufficient to adversely affect growth and survival of the copepod Acartia tonsa. In Norway, freshwater fish are present only when copper is less than 60.0p,g/L and some humic acids are present. Successful reproduction of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) occurs at low water concentrations of copper (<10.0p,g/L), lead, and aluminum, and high concentrations of silicon. Failed reproduction occurs at low water concentrations of silicon, and elevated concentrations of copper (>25.0p,g/L), lead, and aluminum. 

Another example of contrasting responses is seen in spotted salamander embryos in response to larval predators. Smyer et al. (unpublished data) found that salamander embryos delayed hatching when exposed to cues from predatory caddisflies (Limniphilidae), but Anderson and Petranka (2003) found no influence on hatching time in spotted salamander embryos exposed to cues from predatory dragonflies Aeschna spp). This result may be due to population differences. Smyer et al. conducted their study in the northeastern US while Anderson and Petranka conducted theirs in the southeastern US. 

Amphibians are vulnerable to predation and show diverse predator defenses. We hypothesized that the common red-backed salamander should try to evade two common terrestrial predators, the garter snake and the spotted salamander, by avoiding locations containing their scent. When given a choice of clean substrates or those soiled by these predators, the red-backed salamander avoided the soiled substrates. To test whether they avoided the waste products and not the predator scent, we gave test subjects a choice between substrates soiled by predators and those soiled by red-backed salamanders. Salamanders pref-ered conspecific substrates to predator substrates, and in combination with other findings, our data show that red-backed salamanders probably reduce the likelihood of predation by avoiding locations with the chemical traces of predators. 

Trials with Substrates of Spotted Salamanders, maculatum... 

Six adult male spotted salamanders were collected in April 1994 as they migrated from the breeding pond in the Nature Preserve and entered the same habitats occupied by red-backed salamanders. These adults were maintained in the same laboratory room as the red-backed salamanders in separate rectangular plastic containers (320 x 170 x 90 mm) lined with moistened (distilled water) paper towels. They were fed five mealworms every five days, and the toweling was changed weekly. 

Three substrate comparisons were conducted to test whether red-backed salamanders avoid the odors of spotted salamanders (1) a comparison between a blank substrate and a substrate soiled by a spotted salamander, (2) a comparison between a blank substrate and a substrate soiled by the test salamander s odor, and (3) a comparison between substrates soiled by a spotted salamander and the test salamander. The second and third comparisons were attempts to control for a possible aversion to amphibian waste products unrelated to possible predator effects. Each comparison was repeated three times, 10 red-backed salamanders per replicate, giving a sample size of 30 for each comparison. 

In the experiments involving spotted salamander scent, the red-backed salamanders preferred clean substrates to those soiled by spotted salamanders, showed no significant preference between clean substrates and those soiled by the test salamanders, and significantly prefered substrates soiled by the test salamander versus those soiled by spotted salamanders (Table I). 

Table I. Preferences of red-backed salamanders exposed to substrate scent from spotted salamanders and red-backed salamanders in two-choice tests...

Our data best support the predator avoidance hypothesis, because this hypothesis cannot be rejected, and the other hypotheses can be devalued or rejected based on the available evidence. The interspecific competitor avoidance hypothesis, a potential explanation in the trials involving spotted salamanders, is rejected because the large size difference between the salamander species would result in very little resource competition (Burton Likens, 1975), and the behavior of spotted salamanders toward red-backed salamanders resembles predatory attack and includes the consumption of red-backed salamanders (Ducey, et al., 1994). 

The intraspecific competitor avoidance response can be excluded in the trials involving both predators. The spotted salamanders did not have diets that included red-backed salamanders, so pheromones of red-backed salamanders could not have elicited the avoidance observed. The garter snake trials included one comparison that specifically control-... 

One additional explanation for the results is that substrates with the most nitrogenous wastes may have elicited the most avoidance. It seems unlikely that more waste products were deposited on the filter paper of the spotted salamanders, because although spotted salamanders are about 10 times heavier than red-backed salamanders, only 13% of the container bottom of the spotted salamanders was covered with each filter paper semicircle, whereas the red-backed salamanders used to create the control substrate were continuously in contact with their filter paper substrates. In the snake trials, it is important to note that the uric acid excreted by reptiles is less toxic and less soluble than the urea secreted by terrestrial amphibians (Schmidt-Nielsen, 1983), so reptilian waste is probably less noxious than amphibian waste on average. In addition, only about 0.87% of the 200 mL snake rinse was transferred to the test semi-circle, regardless of whether the test paper was dipped into the rinse or inoculated with it. Finally, considering the low solubility of uric acid, it is probable that most of this compound never made it into the rinse or onto the test filter paper. Therefore, we suggest that an aversion to nitrogenous wastes was not an important determinant in the odor preferences observed. 

In summary, we believe our experiments indicate that red-backed salamanders identify and avoid chemical substances deposited by spotted salamanders and garter snakes, and since the latter two species are either known or probable predators of red-backed salamanders, we believe the avoidance response is an anti-predator mechanism that decreases predation risk. 

Most amphibians are highly sensitive to acid water, especially with regard to reproduction, although there are substantial differences in the sensitivity of different species. Reduced breeding success and reduced populations of yellow-spotted salamander (Ambystoma mauclatum) have been reported In meltwater pools with pH 6, while another species (Ambystoma jeffersonium)... 

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