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Biology at SBC
SPOTTED SALAMANDERS, 2010 |
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Continuing
the spotted salamander population study we began
in 2007 and
continued in
2008,
in 2010 the students in BIOL 324 (General Ecology)
and BIOL 218 (Field Natural History) again censused
adult spotted salamanders (Ambystoma
maculatum) as they came to breed in Guion
Pond and the Upper Lake.
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photographs were taken by Linda Fink.
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TOTAL
= 543 SPOTTED SALAMANDERS
captured, sexed and weighed.
The
salamanders were examined for Visible Implantable Elastomer
(VIE) marks from our 2008 census. Marks were found on
183 individuals. Of 162 recaptures that had been
VIE tagged in Guion Pond, 161 were recaptured
in the pond and 1 was recaptured at the Upper Lake. In
contrast, of 17 recaptured salamanders that had been VIE
tagged at the Upper Lake, 7 were recaptured at Guion Pond. This
tells us that site fidelity to Guion Pond is greater than
site fidelity to the Upper Lake.
The
2010 salamanders weighed significantly more than in 2008,
indicating that the breeders were larger, older, and/or
in better condition than in 2008. |
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The
first wave of salamanders on the night
of 10-11 March surprised us. We
had stopped monitoring the fencelines at 10 pm because
there was no rain. At 10:05, intermittent light
showers began, lasting several hours but producing less
than 1/10 inch of rain. This wetted
the forest floor sufficiently for many of the salamanders
to make their trek to breeding areas . On
the morning of 11 March, we recovered 138 salamanders
from our pitfall traps at Guion Pond and
the Upper Lake. The
salamanders were weighed and examined for VIE marks by
the Field Natural History class, and released in the
evening. |
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The
majority of salamanders arrived with heavier rains on the night
of 11-12 March, with laggards arriving on 12-13, 13-14
and 14-15 March. In addition to Ecology and Natural History
students and Professor Fink, the soggy data collectors
included regulars Rob Alexander (Professor of Environmental Studies),
Janet Steven (Professor of Biology), and alumna-and-VIE-tagging
expert Sara Rothamel; several volunteers from the 2008 Ecology
class, and high
school ecology teacher Chris Chamberlin. Making use of
technology, we emailed President Parker from the pond, and she
came down with boots and curiosity. (She blogged
about her visit.) |
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2010 salamander census was supervised by Professor
Linda Fink and, Naturalist-in-Residence Mike Hayslett,
under a permit granted by the Virginia Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries. |
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http://www.biology.sbc.edu/photosforBioWeb/spotsalMar10.html |
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