Predator Generalization Decreases the Effect of Introduced Predators in the San Marcos Salamander,Eurycea nana

Ethology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 118 (12) ◽  
pp. 1191-1197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew R. Davis ◽  
Kristen J. Epp ◽  
Caitlin R. Gabor
Keyword(s):  
Introduced Predators ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana

Threat sensitivity in the San Marcos salamander: effects of predator diet and prey experience

Behaviour ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen J. Epp
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Avoidance Response ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Threat Sensitivity ◽  
Graded Responses ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Adaptive Forgetting ◽  
Eurycea Nana ◽  
Avoidance Responses

Prey must constantly balance foraging and predator avoidance demands. Avoidance response efficiency may be improved when prey match the intensity of their avoidance behaviours to a perceived level of predatory threat (threat sensitivity). Additionally, experience with predators may influence the intensity of avoidance responses. I examined the possibility that experience with predators in the natural habitat would influence threat sensitive avoidance behaviours of an aquatic salamander, Eurycea nana, by comparing the intensity of avoidance responses to predators that had been fed a neutral diet (low-risk) or a diet of conspecifics (high-risk) between laboratory-reared and recently-collected adult salamanders. I found that laboratory-reared salamanders exhibited graded responses to low- and high-risk predators consistent with threat-sensitive predator avoidance. Predator-experienced salamanders (recently-collected), however, responded less intensely to all predators and their responses showed little evidence of threat sensitivity. These less intense responses observed in experienced salamanders may result from mechanisms of adaptive forgetting, which allow prey to respond to environmental variation. I discuss implications of these results for E. nana and other prey as well as highlighting the need for researchers to consider the longer-term experiences of prey used in studies of predation risk.

Mesohabitat associations of the threatened San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana) across its geographic range

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Diaz ◽  
Joe N. Fries ◽  
Timothy H. Bonner ◽  
Mara L. Alexander ◽  
Weston H. Nowlin
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Range ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana

Systematic Status of the San Marcos Salamander, Eurycea nana (Caudata: Plethodontidae)

Copeia ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 1998 (4) ◽  
pp. 1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul T. Chippindale ◽  
Andrew H. Price ◽  
David M. Hillis
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Status ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana

Genetic Variation and Structure in Eurycea nana, a Federally Threatened Salamander Endemic to the San Marcos Springs

2009 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren K. Lucas ◽  
Joe N. Fries ◽  
Caitlin R. Gabor ◽  
Chris C. Nice
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Federally Threatened ◽  
Eurycea Nana

Cohabitation patterns of the San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana)

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Thaker ◽  
Caitlin Gabor ◽  
Joe Fries ◽  
Kristen Epp
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Laboratory Setting ◽  
Resource Defense ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Mate Acquisition ◽  
Site Tenacity ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
Eurycea Nana

AbstractSocial 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.

Behavioral and physiological antipredator responses of the San Marcos salamander, Eurycea nana

2015 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 145-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew R. Davis ◽  
Caitlin R. Gabor
Keyword(s):  
Antipredator Responses ◽  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana

Kyphosis Associated with Microsporidial Myositis in San Marcos Salamanders, Eurycea nana

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn C. Gamble ◽  
Michael M. Garner ◽  
Gary West ◽  
Elizabeth S. Didier ◽  
Ann Cali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Marcos ◽  
Eurycea Nana
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