Название: Recent findings about the biology, ecology, and systematics of the Grotto Salamander, Eurycea spelaea
Источник: 15th International Congress of Speleology
Место публикации: Atlanta
Том:
Выпуск:
Страницы: 234-237
Web/Url:
№ полки:
Добавлено: Elmaz
Ключевые слова: ecology, biology, karst, спелеобиота, саламандры, Охлахома, США
Источник:
Реферат: The Grotto Salamander, Eurycea spelaea (= Typhlotriton spelaeus), has been known to science for over 100 years yet many aspects of its natural history and ecology remain unknown. Basic information on reproductive behavior, egg deposition sites, and population sizes have not been reported. However, a long-term study (over eight years) of one population in Oklahoma’s Ozark Mountains has produced interesting findings. For example, with direct observations supported by stable isotope analysis, it has been demonstrated that larval E. spelaea feed directly on fresh bat guano. Further, the movements of salamanders in the study cave suggest that individuals congregate in the main caverns of subterranean systems, where colonial bats roost when the bats utilize the caves. When the bats depart in the fall, the salamanders appear to disperse from the larger bat-inhabited rooms. A population size of 264 to 367 individuals was estimated for the population inhabiting the study site using the Schnabel estimator (CI = 95%). Analysis of pigmentation in larval salamanders suggests that a significant portion of the larval population leave the subterranean system for a portion of the larval period; however, many larvae disperse from subterranean habitats. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA sequencing suggests there are several genetically divergent clades in the Ozarks that correspond to subdivisions of the Ozark Plateau, thus “Eurycea spelaea” may be a complex containing multiple species