Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Life history mediates the effects of habitat variation on salamander abundance: a multiscale assessment

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Landscape Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Context

The conservation of aquatic and semi-aquatic species is dependent on our understanding of species responses to fine and broad-scale habitat heterogeneity. This is particularly true for species of semi-aquatic salamanders, which show dramatic differences in life history strategies. To better conserve salamander biodiversity, it is therefore important to identify how species within stream communities respond to environmental conditions at multiple spatial scales.

Objectives

Stream salamanders are a group of amphibians that require permanent stream flow for reproduction and larval development. While research focusing on plethodontid salamander abundance exists, few have identified how abiotic factors at different scales influence stream salamander density. We aim to determine how responses to habitat factors at different scales differ between species of stream salamanders that have variable life history strategies.

Methods

We conducted area-constrained repeated count surveys in stream reaches across three watersheds in western North Carolina. We surveyed each plot on three occasions and estimated salamander density based on fine and broad-scale habitat covariates.

Results

We found species’ responses to stream water-quality and broad-scale landscape variability were dependent on larval period and adult life history. Species with more aquatic life histories had stronger responses to both water-quality and broad-scale variables, while more terrestrial species responded more strongly to broad-scale variables.

Conclusions

Responses to fine and broad-scale habitat variation by stream-salamanders is associated with species larval period and adult life history. Proper assessment of communities of semi-aquatic salamanders, therefore, requires an understanding of both upland and stream conditions, especially when diverse life histories are present.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JD, Ibañez Castillo MM (2009) Stream ecology: structure and function of running waters, 2. ed., reprinted. Springer, Dordrecht

  • Barr GE, Babbitt KJ (2002) Effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the distribution and abundance of larval two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata) across spatial scales. Oecologia 133:176–185

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernardo J, Agosta SJ (2003) Determinants of clinal variation in life history of dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ocoee): prey abundance and ecological limits on foraging time restrict opportunities for larval growth. J Zoology 259:411–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliss M, Cecala KK (2015) Does Habitat Disturbance Affect the Behaviors of Appalachian Stream Salamanders? Herpetol Conserv Biol 10:811–818

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman J, Jaeger JAG, Fahrig L (2002) Dispersal Distance of Mammals is Proportional to Home Range Size. Ecology 83:2049–2055

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruce RC (1989) Life History of the Salamander Desmognathus monticola, with a Comparison of the Larval Periods of D. monticola and D. ochrophaeus. Herpetologica 45:144–155

    Google Scholar 

  • Cecala KK, Maerz JC (2016) Context-dependent responses to light contribute to responses by Black-bellied Salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) to landscape disturbances. Can J Zool 94:7–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cecala KK, Maerz JC, Halstead BJ et al (2018) Multiple drivers, scales, and interactions influence southern Appalachian stream salamander occupancy. Ecosphere 9:e02150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connette GM, Semlitsch RD (2013) Life History as a Predictor of Salamander Recovery Rate from Timber Harvest in Southern Appalachian Forests. USA Conserv Biol 27:1399–1409

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford JA, Semlitsch RD (2008) Post-disturbance effects of even-aged timber harvest on stream salamanders in Southern Appalachian forests. Anim Conserv 11:369–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford JA, Semlitsch RD (2007) Estimation of Core Terrestrial Habitat for Stream-Breeding Salamanders and Delineation of Riparian Buffers for Protection of Biodiversity. Conserv Biol 21:152–158

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cross WF, Wallace JB, Rosemond AD, Eggert SL (2006) Whole-system nutrient enrichment increases secondary production in a detritus-based ecosystem. Ecology 87:1556–1565

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Currinder B, Cecala KK, Northington RM, Dorcas ME (2014) Response of stream salamanders to experimental drought in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. J Freshw Ecol 29:579–587

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dodd CK (2010) Amphibian Ecology and Conservation: A Handbook of Techniques. Oxford University Press

  • Dodd CK, Dorazio RM (2004) Using Counts to Simultaneously Estimate Abundance and Detection Probabilities in a Salamander Community. Herpetologica 60:468–478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doucett RR, Marks JC, Blinn DW, Caron M, Hungate BA (2007) Measuring terrestrial subsidies to aquatic food webs using stable isotopes of hydrogen. Ecology 88:1587–1592

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ford WM, Menzel MA, Odom RH (2002) Elevation, Aspect, and Cove Size Effects on Southern Appalachian Salamanders. Southeast Nat 1:315–324

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gade MR, Connette GM, Crawford JA, Hocking DJ, Maerz JC, Milanovich JR, Peterman WE (2020) Predicted alteration of terrestrial salamander surface activity as a consequence of climate change. Ecology 101:e03154

