First Name:
Keeley
Last Name:
Zimmerman
Major Department:
Biology
Thesis Director:
Lynn Siefferman
Date of Thesis:
May 2011
Populations of salamanders worldwide are in decline. These declines have been attributed to loss of habitat, pollution, invasive species, climate change and disease. Within species of salamanders, population abundance, body condition, size and age can indicate population viability and health. These data can aid conservation programs aimed at reducing the decline of local salamander populations. Numerous factors contribute to population trends in age, size and body condition including abiotic (temperature, elevation, presence of water, moisture content of the soil and time of year) and biotic (inter- and intraspecific competition) factors. The northern gray-cheeked salamander, Plethodon montanus, is found throughout the Southern Appalachians. To date, little data are available relating variation in elevation to size, age and body condition in P. montanus. During the spring and summer of 2010, salamanders were captured using both day (cover board) and night surveys along five transects that varied in elevation (1259 m to 1533 m) at Grandfather Mountain, Avery Co., North Carolina. Here, I present data on how body condition, age and size vary along this elevation gradient, and whether these characteristics influence nocturnal activity patterns. Knowledge of the body condition, population abundance, age and size of P. montanus will improve our understanding of the health of forest ecosystems and the persistence of this species.