Salamander drift

SUMMARY. Interpretation of data collected from a spring-fed stream suggests the existence of a phenomenon in running water that has not been previously described — salamander drift. Stream substrate and drift collections indicated that pre-metamorphic salamanders ( Eurycea bislineata ) entered the water train and drifted during the months of April, May and June. Post-metamorphic salamanders, and individuals about to undergo metamorphosis, did not appear in the stream drift.     

美国阿巴拉契亚山地区五种有尾类核型的比较研究(无肺螈科Plethodonidae,有尾目Caudata)

采用体内注射秋水仙素溶液,肠管、脾脏及精巢作实验材料,制成细胞悬浮液,摘片、空气干燥法或直接压片法制作染色体玻片标本。分析比较了美国东南部南阿巴拉契亚山(Southern AppalchianMountain)地区无肺螈科两属五种Desmognathus monticola, D. quadramaculatus, D. ochrophaeus,Eurycea junaluska E. bislinea?a的核型,它们的二倍体数均为28,没有发现与性别有关的异形染色体。分析表明这些有尾类核型演化途径可能是臂间倒位(periceatric inversioa)和相互易位(reciprocal translocation)。 Desmognathus quadramaculatus, D. och(?)phaeus, Eurycea junaluska三个种的核型是首次报道。     

Linking movement behaviour to dispersal and divergence in plethodontid salamanders

To better understand the evolutionary and ecological effects of dispersal, there is growing emphasis on the need to integrate direct data on movement behaviour into landscape-scale analyses. However, little is known about the general link between movement behaviour and large-scale patterns of dispersal and gene flow. Likewise, although recent studies suggest that nonrandom, directionally biased movement and dispersal can promote evolutionary divergence, the generality of this mechanism is unknown. We test the hypothesis that directionally biased movement and dispersal by plethodontid salamanders interact with the topography of headwater areas to affect genetic and phenotypic divergence. Movements by Gyrinophilus porphyriticus and Eurycea bislineata show contrasting directional biases: upstream bias in G. porphyriticus and downstream bias in E. bislineata. Consistent with predictions of how these biases interact with slope to affect dispersal and gene flow, genetic distance increased with slope in G. porphyriticus and decreased with slope in E. bislineata over a standardized distance of 1 km along six headwater streams. In both species, phenotypic divergence in relative trunk length was positively related to genetic divergence. These results indicate that landscape-scale patterns of dispersal and gene flow are closely related to movement behaviour in G. porphyriticus and E. bislineata, and underscore the value of information on movement behaviour for predicting and interpreting patterns of dispersal and gene flow in complex landscapes. This study also provides new evidence that directionally biased movement and dispersal can be important sources of intra- and interspecific variation in population divergence, and highlights the value of explicit, a priori predictions in landscape genetic studies.     

Distribution, abundance, and genetic diversity of Clinostomum spp. metacercariae (Trematoda:Digenea) in a modified Ozark stream system

Land-use alterations can have profound influences on faunal distributions, including host-parasite relationships. Yellow grub trematodes ( Clinostomum spp.) have complex life cycles involving 3 hosts: a snail, a fish or amphibian, and a bird. Here, we analyze the distribution, prevalence, intensity, abundance, and genetic diversity of encysting metacercariae of Clinostomum spp. in salamanders and fishes throughout an aquatic system that includes a natural Ozark stream and man-made ponds. We found Clinostomum sp. infecting permanently aquatic Oklahoma salamanders ( Eurycea tynerensis ; 56% prevalence) and larval grotto salamanders ( Eurycea spelaea ) immediately downstream from a man-made pond. However, Clinostomum sp. did not infect any salamanders in the spring that supplies this pond, or in sections farther downstream (~0.5 and 2 km). Metacercariae of Clinostomum sp. were present in ~90% of introduced largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ) in the man-made pond adjunct to the stream. Morphological examination and phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase 1 ( Co1 ) and the nuclear ribosomal gene 18S show that fishes and salamanders at this site are primarily infected with Clinostomum marginatum . There is a relatively high degree of mitochondrial haplotype diversity in C. marginatum at this site but no consistent genetic difference between parasites in largemouth bass from the man-made pond and those in salamanders from the stream. Based on the microgeographic distribution and relationships of metacercariae of C. marginatum at this site, we hypothesize that the adjunct man-made pond has created an ecological situation that brings the cercariae of this parasite into contact with novel stream salamander hosts.     

