Parental care among salamanders is typically provided by females. A rare case of parental care by male salamanders appears to occur in Cryptobranchidae. Yet, paternal behaviors have rarely been reported from natural populations of any Cryptobranchid salamanders, and their adaptive significance is poorly understood. The present study aimed to examine paternal care behaviors in a fully aquatic Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) in situ. At the beginning of the summer breeding season, large males, called den-masters, occupy burrows along stream banks for breeding and nesting. We videotaped post-breeding behaviors of two den-masters that stayed with the eggs, one in a natural and the other in an artificial nest in natural streams. We identified three behaviors, tail fanning, agitating and egg eating, to be parental care. Tail fanning provides oxygenated water for the eggs. We found that the den-master in the artificial nest, where dissolved oxygen level was lower, displayed tail fanning more frequently. Agitating the eggs with its head and body likely prevents yolk adhesions. The den-masters selectively ate whiter eggs that appeared to be dead or infected with water mold. This behavior, which we termed hygienic filial cannibalism, likely prevents water mold from spreading over healthy eggs. Digital video images relating to this article are available at

Examination of environmental DNA (eDNA) is a non-invasive conservation tool that has been used for the detection of aquatic organisms. When coupled with quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), eDNA sampling may be used to infer seasonal or diel activities of target species. To survey the status of eastern hellbenders (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis), fully aquatic cryptic salamanders of conservation concern, through eDNA analyses, we collected water samples monthly from 13 sites across 8 tributaries of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, USA, from June through October 2014. We also examined the effects of the breeding season, diel activity, and stream environmental variables (e.g., temp, pH) on eDNA concentration estimates. We repeatedly detected hellbender eDNA from all 4 tributaries known to contain hellbenders, and from downstream sites of 2 of the 4 tributaries without known records of hellbenders. In the tributaries known to contain hellbenders, we observed notable increases in eDNA concentrations during the September breeding season, suggesting possible reproductive events. However, such seasonal eDNA signature was lacking from the eDNA positive sites of the tributaries without known records of hellbenders. There was no difference in eDNA estimates between diurnal and nocturnal samples, indicating that diel activity was inconsequential to eDNA estimates. Our statistical analyses of the eDNA positive sites revealed no effects of the stream variables on eDNA estimates. Yet, the presence of hellbenders was positively associated with stream temperature and negatively with pH. The positive association with temperature was likely to be an artifact of the sampling design, whereas the negative association with pH may indicate negative effects of farming and livestock on hellbenders. Our findings concur with recent studies on the importance of temporal sampling in interpreting eDNA signature in relation to life histories of target species. Further studies are needed to characterize the core habitats of newly found populations for future management of the declining hellbender populations. Ó 2017 The Wildlife Society.

The lack of effective tools has hampered out ability to assess the size, growth and ages of clonal plants. With Serenoa repens (saw palmetto) as a model, we introduce a novel analytical framework that integrates DNA fingerprinting and mathematical modelling to simulate growth and estimate ages of clonal plants. We also demonstrate the application of such life-history information of clonal plants to provide insight into management plans. Serenoa is an ecologically important foundation species in many Southeastern United States ecosystems; yet, many land managers consider Serenoa a troublesome invasive plant. Accordingly, management plans have been developed to reduce or eliminate Serenoa with little understanding of its life history. Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms, we genotyped 263 Serenoa and 134 Sabal etonia (a sympatric non-clonal palmetto) samples collected from a 20 × 20 m study plot in Florida scrub. Sabal samples were used to assign small field-unidentifiable palmettos to Serenoa or Sabal and also as a negative control for clone detection. We then mathematically modelled clonal networks to estimate genet ages. Our results suggest that Serenoa predominantly propagate via vegetative sprouts and 10,000-year-old genets may be common, while showing no evidence of clone formation by Sabal. The results of this and our previous studies suggest that: (i) Serenoa has been part of scrub associations for thousands of years, (ii) Serenoa invasion are unlikely and (ii) once Serenoa is eliminated from local communities, its restoration will be difficult. Reevaluation of the current management tools and plans is an urgent task.

Effects of glyphosate-formulated herbicides on nontarget organisms have received much recent attention. Although previous studies have explored the effects of pesticides on growth, development, and mortality of various amphibian species, no studies have tested the potential effects of herbicides on oviposition site selection by amphibians. Recent studies have found that a combination of pesticide and predatory cues lead to significantly increased mortality of tadpoles of several anuran species relative to that caused by pesticide alone. In the present study, I tested two hypotheses: First, adult gray treefrogs avoid oviposition sites based on the presence of glyphosate formulation (Roundup). Second, pesticide avoidance is manifested to a greater degree when combined with predatory cues. In the spring of 2006, I conducted an outdoor experiment using artificial ponds by setting up four treatments: Predatory fish cue, Roundup (2.4 mg glyphosate acid equivalent [a.e.]/L), a combination of predatory fish cue + Roundup, and a control. This experiment was designed to assess oviposition site choice among the four treatments by gray treefrogs based on the number of eggs laid in each treatment. Gray treefrogs avoided oviposition in pools contaminated with fish cue and/ or Roundup and placed the significant majority of their eggs in control pools, which suggests that breeding adults may be able to prevent lethal exposure of herbicide to their offspring through oviposition site selection. The present study provided the first evidence that the concentration of herbicide that is expected to be found in the field potentially alters oviposition site choice by amphibians. However, the concentration of 2.4 mg a.e./L is unlikely ubiquitous in nature. Thus, the further investigation of environmental relevancy of this finding is critical.

Polyphenism, which allows a single genotype to express multiple discrete phenotypes in response to environmental cues, is an adaptive trait in heterogeneous environments. Pond hydroperiod is an important ecological parameter affecting amphibian life history, and variation in local pond hydrology has been hypothesized to play a role in species divergence via changes in polyphenism. The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) expresses life cycle polyphenism. Larvae develop along three possible pathways: metamorphosis to aquatic lunged adult via a terrestrial juvenile (eft) stage, metamorphosis directly to an aquatic lunged adult, or maturation directly to an aquatic gilled adult without metamorphosis (i.e., paedomorphosis). Subspecies of N. viridescens vary in their polyphenic patterns, suggesting possible adaptation to different environments. However, no studies have experimentally tested how genetic and environmental components contribute to the observed differences among subspecies and whether such differences may facilitate divergence. We tested whether adaptation to local pond hydrology via polyphenic changes existed among subspecies by rearing larvae of three subspecies (N. v. dorsalis, N. v. louisianensis, and N. v. viridescens) along three hydroperiod regimes (short, long, and constant) in outdoor artificial ponds. We found that larval N. v. viridescens obligately metamorphosed to efts under all hydroperiods, whereas N. v. dorsalis and N. v. louisianensis exhibited plasticity: larvae metamorphosed to efts under drying conditions but metamorphosed directly to aquatic adults or became paedomorphic in constant water. Also, N. v. viridescens metamorphosed to efts faster and at a smaller body size than the other two subspecies. These data suggest that subspecies of N. viridescens are adapted to different pond hydroperiods, supporting the potential for polyphenism to facilitate divergence. Canalizing selection for certain alternative phenotypes within a single species in which other populations remain plastic may play an important role in the initiation of ecological divergence.