Salamander Social Strategies: Living Together in Female-Male Pairs

Jaeger, Robert G.; Peterson, Megan G.; Gollmann, Günter; Gollmann, Birgit; Townsend, Victor R.

doi:10.2307/1566127

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There is some evidence that P. cinereus follow social monogamy for a mating strategy. Several articles (e.g., Guffey, MaKinster, & Jaeger, 1998;Gillette et al, 2000;Jaeger et al, 2001;Jaeger, Gillette, & Cooper, 2002) support this, noting that males and females exposed to unfamiliar individuals (and their scents) behave more aggressively than when exposed to familiar or partner individuals. Males and females were observed to be more aggressive towards polygamous partners than monogamous partners or strangers (Jaeger et al, 2016).…”

Section: (D) Breeding and Courtshipmentioning

confidence: 95%

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

Fisher‐Reid¹,

Grayson²,

Grouleff³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

What makes a model organism? Identifying the qualities of a model organism has been given a great deal of attention in the biomolecular sciences, but less so in the fields of evolution, ecology, and behavior (EEB). In EEB, biotic and abiotic variation are features to understand, not bugs to get rid of, and EEB scientists often select organisms to study which best suit the scientific question at hand. Successful EEB model organisms can be studied at multiple biological scales and have a wealth of accumulated knowledge on which current research programs build. A recent call within EEB to invest in the inclusive development of diverse model systems and scientists has led us to evaluate the standing of the widespread, abundant, terrestrial salamander we study, the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). We first look at salamanders as EEB models more generally, to determine where P. cinereus fits in this broader context. We next present a comprehensive review of the literature on the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) since the last comprehensive review was completed in 1998. The core of our paper reviews 410 recent studies and highlights inconsistencies, gaps in our knowledge, and future directions in the context of the 1998 review. Finally, we present a collaborative research network, SPARCnet, as a nascent infrastructure for continued research on P. cinereus. Here, we especially discuss how this type of infrastructure can be broadly applied not just to other salamanders, but to other model systems, so that the future of EEB research may benefit from models which accurately represent, in Darwin’s words, “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful.”

show abstract

Section: (D) Breeding and Courtshipmentioning

confidence: 95%

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

Fisher‐Reid¹,

Grayson²,

Grouleff³

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…To test the hypothesis that males and females would differ in their association preference when choosing simultaneously between a male and a female in the dual choice test (3), we compared the SOP between male and female focal salamanders using a directed t-test (γ = 0.04 and δ = 0.01; Rice and Gaines, 1994) for unequal variances. We used a directed test because prior studies suggest that salamanders prefer to associate with the opposite sex (Peterson et al, 2000;Jaeger et al, 2001;Thaker, Gabor and Fries, 2006). To examine whether males and females exhibited preference for the opposite sex during the dual choice test, we tested if SOP (SOP of 0 indicates no preference) in test 3 was significantly greater than 0 for females (preference for males) and less than 0 for males (preference for females) using one-sample, one-tailed t-tests.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Territoriality or avoidance of conspecifics is not expected when resources are either very limited or very abundant (Carpenter and Macmillen, 1976;reviewed in Maher and Lott, 2000) while aggregation of adult salamanders may occur in situations involving a shared resource such as food, shelter, or mates (Wilson, 1975). The sex of salamanders appears to also influence aggregation patterns as intersexual pairs are more common than intrasexual pairs (Peterson et al, 2000;Jaeger et al, 2001) and females are more likely to aggregate together than are males (Peterson et al, 2000;Verrell and Davis, 2003). In cave ecosystems, resources such as food or mates are typically limited and sparsely distributed (Poulson and White, 1969;Culver, 1982; Barr and Holsinger, 1985), which may result in reduced aggregative tendencies in cave-adapted species.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of water-borne chemical cues in mediating social interactions of the Texas blind salamander, Eurycea rathbuni

Gabor

Gonzales

Epp³

2010

Amphib Reptilia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Association patterns and social interactions of salamanders vary given habitat heterogeneity and behavioural characteristics. Cave ecosystems are generally food limited and encountering mates may be rare. Little is known about the mode of social interactions and preferences in cave-adapted salamanders. We examined social interactions of the caveadapted, federally endangered, Texas blind salamander, Eurycea rathbuni, by examining sex-specific association patterns. We predicted that non-visual (chemical) cues would be an important mode of communication. We found no difference in association patterns between the sexes when presented with a single conspecific and no aggregative behaviours were detected. Interestingly, when given a simultaneous choice between a male or female, females preferred to associate with male conspecifics while males showed no clear preference. The results suggest that females of E. rathbuni use chemical cues to either seek males or avoid females and provide valuable insight into the little known social behaviour of this species and possibly other similar species.

show abstract

“…Across species and season, the sex of adult salamanders can be an important determinant of aggregation patterns. For example, during the non-breeding season, red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) tend to aggregate in intersexual pairs more than in intrasexual pairs (Jaeger et al, 2001). During the courtship season, although intersexual pairs of P. cinereus are found more often than intrasexual pairs, the proportion of female pairs is higher than male pairs (Peterson et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Gehlbach, Kimmel and Weems, 1969;Pough and Wilson, 1970;Nussbaum, Brodie and Storm, 1983) and Plethodon spp. (Heatwole, 1960;Wells and Wells, 1976;Jaeger et al, 2001) form aggregations of both sexes during drier conditions because it reduces the rate of desiccation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cohabitation patterns of the San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana)

et al. 2010

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social interactions of conspecifics are a function of complex relationships involving resource defense, antipredatory tactics, and mate acquisition. Consequently, individuals often associate non-randomly with conspecifics in their habitats, with spatial distributions of adults ranging from territorial spacing to aggregations. Site tenacity and cohabitation patterns have been well studied in many species of terrestrial salamander; however, less is understood about these behaviors in aquatic species. We examined the cohabitation patterns of intrasexual and intersexual pairs of the federally threatened, paedomorphic San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana) under artificial shelters in a laboratory setting over a 20-day period. We found that intrasexual female pairs and intersexual pairs were found cohabiting more often than intrasexual male pairs. We also assessed site tenacity by examining shelter affinity and found that both males and females inhabited one of the two shelters more often than expected from random habitation, regardless of whether they were in intersexual or intrasexual pairings. Our results indicate that although both sexes of Eurycea nana exhibit site affinity, the sex of individuals is an important determinant of cohabitation patterns.

show abstract

Salamander Social Strategies: Living Together in Female-Male Pairs

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

The role of water-borne chemical cues in mediating social interactions of the Texas blind salamander, Eurycea rathbuni

Cohabitation patterns of the San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About