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Determination Of Dispersal Patterns Of The Small-Mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma Texanum) In Eagle Creek Park (Indianapolis, In), Stacey Diane Summitt

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Urbanization and the increasing threat of habitat fragmentation are contributing to the significant declines in amphibian populations world-wide. Ambystomatid species are particularly susceptible to habitat fragmentation because they migrate yearly across upland forests to their breeding sites. Habitat changes could be altering the genetic structure in these species; however few studies have focused on this topic and more generally, examined the dispersal patterns of Ambystomatids. In 2003, Clark, Cripe, and Stachniw conducted a study on “Metapopulation Structure of Ambystoma texanum in Eagle Creek Park (Indianapolis, IN) and the Potential for Gene Flow.” They hypothesized that distance limits the dispersal of …