Evolving possibilities: postembryonic axial elongation in salamanders with biphasic (Eurcyea cirrigera,Eurycea longicauda,Eurycea quadridigitata) and paedomorphic life cycles (Eurycea nana and Ambystoma mexicanum)

Vaglia, JL., White, K, and Case, A. 2012. Evolving possibilities: postembryonic axial elongation in salamanders with biphasic (Eurcyea cirrigera, Eurycea longicauda, Eurycea quadridigitata) and paedomorphic life cycles (Eurycea nana and Ambystoma mexicanum). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 93 : 2–13. Typically, the number of vertebrae an organism will have postembryonically is determined during embryogenesis via the development of paired somites. Our research investigates the phenomenon of postembryonic vertebral addition in salamander tails. We describe body and tail growth and patterns of postsacral vertebral addition and elongation in context with caudal morphology for four plethodontids (Eurycea) and one ambystomatid. Eurycea nana and Ambystoma mexicanum have paedomorphic life cycles; Eurcyea cirrigera, Eurycea longicauda and Eurycea quadridigitata are biphasic. Specimens were collected, borrowed and/or purchased, and cleared and stained for bone and cartilage. Data collected include snout‐vent length (SVL), tail length (TL), vertebral counts and centrum lengths. Eurycea species with biphasic life cycles had TLs that surpassed SVL following metamorphosis. Tails in paedomorphic species elongated but rarely exceeded body length. Larger TLs were associated with more vertebrae and longer vertebrae in all species. We observed that rates of postsacral vertebral addition varied little amongst species. Regional variation along the tail becomes prominent following metamorphosis in biphasic developers. In all species, vertebrae in the posterior one‐half of the tail taper towards the tip. We suggest that a developmental link might exist between the ability to continually add vertebrae and regeneration in salamanders.     

A new genus and species of lungless salamander (family Plethodontidae) from the Appalachian highlands of the south-eastern United States

We describe a striking new species of the lungless salamander family Plethodontidae from the Appalachian foothills of northern Georgia, USA. This miniature species, c . 25–26 mm (adult standard length), is so distinctive genetically and morphologically that we erect a new genus, the first new genus of amphibian described from the US in nearly 50 years. It is unique among plethodontids from eastern North America in displaying sexual colour dimorphism. Although certain miniaturized plethodontids exhibit a reduced number (four) of digits on the pes, this species possesses a full complement of five toes. A plethodontid phylogeny derived from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences places it in the tribe Spelerpini as the sister taxon to Eurycea . Genetic divergence between the new species and Eurycea for the nuclear gene Rag -1 (4.7%) is among the higher levels observed between long-established spelerpine genera (2.6–5.3%). This new form appears to be rare and is of immediate conservation concern.     

Gene lineages and eastern North American palaeodrainage basins: phylogeography and speciation in salamanders of the Eurycea bislineata species complex

Contemporary North American drainage basins are composites of formerly isolated drainages, suggesting that fragmentation and fusion of palaeodrainage systems may have been an important factor generating current patterns of genetic and species diversity in stream-associated organisms. Here, we combine traditional molecular-phylogenetic, multiple-regression, nested clade, and molecular-demographic analyses to investigate the relationship between phylogeographic variation and the hydrogeological history of eastern North American drainage basins in semiaquatic plethodontid salamanders of the Eurycea bislineata species complex. Four hundred forty-two sequences representing 1108 aligned bases from the mitochondrial genome are reported for the five formally recognized species of the E. bislineata complex and three outgroup taxa. Within the in-group, 270 haplotypes are recovered from 144 sampling locations. Geographic patterns of mtDNA-haplotype coalescence identify 13 putatively independent population-level lineages, suggesting that the current taxonomy of the group underestimates species-level diversity. Spatial and temporal patterns of phylogeographic divergence are strongly associated with historical rather than modern drainage connections, indicating that shifts in major drainage patterns played a pivotal role in the allopatric fragmentation of populations and build-up of lineage diversity in these stream-associated salamanders. More generally, our molecular genetic results corroborate geological and faunistic evidence suggesting that palaeodrainage connections altered by glacial advances and headwater erosion occurring between the mid-Miocene and Pleistocene epochs explain regional patterns of biodiversity in eastern North American streams.     