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gade MR, Peterman WE (2019) Multiple environmental gradients influence the distribution and abundance of a key forest-health indicator species in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. Landscape Ecol 34:569–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gesch DB, Oimoen M, Greenlee S, Nelson C, Steuck M, Tyler D (2002) The National Elevation Dataset. Photogram Eng Remote Sens 68:5–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould PR, Cecala KK, Drukker SS, McKenzie BA, Van de Ven C (2017) Biogeographical factors affecting the distribution of stream salamanders on the Cumberland Plateau, USA. Sci Total Environ 599:1622–1629

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grant EHC, Green LE, Lowe WH (2009) Salamander occupancy in headwater stream networks. Freshw Biol 54:1370–1378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant EHC, Wiewel ANM, Rice KC (2014) Stream-Water Temperature Limits Occupancy of Salamanders in Mid-Atlantic Protected Areas. J Herpetol 48:45–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green LE, Peloquin JE (2008) Acute Toxicity of Acidity in Larvae and Adults of Four Stream Salamander Species (plethodontidae). Environ Toxicol Chem 27:2361–2367

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hairston NG (1987) Community Ecology and Salamander Guilds. Cambridge University Press

  • Hairston NG (1986) Species Packing in Desmognathus Salamanders: Experimental Demonstration of Predation and Competition. Am Nat 127:266–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huheey JE, Brandon RA (1973) Rock-Face Populations of the Mountain Salamander, Desmognathus Ochrophaeus. North Carolina Ecological Monographs 43:59–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchison VH (1961) Critical Thermal Maxima in Salamanders. Physiological Zoology 34:92–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson HB, Fahrig L (2012) What size is a biologically relevant landscape? Landscape Ecol 27:929–941

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keitzer SC, Goforth RR (2013) Spatial and seasonal variation in the ecological significance of nutrient recycling by larval salamanders in Appalachian headwater streams. Freshwater Science 32:1136–1147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keitzer SC, Goforth RR (2012) Response of stream-breeding salamander larvae to sediment deposition in southern Appalachian (U.S.A.) headwater streams. Freshw Biol 57:1535–1544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kellner K (2015) jagsUI: a wrapper around rjags to streamline JAGS analyses. Version R package version 1.1

  • Kéry M, Royle JA (2015) Applied Hierarchical Modeling in Ecology: Analysis of distribution, abundance and species richness in R and BUGS: Volume 1:Prelude and Static Models. Academic Press

  • Kirchberg J, Cecala KK, Price SJ, White EM, Haskell DG (2016) Evaluating the impacts of small impoundments on stream salamanders. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst 26:1197–1206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kleeberger SR (1985) Influence of intraspecific density and cover on home range of a plethodontid salamander. Oecologia 66:404–410

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liles LA, Cecala KK, Ennen JR, Davenport JM (2017) Elevated temperatures alter competitive outcomes and body condition in southern Appalachian salamanders. Anim Conserv n/a-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12342

  • Marcarelli AM, Baxter CV, Mineau MM, Hall RO (2011) Quantity and quality: unifying food web and ecosystem perspectives on the role of resource subsidies in freshwaters. Ecology 92:1215–1225

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin KL, Goebel PC (2013) The foundation species influence of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) on biodiversity and ecosystem function on the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. For Ecol Manage 289:143–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JL, Strayer DL, Wallace JB, Eggert SL, Helfman GS, Leonard NE (2007) The contribution of headwater streams to biodiversity in river networks. JAWRA 43:86–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer JL, Wallace JB (2001) Lost linkages and lotic ecology: rediscovering small streams. Ecology: Achievement and challenge. M.C. Press, Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 295–317

    Google Scholar 

  • Miguet P, Jackson HB, Jackson ND, Martin AE, Fahrig L (2016) What determines the spatial extent of landscape effects on species? Landscape Ecol 31:1177–1194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milanovich JR, Hocking DJ, Peterman WE, Crawford JA (2015) Effective Use of Trails for Assessing Terrestrial Salamander Abundance and Detection: A Case Study at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Natural Areas Journal 35:590–598

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milanovich JR, Maerz JC, Rosemond AD (2015) Stoichiometry and estimates of nutrient standing stocks of larval salamanders in Appalachian headwater streams. Freshw Biol 60:1340–1353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller JE, Hess GR, Moorman CE (2007) Southern two-lined salamanders in urbanizing watersheds. Urban Ecosyst 10:73–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moseley KR, Ford WM, Edwards JW, Schuler TM (2008) Long-term partial cutting impacts on Desmognathus salamander abundance in West Virginia headwater streams. For Ecol Manage 254:300–307

