Seasonal movement patterns in a subalpine population of the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1780-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard H. Whiteman ◽  
Scott A. Wissinger ◽  
Andrew J. Bohonak
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Tiger Salamander ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Terrestrial Environment ◽  
Seasonal Movements ◽  
Tiger Salamanders ◽  
Seasonal Movement ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum Nebulosum ◽  
Branchinecta Coloradensis

Seasonal movements of a subalpine population of metamorphic tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum, were explored from 1990 to 1992. Metamorphic adults bred in permanent and semipermanent habitats during June of each year. After breeding, soma individuals returned to the terrestrial environment, but many remained and congregated in nonpermanent ponds. Metamorphic adults in nonpermanent ponds included those that moved from permanent ponds, those that bred and remained in semipermanent ponds, and those that did not breed but migrated from the terrestrial environment after the breeding season. Dietary analyses indicated that metamorphic adults in nonpermanent ponds have significantly greater numbers, biomass, and calories of prey in their gut than the few metamorphic adults remaining in permanent ponds. This difference was due to the presence of fairy shrimp (Branchinecta coloradensis), which composed 91 % of metamorphic adult diets in nonpermanent ponds and accounted for three times the average caloric value of all prey in gut samples from metamorphic adults in permanent ponds. Intraspecific competition also may have contributed to movement into nonpermanent ponds: post-breeding densities of metamorphic adults in permanent ponds were inversely related to the densities of other morphs (paedo-morphic adults and large larvae). We conclude that metamorphic A. t. nebulosum in this population utilize nonpermanent ponds after the breeding season because of the abundance of high-quality aquatic prey and reduced competition from con-specific morphs.

A model of inter-cohort cannibalism and paedomorphosis in Arizona Tiger Salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum

2016 ◽  
Vol 09 (02) ◽  
pp. 1650030
Author(s):  
Maeve L. McCarthy ◽  
Howard H. Whiteman
Keyword(s):  
Periodic Solutions ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Unstable Equilibrium ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Previous Theory ◽  
Tiger Salamanders ◽  
Stable Equilibria ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum Nebulosum

Cannibalism is widespread in size-structured populations. If cannibals and victims are in different life stages, dominant cohorts of cannibals can regulate recruitment. Arizona Tiger Salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum, exhibit facultative paedomorphosis in which salamander larvae either metamorphose into terrestrial adults or become sexually mature while still in their larval form. Although many salamanders exhibit cannibalism of larvae, the Arizona Tiger Salamander also exhibits cannibalism of young by the aquatic adults. We formulate a differential equations model of this system under the assumption that the terrestrial adults do not impact the system beyond their contribution to the birth of young larvae. We establish non-negativity, boundedness and persistence of the salamander population under certain assumptions. We consider the equilibrium states of the system in the presence or absence of a birth contribution from the terrestrial or metamorph adults. Constant per capita paedomorphosis leads to asymptotically stable equilibria. The per capita paedomorphosis rate of the larvae must be density dependent in order for periodic solutions to exist. Furthermore, the stage transition rate must be sufficiently decreasing in order to guarantee the existence of an unstable equilibrium. Periodic solutions are only possible in the presence of a unique nontrivial unstable equilibrium. Our results conform to previous theory on paedomorphosis which suggests general applicability of our results to similar systems.

scholarly journals Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) Increase Foot Contact Surface Area on Challenging Substrates During Terrestrial Locomotion

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M Vega ◽  
Miriam A Ashley-Ross
Keyword(s):  
Surface Area ◽  
Natural Variation ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Tiger Salamander ◽  
Heterogeneous Environments ◽  
Locomotor Performance ◽  
Terrestrial Locomotion ◽  
Tiger Salamanders

Synopsis Animals live in heterogeneous environments must navigate in order to forage or capture food, defend territories, and locate mates. These heterogeneous environments have a variety of substrates that differ in their roughness, texture, and other properties, all of which may alter locomotor performance. Despite such natural variation in substrate, many studies on locomotion use noncompliant surfaces that either are unrepresentative of the range of substrates experienced by species or underestimate maximal locomotor capabilities. The goal of this study was to determine the role of forefeet and hindfeet on substrates with different properties during walking in a generalized sprawling tetrapod, the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). Adult salamanders (n = 4, SVL = 11.2–14.6 cm) walked across level dry sand (DS), semi-soft plaster of Paris (PoP), wet sand (WS), and a hard, noncompliant surface (table)—substrates that vary in compliance. Trials were filmed in dorsal and anterior views. Videos were analyzed to determine the number of digits and surface area of each foot in contact with the substrate. The surface area of the forelimbs contacting the substrate was significantly greater on DS and PoP than on WS and the table. The surface area of the hindlimbs contacting the substrate was significantly greater on DS than on all other substrates. There were no significant differences in the time that the fore- or hindfeet were in contact with the substrate as determined by the number of digits. We conclude that salamanders modulate the use of their feet depending on the substrate, particularly on DS which is known to increase the mechanical work and energy expended during locomotion owing to the fluid nature of its loose particles. More studies are needed to test a wider range of substrates and to incorporate behavioral data from field studies to get a better understanding of how salamanders are affected by different substrates in their natural environment.

Intraspecific variation in diet within and between trophic morphs in larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum)

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Collins ◽  
Joseph R. Holomuzki
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Tiger Salamanders ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum Nebulosum

Larvae of Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum are dimorphic. The "broad-headed" morph is cannibalistic and has a wider head and enlarged vomerine teeth compared with typical larvae. We collected larvae from tour habitats in Arizona, U.S.A., to quantify how diet varies within and betweeen morphs relative to habitat, and how diet varies relative to age in typical morphs from one habitat. Broad-headed or cannibalistic morphs occurred in both sexes and most of their diet [Formula: see text] was other salamanders. A variety of invertebrates comprised the remainder of their diet. Typical morphs ate primarily macroinvertebrates and plankton, and rarely (1 of 170 larvae analyzed) conspecifics. Young typical larvae consumed a narrow range of prey, mostly plankton, compared with older larvae, which consumed a diversity of macroinvertebrates in addition to plankton. Our results indicate that description of broad-headed larvae as cannibals is justified because most of their diet is other salamanders, while typical morphs rarely eat salamanders. Both morphs also eat invertebrates. With regard to diet in larval A. tigrinum, therefore, "cannibalistic" versus "typical" refers to a predilection and is not an absolute categorization.

Dental morphology of the cannibal morph in the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott C. Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Characteristic Feature ◽  
Head Size ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Tiger Salamander ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
Tiger Salamanders ◽  
Scanning Electron

AbstractCannibalistic behavior is accompanied by a robust dental and skeletal polymorphism in cannibal tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum. This study describes the dental polymorphism in terms of hypertrophy, recurvature, and surface detail as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. Vomerine and dentary teeth in cannibals are longer than those of non-cannibals of the same head size. While cannibals exhibit recurved teeth on each dentigerous bone, straight peg-like teeth appear occasionally. Conversely, isolated recurved teeth may be present in non-cannibals. No consistent differences between cannibal and noncannibal teeth with respect to the surface geography of the pedicel, shaft, or pedicel shaft junction were observed. Hypertrophy of the horizontally ankylosed vomerine teeth is associated with a distortion of the underlying vomer. This suggests that alterations in odontogenesis may effect changes in the morphogenesis of underlying dentigerous bones. Differential rates of development (heterochrony) between the skull (dentigerous bones) and the dentition may be a characteristic feature in the evolution of cranial morphology in cannibal tiger salamanders.

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