Patterns of trombiculid mite (Hannemania dunni) parasitism among plethodontid salamanders in the western Piedmont of North Carolina

Trombiculid mites are known to parasitize a variety of amphibian species, yet few comparisons of mite parasitism among amphibian species have been made. In this study, we investigated patterns of trombiculid mite parasitism among 3 plethodontid salamanders (Desmognathus fuscus, Eurycea cirrigera, and Plethodon cylindraceus) in the western Piedmont of North Carolina. All 3 salamander species were parasitized by a single species, Hannemania dunni. Desmognathus fuscus harbored mites more frequently (60.4% of individuals) than E. cirrigera (11.1%) or P. cylindraceus (14.6%). Desmognathus fuscus also had higher parasite loads than E. cirrigera or P. cylindraceus (P < 0.001). Mites on D. fuscus were found more frequently on the limbs than other body locations (P < 0.001). We found no correlation between salamander size and mite abundance (P = 0.689), but salamander collection sites influenced the abundance of mites on D. fuscus (P = 0.002). We found no effect of season on mite abundance in D. fuscus (P = 0.952). Salamander habitat preferences and edaphic or climatic differences among study sites may influence patterns of Hannemania sp. parasitism of salamanders.     

Trout affect the density, activity and feeding of a larval plethodontid salamander

1. Ecologists have struggled to describe general patterns in the impacts of predators on stream prey, particularly at large, realistic spatial and temporal scales. Among the confounding variables in many systems is the presence of multiple predators whose interactions can be complex and unpredictable. 2. We studied the interactions between brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and larval two‐lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata), two dominant vertebrate predators in New England stream systems, by examining patterns of two‐lined salamander abundance in stream reaches above and below waterfalls that are barriers to fish dispersal, by measuring the effects of trout on salamander density and activity using a large‐scale manipulation of brook trout presence, and by conducting a small‐scale laboratory experiment to study how brook trout and larval two‐lined salamanders affect each other's prey consumption. 3. We captured more salamanders above waterfalls, in the absence of trout, than below waterfalls where trout were present. Salamander density and daytime activity decreased following trout addition to streams, and salamander activity shifted from aperiodic to more nocturnal with fish. Analysis of stomach contents from our laboratory experiment revealed that salamanders eat fewer prey with trout, but trout eat more prey in the presence of salamanders. 4. We suggest that as predators in streams, salamanders can influence invertebrate prey communities both directly and through density‐ and trait‐mediated interactions with other predators.     

Coprophagy in a cave-adapted salamander; the importance of bat guano examined through nutritional and stable isotope analyses

During a two year population ecology study in a cave environment, 15 Eurycea (= Typhlotriton) spelaea were observed ingesting bat guano. Furthermore, E. spelaea capture numbers increased significantly during the time that grey bats (Myotis grisescens) deposited fresh guano. We investigated the hypothesis that this behaviour was not incidental to the capture of invertebrate prey, but a diet switch to an energy-rich detritus in an oligotrophic environment. Stable isotope assays determined that guano may be assimilated into salamander muscle tissue, and nutritional analyses revealed that guano is a comparable food source to potential invertebrate prey items. This is the first report of coprophagy in a salamander and in any amphibian for reasons other than intestinal inoculation. Because many temperate subterranean environments are often energy poor and this limitation is thought to select for increased diet breadth, we predict that coprophagy may be common in subterranean vertebrates where it is not currently recognized.     

Demographics,reproduction, growth,and abundance of Jollyville Plateau salamanders (Eurycea tonkawae)

Insights into the ecology and natural history of the neotenic salamander, Eurycea tonkawae, are provided from eight years of capture‐recapture data from 10,041 captures of 7,315 individuals at 16 sites. Eurycea tonkawae exhibits seasonal reproduction, with peak gravidity occurring in the fall and winter. Size frequency data indicated recruitment occurred in the spring and summer. Open‐population capture‐recapture models revealed a similar seasonal pattern at two of three sites, while recruitment was dependent on flow at the third site. Females can reach sexual maturity within one year, and oviposition likely takes place below ground. The asymptotic body length of 1,290 individuals was estimated as 31.73 mm (at ca. two years of age), although there was substantial heterogeneity among growth trajectories. Longevity was approximately eight years, and the median age for a recaptured adult was 2.3 years. Abundance estimated from closed‐population and robust‐design capture‐recapture models varied widely within and among sites (range 41–834), although, surprisingly, dramatic changes in abundance were not observed following prolonged dry periods. Seasonal migration patterns of second‐year and older adults may help explain lower ratios of large individuals and higher temporary emigration during the latter half of the year, but further study is required. Low numbers of captures and recaptures precluded the use of open‐population models to estimate demographic parameters at several sites; therefore, closed‐population (or robust‐design) methods are generally recommended. Based on observations of their life history and population demographics, E. tonkawae seems well adapted to conditions where spring flow is variable and surface habitat periodically goes dry.     

