016 Slimy Salamander Sociality

Salamanders feature in episode 16, especially North American ones. We chat about the unusual inheritance strategies of Ambystoma, and territorial behaviour and polymorphism (multiple colour patterns) of red-backed salamanders. There will of course be a slippery surprise in our Species of the Bi-week. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT herphighlights.podbean.com   Main Paper References: Bogart, James P., Jessica E. Linton, and Al Sandilands. 2017. “A Population in Limbo: Unisexual Salamanders (Genus Ambystoma) Decline without Sperm-Donating Species.” Herpetological Conservation and Biology 12 (1): 41–55. Reiter, M. K., Anthony, C. D., & Hickerson, C. A. M. (2014). Territorial behavior and ecological divergence in a polymorphic salamander. Copeia, 2014(3), 481-488. Species of the Bi-week: Mccranie, J. R., & Rovito, S. M. (2014). New species of salamander (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Cryptotriton) from Quebrada Cataguana, Francisco Morazán, Honduras, with comments on the taxonomic status of Cryptotriton wakei. Zootaxa, 3795(1), 61-70. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Bi, K, and JP Bogart. 2010. “Time and Time Again: Unisexual Salamanders (Genus Ambystoma) Are the Oldest Unisexual Vertebrates.” BMC Evolutionary Biology 10: 238. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-238. Cleveland, WS, and R McGill. 1984. “Graphical Perceptions: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Methods.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 79 (387): 531–54. Petruzzi, EE, PH Niewiarowski, and FB-G Moore. 2006. “The Role of Thermal Niche Selection in Maintenance of a Colour Polymorphism in Redback Salamanders (Plethodon Cinereus).” Frontiers in Zoology 3: 10. doi:10.1186/1742-9994-3-10. Verrell, P. A., & Krenz, J. D. (1998). Competition for mates in the mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum: tactics that may maximize male mating success. Behaviour, 135(2), 121-138. Music: Treehouse by Ed Nelson