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Density-Dependent Effects On Microhabitat Selection And Activity Of Two Species Of Larval Ambystoma Salamanders, Jeanette M. Jaskula, Robert Brodman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

To be able to distinguish unnatural amphibian declines from natural population fluctuations we need a better understanding of the mechanisms that affect amphibian community structure. Larval pond-breeding salamanders exhibit density-dependent effects on population parameters, but little is known of the effect of density on behaviors that mediate interactions. Two species, Amby1toma tigrinum (tiger salamander) and A. laterale (blue-spotted salamander), were evaluated in laboratory aquaria for intraspecific and interspecific interactions that affect microhabitat selection and activity. Microhabitat selection was studied by partitioning containers into microhabitats that either contained or lacked refuges, and movement was recorded over a hexagonal grid to determine …