Ultrastructure of the annual cycle of female sperm storage in spermathecae of the torrent salamander, Rhyacotriton variegatus (Amphibia: Rhyacotritonidae)

This study is the first report on the ultrastructure of the sperm storage glands (spermathecae) in the salamander Rhyacotriton variegatus. The population studied is associated with cold-water, rocky streams of the redwood (Sequoia) zone in northern California. Males possess sperm in their vasa deferentia and undergo spermiation throughout the year, but mating is seasonal. Most females with large, vitellogenic follicles (2.0-3.9 mm mean dia.) collected from February-June contain sperm in their spermathecae, although some females with large follicles lack sperm. Other mature-size females collected during this period have small ovarian follicles (0.9-1.2 mm mean dia.) and lack stored sperm. All females collected from September-November have small follicles (0.6-1.6 mm mean dia.) and lack sperm, except in one instance in which a female collected in November had a small amount of degraded sperm, apparently retained from the previous breeding season. The spermathecae consist of simple tubulo-alveolar glands in which the neck tubules produce a mucoid secretory product, and the distal bulbs, where sperm are stored, contain secretory vacuoles of uniform density that stain positively for glycosaminoglycans. In specimens containing sperm, some bulbs have abundant sperm and others lack sperm, but the ultrastructure is similar in both conditions. The acini contain columnar epithelial cells with wide intercellular canaliculi, and a merocrine process releases the secretion. Spermiophagy occurs. In specimens from spring and summer with small ovarian follicles, the neck tubules are similar to those of breeding females, but the distal bulbs are reduced to cords of cells lacking a discernible lumen. Secretory activity in the distal bulbs is initiated in the fall. Spermathecae of R. variegatus are most similar to those of a stream-dwelling plethodontid, Eurycea cirrigera.     

Detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Endemic Salamander Species from Central Texas

A nested PCR protocol was used to analyze five endemic salamander species from Central Texas for the presence of the emerging pathogen, chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Chytrid fungus was detected from samples of each of the five species sampled: with low abundance, in the Texas salamander (Eurycea neotenes) (1 positive out of 16 individuals tested; 1/16), the Blanco River Springs salamander (E. pterophila) (1/20), the threatened San Marcos salamander (E. nana) (1/17), and the endangered Barton Springs salamander (E. sosorum) (1/7); much higher abundance was obtained for the Jollyville Plateau salamander (E. tonkawae) (6/14), which has recently been petitioned for addition to the USA endangered species list. With one exception, sequences of PCR products were identical to the 5.8S rRNA gene, and nearly so for the flanking internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of B. dendrobatidis which confirmed the detection of chytrid fungus, and thus demonstrated the presence of this pathogen in populations of endangered species in Central Texas. These confirmations were obtained from nonconsumptive tail clippings which confirms the applicability of historically collected samples from other studies in the examination of the fungus across time.     

Learning to Avoid Dangerous Habitat Types by Aquatic Salamanders,Eurycea tynerensis

There should be intense selection for predation avoidance mechanisms when prey live in close proximity to their predators. Prey individuals that can learn to associate habitat features with high levels of predation risk should experience increased survival if they subsequently avoid those habitats. We tested whether or not habitat learning occurred in a benthic stream community consisting of adult Oklahoma salamander (Eurycea tynerensis) prey and a syntopic predatory fish, the banded sculpin (Cottus carolinae). We exposed individual salamanders to chemical stimuli from sculpin, non‐predatory tadpoles, or a blank control in training tanks containing either rocks or grass. Two days later, the salamanders were tested in tanks that offered a choice of rocks or grass. Salamanders showed significant avoidance of the habitat where they had previously encountered chemical cues from sculpin in comparison to the non‐predatory controls. Learning to avoid dangerous habitats may be particularly important for prey whose predators are visually cryptic ambush foragers, such as sculpin.     

患病大鲵中弗氏柠檬酸杆菌的分离与鉴定

【目的】确定导致大鲵(Andrias davidianus)细菌性感染死亡的病原。【方法】从大鲵肝脏中分离细菌,通过Biolog微生物自动鉴定系统及分子生物学方法对纯培养的细菌进行鉴定,再用大鲵和鲫鱼分别进行人工感染试验,以确定分离菌的致病性,同时对分离到的病原菌进行药物敏感试验。【结果】从患病大鲵肝脏中分离到一株致病菌JZ01,经人工感染健康大鲵,可复制与自然发病相同的症状,且从人工感染病鲵体内再次分离到相同的病原菌。该致病菌对健康鲫鱼也有致病性。经Biolog微生物自动鉴定系统的鉴定,以及进一步的16S rDNA基因序列和系统发育分析都表明,此致病菌为弗氏柠檬酸杆菌。药物敏感性试验表明,该菌株对氨曲南、头孢三嗪、先锋噻肟等9种药物高度敏感。【结论】弗氏柠檬酸杆菌是大鲵的一种致病菌。本文在国内外首次报道了该菌对大鲵具有致病性。     