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray BR, Thrall PH, Gill AM, Nicotra AB (2002) How plant life-history and ecological traits relate to species rarity and commonness at varying spatial scales. Austral Ecol 27:291–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nery T, Schmera D (2016) The effects of top-down and bottom-up controls on macroinvertebrate assemblages in headwater streams. Hydrobiologia 763:173–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nowakowski AJ, Maerz JC (2009) Estimation of Larval Stream Salamander Densities in Three Proximate Streams in the Georgia Piedmont. Journal of Herpetology 43:503–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Öckinger E, Schweiger O, Crist TO, Debinski DM, Krauss J, Kuussaari M, Paterson JD, Pöyry J, Settele J, Summerville KS, Bommarco R (2010) Life-historytraits predict species responses to habitat area and isolation: a cross-continental synthesis: Habitat fragmentation and life-history traits. Ecol Lett 13:969–979

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olson DH, Leirness JB, Cunningham PG, Steel EA (2014) Riparian buffers and forest thinning: Effects on headwater vertebrates. For Ecol Manage 321:81–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterman WE, Crawford JA, Semlitsch RD (2008) Productivity and significance of headwater streams: population structure and biomass of the black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus). Freshw Biol 53:347–357

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterman WE, Semlitsch RD (2009) Efficacy of riparian buffers in mitigating local population declines and the effects of even-aged timber harvest on larval salamanders. For Ecol Manage 257:8–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterman WE, Truslow SC (2008) Density estimation of larval Eurycea wilderae: a comparison of mark-recapture and depletion sampling. Herpetological Review 39:438–442

    Google Scholar 

  • Petranka JW (1998) Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press

  • Petranka JW, Murray SS (2001) Effectiveness of removal sampling for determining salamander density and biomass: A case study in an Appalachian streamside community. J Herpetol 35:36–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plummer M (2003) JAGS: A program for analysis of Bayesian graphical models using Gibbs sampling. Proceedings of the 3rd international workshop on distributed statistical computing 124:1–10

  • Poff NL, Allan JD, Bain MB, Karr JR, Prestegaard KL, Richter BD, Sparks RE, Stromberg JC (1997) The Natural Flow Regime. Bioscience 47:769–784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price SJ, Cecala KK, Browne RA, Dorcas ME (2011) Effects of Urbanization on Occupancy of Stream Salamanders. Conserv Biol 25:547–555

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Price SJ, Dorcas ME, Gallant AL, Klaver RW, Willson JD (2006) Three decades of urbanization: Estimating the impact of land-cover change on stream salamander populations. Biol Conserv 133:436–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price SJ, Muncy BL, Bonner SJ, Drayer AN, Barton CD (2016) Effects of mountaintop removal mining and valley filling on the occupancy and abundance of stream salamanders. J Appl Ecol 53:459–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Surasinghe TD, Baldwin RF (2015) Importance of Riparian Forest Buffers in Conservation of Stream Biodiversity: Responses to Land Uses by Stream-Associated Salamanders across Two Southeastern Temperate Ecoregions. J Herpetol 49:83–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temnerud J, Foelster J, Buffam I, Laudon H, Erlandsson M, Bishop K (2010) Can the distribution of headwater stream chemistry be predicted from downstream observations? Hydrol Process 24:2269–2276

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vannote RL, Minshall GW, Cummins KW, Sedell JR, Cushing CE (1980) The River Continuum Concept. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 37:130–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welsh HH, Hodgson GR (2008) Amphibians as metrics of critical biological thresholds in forested headwater streams of the Pacific Northwest, USA. Freshw Biol 53:1470–1488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins RN, Peterson NP (2000) Factors related to amphibian occurrence and abundance in headwater streams draining second-growth Douglas-fir forests in southwestern Washington. For Ecol Manage 139:79–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willson JD, Dorcas ME (2003) Effects of habitat disturbance on stream salamanders: Implications for buffer zones and watershed management. Conserv Biol 17:763–771

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaura Y, Royle JA, Shimada N, Asanuma S, Sato T, Taki H, Makinoa S (2012) Biodiversity of man-made open habitats in an underused country: a class of multispecies abundance models for count data. Biodiv Conserv 21:1365–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Highlands Biological Station for support of this research through the Grant-in-aid program. Additionally, we would also like to thank Alan Babineau, Meaghan Gade, Andrew Hoffman, Andrew Wilk, Annalee Tutterow, and Evan Amber for help with data collection and providing feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. This manuscript was greatly improved by feedback from two anonymous reviewers. This work was also supported by fellowship funding from The Ohio State University Graduate School and College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, OH, Columbus, USA

    Philip R. Gould & William E. Peterman

Authors
  1. Philip R. Gould
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William E. Peterman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philip R. Gould.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gould, P.R., Peterman, W.E. Life history mediates the effects of habitat variation on salamander abundance: a multiscale assessment. Landscape Ecol 36, 749–761 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01167-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01167-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation