Northern two-lined salamander

Northern two-lined salamander
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Urodela
Family: Plethodontidae
Genus: Eurycea
Species: E. bislineata
Binomial name
Eurycea bislineata
(Green, 1818)
Synonyms

Salamandra bislineata Green, 1818

The northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae found in Canada and the United States.[2] Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, and urban areas. It is more water-oriented than the related northern redback salamander, and can often be found in and around water such as rain puddles, streams, swamps, and damp stream beds, whereas the northern redback tends to be found in damp ground, but usually not near open water.

Description

The northern two-lined salamander is a small salamander, with adults ranging from 65–120 mm in total length.[3] This salamander is yellow or yellowish-brown, with two black stripes running down the back which tends to break up after the base of the tail. The flanks are mottled grayish or brown.[4] The belly is pale yellowish, nearly transparent. There are four toes on the fore feet and five toes on the hind feet.[5] On the side of the body are 14–16 costal grooves.[3]

Habitat and distribution

This species prefers small rocky streams or seeps in forests, but may occur in moist areas far from running water.[3] Also, some data suggest this species may be found on stony shores of small lakes and rivers.[6] Northern two-lined salamanders are found throughout northeastern North America, ranging from central and southern Quebec, New Brunswick, northeastern Ontario, and the northeastern United States, from central Virginia and Ohio northwards to the Great Lakes.[3][4] Compared to many other species in the genus Eurycea, E. bislineata has a large geographic distribution.[3]

Reproduction

The reproductive strategy of the northern two-lined salamander begins with an elaborate courtship. It may take place from September (in the southern parts of its range) to May (in the north).[3] Observations of courtship in the species were made based on individuals held in captivity by Noble (1929), and a summary of these observations are: the male becomes restless, as if searching for a female. Upon finding the female, he will lift her by pushing his snout under her cloacal region or chest. The male adopts a distinct posture, bending his body laterally around her snout. The pair may remain in this position for an hour or more. The female eventually slips out of this posture and begins to straddle the male's tail with her fore limbs, while pressing her chin against the base of the male's tail. The male may undulate his tail from side to side in a slow and exaggerated manner, and the female moves her head from side to side, alternately from the male’s tail. This tail-straddling walk may last for over an hour, at which point the male deposits a spermatophore, leading the female to walk over it, at which time she may either accept or reject the male’s sperm.[7] The spermatophore of this species is described as conical, 2.5 mm in height and with a colorless stalk that tapers towards the tip.[8]

This species exhibits sexual dimorphism in the shape of the premaxillary teeth. The teeth of breeding males are unicuspid and elongated when compared to the shorter bicuspid teeth of the females.[3] These enlarged teeth are used to help abrade the female’s skin and introduce the secretions on the males mental gland, found on the chin, into her circulatory system, which stimulates her to mate.[9] Prior to egg laying, 'Eurycea bislineata bislineata).[10] Communal nesting in northern two-lined salamanders has been documented on several occasions and localities; New York,[11][12] in Ontario,[13] and likely in Ohio.[14]

Larval ecology

Upon hatching, the gilled larva are about 10 mm long, and remain in slow-moving pools, or less frequently, hiding in crevices between rocks and boulders in swift-flowing streams.[15] The larvae do not begin feeding until their yolk sacs are reabsorbed, at which point they begin to feed on benthic invertebrates by prowling the bottom of the stream. Typical prey items for northern two-lined salamander larvae include chironomid larvae and other dipteran larvae, stonefly larvae, cladocera, and copepods.[3] Predators of the larvae are many, such as fish, crayfish, and other salamander larvae, such as the larger northern spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus).[16] The larval period of E. bislineata is variable depending on latitude. In the southern portion of their range, such as New York, metamorphosis occurs at 50 mm total length or two years old, while further north, such as in Quebec and likely Ontario, metamorphosis takes place at nearly 70 mm total length, or three years old.[17] The larvae over-winter in deeper pools not prone to freezing.[3]

Adult ecology

Once the larvae reach their maximum size, metamorphosis occurs. Sexual maturity is reached in this species at three to four years old.[3] The adults and juveniles tend to be restricted to the stream edges, hiding under rocks and other debris during the day.[18] Seasonal migration does occur, but not all individuals undertake them. Research done in Quebec suggests a postbreeding migration into the forest occurs in June. These adult salamanders may move over 100 m from the stream. The second migration is that of the newly metamorphosed juveniles leaving the stream, but they tend to remain closer to it. About 75% of individuals dispersing over 100 m into the forest did not return, and they were believed to have been consumed by predators. The majority of above-ground movements are made after dark and in wet weather.[19] The diets of the adults are more wide-ranging than the larvae because of the amount of habitat that can be exploited, both terrestrial and aquatic. The movements of juveniles and adults usually occurs in the first hour after dark, when they emerge from under their retreats and forage along the stream bank or forest floor. Food items recorded include wood roaches, arachnids, worms, isopods, millipedes, beetles, snails, springtails, flies, hymenopterans, sowbugs, mayflies, annelids, stonefly nymphs, and thrips and rarely trout fry.[20] Adult population densities are variable by habitat quality. Adults are also territorial, so if resources are scarce, the population is less dense. In some populations, densities are as low as 0.02-0.04 animals/m2.[21] In other areas, localized densities can be as high as 11 individuals /m2.[22] Adults overwinter up to 80 cm deep into the soil of the stream bank in cold climates, but may remain somewhat active in southern regions, and may continue feeding during this period.[3]