A New Species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the marbled salamander, Ambystoma opacum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae), from northern Louisiana

Between December 2002 and June 2004, 10 marbled salamanders, Ambystoma opacum, were examined for coccidian parasites. Salamanders were collected in Bradley (n = 2), Little River (n = 1), Miller (n = 1), and Sevier (n = 1) Counties, Arkansas; Webster Parish, Louisiana (n = 2); and Bowie (n = 1) and Nacogdoches (n = 2) Counties, Texas. Two of 10 (20%) A. opacum from Louisiana harbored an undescribed species of Eimeria. Oocysts of Eimeria trauthi n. sp. were ellipsoidal, 36.6 x 33.1 (33-40 x 29-37) microm, with a thin, single-layered wall; shape index 1.1. Polar granule(s) and micropyle were absent. Oocyst residuum was composed of hundreds of loosely packed homogenous granules of various sizes enclosing a vacuole. Sporocysts were elongate-ellipsoidal, 20.8 x 8.1 (19-22 x 7-9) microm; shape index 2.6. Sporocyst residuum was spherical and composed of a cluster of granules often membrane-bound. This is the first time a coccidium has been reported from an amphibian species in Louisiana and the second time a coccidium has been described from this salamander host. In addition, the following 26 salamanders from various counties in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas were surveyed during the study period and were negative for coccidia: Ambystomatidae, 4 spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) and 7 mole salamanders (Ambystoma talpoideum); Cryptobranchidae, 4 Ozark hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi); Plethodontidae, 6 spotted dusky salamanders (Desmognathus conanti) and 3 many-ribbed salamanders (Eurycea multiplicata multiplicata); and Salamandridae, 2 central newts (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis).     

Redescription of the sarcocysts of Sarcocystis rileyi (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae)

The intermediate hosts for Sarcocystis rileyi (Stiles 1893) Minchin 1913 are ducks (Anas spp.), and the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) is its definitive host. The structure of sarcocysts from an experimentally infected shoveler duck (Anas cylpeata) fed sporocysts from an experimentally-infected M. mephitis was studied and compared with type specimens from a naturally infected duck. The experimentally infected duck was killed 154 d after feeding sporocysts. By light microscopy the sarcocyst wall was 3-5 microm thick with indistinct villar protrusions. Ultrastructurally, the sarcocyst wall was a type-23 cyst wall with anastomosing villar protrusions that were up to 7.5 microm long. The villar projections contained filamentous structures. The bradyzoites were 12-14 microm long. Structurally, the sarcocyst from the naturally infected and experimentally infected ducks appeared similar.     

Susceptibility of the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, to ranavirus infection

Emerging infectious diseases are implicated in the declines and extinctions of amphibians worldwide. Ranaviruses in the family Iridoviridae are a global concern and have caused amphibian die-offs in wild populations in North America, Europe, South America, and in commercial populations in Asia and South America. The movement of amphibians for bait, food, pets, and research provides a route for the introduction of ranaviruses into naive and potentially endangered species. In this report, we demonstrate that the California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, is susceptible to Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV). This virus has not been previously reported in California tiger salamander, but observed mortality in experimentally infected animals suggests that California tiger salamander populations could be adversely affected by an ATV introduction.     

Salamander diversity alters stream macroinvertebrate community structure

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Prevalence,geographic distribution,and fitness effects of Microphallus turgidus (trematoda: Microphallidae) in grass shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) from coastal Georgia

Grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio Holthuis and P. vilgaris (Say), were collected at 11 localities along the coast of Georgia and surveyed for digenetic trematode metacercariae. The effect of trematode infection on grass shrimp fitness was also examined. Microphallus turgidas (Leigh) was the only trematode observed. The prevalence of metacercarial cysts of this parasite in P. pugio (75%) was higher than in P. vulgaris (24%), as were the mean intensity, abundance, and population density (no. cysts/cm host body length) of the parasite. Infected shrimp were found at every collection locality and parasite prevalence and density were greatest in P. pugio from higher salinity localities (> or = 20 parts per thousand [ppt]). There was no relation between host body size and parasite density in P. vulgaris, and parasite density increased with host body size in P. pugio, suggesting that the parasite does not affect host survival. There was no relation between parasite density and shrimp egg mass, but nonovigerous female P. pugio were more heavily infected than ovigerous ones. In addition, 1 metacercaria of M. turgidus in each of 2 specimens of P. vulgaris was parasitized by the haplosporidian Urosporidium crescens De Turk. This represents a new shrimp host record for this hyperparasite.