Predators and defense

Because of its small size and localized distribution around streams, the northern two-lined salamander is preyed upon by a variety of animals. Predators include birds, such as the eastern screech owl (Otus asio), snakes such as the eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) and ringneck snakes (Diadophis punctatus). Other important predators of the northern two-lined salamander larvae are other salamanders, such as the large, stream-dwelling larvae of the northern spring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) and the blackbelly salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus).[3] Response to a predator is variable in E. bislineata . Some individuals, when confronted with a garter snake, will remain motionless when contacted by the head of the snake, but would engage in a protean flip, where the tail is held over the body when contacted by the snake's tongue.[23] Tail autotomy is common in E. bislineata , as a result of a struggle with a predator. Losing part of the tail increases the likelihood of surviving the encounter with a predator. In some populations, up to 32% of animals had autotomized tails.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Hammerson, G. (2004). Eurycea bislineata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 23 July 2007.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Eurycea bislineata (Green, 1818)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Petranka, J.W. (1998). Salamanders of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press. pp. 587.
  4. 1 2 MacCulloch, R.D. (2002). The ROM field guide to amphibians and reptiles of Ontario. Royal Ontario Museum, McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, Ontario. pp.168.
  5. ↑ Harding, J.H. (1997). Amphibians and reptiles of the great lakes region. University of Michigan Press. pp. 327.
  6. ↑ Cook, F. (1984). Introduction aux amphibiens et reptiles du Canada. Musee Nationaux du Canada. Ottawa. pp. 211
  7. ↑ Noble, G.K. (1929). The relationship of courtship to the secondary sexual characteristic of the two-lined salamander. American Museum Novitates 362:1-5.
  8. ↑ Organ, J.A. and L.A. Lowenthal. (1963). Comparative studies of macroscopic and microscopic features of spermatophores of some plethodontid salamanders. Copeia 1963:659-669.
  9. ↑ Kozak, K.H. (2003). Sexual isolation and courtship behavior in salamanders of the Eurycea bislineata species complex, with comments on the evolution on the evolution of the mental gland and pheromone delivery behavior in the Plethodontidae. Southeastern Naturalist 2:281-292
  10. ↑ Journal of Herpetology. 8:81-83.
  11. ↑ Bishop, S. C. 1941. Salamanders of New York. New York State Museum Bulletin. 324: 1-365
  12. ↑ Wood, J. T., and N. H. McCutcheon (1954). Ovarian egg complements and the nests of the Two-lined Salamander Eurycea b. bislineata × cirrigera, from southeastern Virginia. American Midland Naturalist 52: 433-436
  13. ↑ LeGros, D.L. (2012). Communal Oviposition in the Northern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata) in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. The Canadian Field Naturalist 125:363-365
  14. ↑ Baumann, W.L. and M. Huelsman. (1982). Nests of the two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata bislineata). Journal of Herpetology 8:81-83.
  15. ↑ Barr, G.E. and K.J. Babbitt (2002). Effects of biotic and abiotic factors of the distribution and abundance of larval two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata) across spatial scales. Oecologica 133:176-185
  16. ↑ Harding, J.H. (1997). Amphibians and reptiles of the great lakes region. University of Michigan Press. pp. 327.
  17. ↑ Trapido, H. and R.T. Clausen (1940). The larvae of Eurycea bislineata major. Copeia 1940:244-246.
  18. ↑ Crocker,J.B., M.S. Bank, C.S. Loftin, R.E. Jung Brown (2007). Influence of observers and stream flow on northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata bislineata) relative abundance estimates in Acadia and Shenandoah National Parks, USA. Journal of Herpetology 41: 325-329
  19. ↑ MacCulloch, R.D. and J.R. Bider. (1975). Phenology, migrations, circadian rhythm and the effect of precipitation on the activity of (Eurycea bislineata bislineata) in Quebec. Herpetologica 31:433-439.
  20. ↑ Holomuzki, J.R. (1980). Synchronous foraging and dietary overalp of three species of Plethodontid salamanders. Herpetologica 36(2):109-115.
  21. ↑ Burton, T.M. and G.E. Likens (1975). Salamander populations and biomass in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Copeia 975:54.
  22. ↑ Stewart, M.M. (1968). Population dynamics of Eurycea bislineata in New York. Journal of Herpetology 2:176-177.
  23. ↑ Ducey, P.K. and E.D. Brodie. (1983). Salamanders respond selectively to contacts with snakes: survival advantages of alternative antipredator strategies. Copeia 1983:1036-1041
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