Thesis (Ph. D.)--North Carolina State University, 2002. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 21, 2004). Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Marshall University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 85 p. with maps and illustrations. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-35).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Ecology and Evolution, March 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--East Tennessee State University, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-36). Also available via Internet. Adobe Acrobat .pdf file, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

The Gray Fossil Site (GFS) of northeastern Tennessee has yielded a diverse salamander fossil assemblage for the southern Appalachian Mio-Pliocene. This assemblage includes at least five taxa (Ambsytoma sp.; Plethodon sp., Spelerpinae, gen. et sp. indet., Desmognathus sp.; and Notophthalmus sp.) from three families (Ambystomatidae, Plethodontidae, and Salamandridae, respectively). All taxa are present in the area today and support a woodland-pond interpretation of the site. Reported specimens represent the earliest record of their families in the Appalachian Mountains (and the earliest record of Plethodontidae and Ambystomatidae east of the Mississippi River); with the Notophthalmus sp. vertebrae being the only Mio-Pliocene body fossil known for the Salamandridae in North America. The Desmognathus sp. specimens may help shed light on the evolutionary origins of the genus Desmognathus, which purportedly has its roots in this region during the Mio-Pliocene.

Little information is available concerning the nematode parasites of salamanders in California. Lehmann (1954) reported the finding of Oxyuris dubia Leidy 1856, in the rectum of 33 Ensatine e. Eschscholtzii from Sonoma County, California, and in 3 of 10 Batrachoseps a. Attenuatus, from San Francisco County, California. He also reported Oxyuris magnivulvaris Rankin 1937 in the rectum of 1 to 2 Aneides flavipunctatus, from Marin County, California and Rhabdias sp., from lungs of 2 of 12 aquatic Triturus torosus from Contra Costa County, California. Lehmann (1960) reported O. dubia from the cloaca of 1 Aneides flavipunctatus and 3 Aneides lugubris taken in Marin and Sonoma Counties, California. Several similar studies have been made in other states citing the occurrence of nematodes in various species of salamanders. There is an even greater paucity of information concerning parasitism in those salamander species inhabiting the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. This investigation is concerned with the four most common salamanders of the central California clopes, Aneides lugubris Hallowell, Batrachoseps attenuatus attenuatus Eschscholtz, Ensatina eschscholtzii platensis Espada, and Taricha torosa sierrae Twitty. Individuals of these species were collected and examined for parasites over the fall, winter and spring months, commencing in the fall of 1960 and extending through the spring of 1962. Data were collected to determine what nematode species inhabit these hosts and to ascertain the incidence and sites of infection. An attempt was also made to determine whether time of year, environmental conditions, and geographic distribution are of particular significance in the host-parasite relationships studied. A second group of salamanders which included Aneides lugubris Hallowell and Taricha torosa Rathke was examined. Both of these species were taken in a coastal region and were used as a comparison group Special attention has been directed to the study of Oxyuris dubia Leidy, 1856, with the intent of clarifying Leidy’s description of this species. This nematode is a frequent parasite of the salamanders studied, and special consideration has been given to the culturing of their eggs in an attempt to better understand the pattern of development.

No description available.

No description available.

The overall goal of this project was to provide baseline data on amphibian species richness, relative abundance, and habitat use for a long-term landscape ecology study on MeadWestvaco industrial forest in the Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia. From results of area-constrained daytime searches (10 m x 10 m plots) across the landscape, I developed 9 regression models to predict amphibian relative abundance. I constructed models for each year for all plots on all habitat types, plots that were in a Stream Management Zone (SMZ), and plots that were in upland, or non-SMZ, habitat. Distance to perennial or ephemeral streams or perennial ponds (SMZ classification), the amount of available rocks along transects, and site index were the 3 most important habitat variables in models for all plots combined and were responsible for 24-32% of the inherent variation in population relative abundance. Other habitat variables that were significant in models were year, % canopy cover, the amount of available woody debris of decomposition classes 3-5 along transects, % woody stems (<7.5 cm DBH), soil pH, and % herbaceous vegetation. R2PRESS values for all 9 models ranged from 0.08 to 0.35. Amphibian relative abundance showed positive relationships with all significant habitat variables with the exception of year and % woody stems. In natural cover object use/availability analyses, I discovered salamanders preferred rocks over woody debris, relative to the amount available of each. Salamanders preferred flat rocks to any other shape, flagstones to any other type of rock, and rock lengths in the 31-40 cm class. Preferred wood widths were in class 5-10 cm, while preferred wood lengths were in class <50 cm; salamanders exhibited strong preferences for wood in higher states of decomposition (class 3-5). I provided baseline, preharvest data for 28-acre reference areas on 9 forest compartments scheduled for clearcuts. I sampled all 9 reference areas preharvest and sampled 3 during year 1 postharvest using coverboard and night plot surveys. On these 3 areas, species richness declined from preharvest to postharvest, but species diversity showed little change. Overall relative abundance declined significantly preharvest to postharvest with coverboard sampling (p=0.0172) and night plot sampling (p=0.0113). At coverboard stations, relative abundance declined significantly from preharvest to postharvest at a distance of 5-10 m (p=0.0163) and 40-50 m (p=0.0193) away from adjacent mature forest. Finally, using Pianka's index, I compared the night plot and coverboard sampling techniques in terms of proportions of the 4 most common species captured. These sampling techniques on average were >80% similar for all reference areas. / Master of Science

A major goal of evolutionary biology and ecology is to understand why species richness varies among clades. Previous studies have suggested that variation in richness among clades might be related to variation in rates of morphological evolution among clades (e.g., body size and shape). Other studies have suggested that richness patterns might be related to variation in rates of climatic-niche evolution. However, few studies, if any, have tested the relative importance of these variables in explaining patterns of richness among clades. Here, we test their relative importance among major clades of Plethodontidae, the most species-rich family of salamanders. Earlier studies have suggested that climatic-niche evolution explains patterns of diversification among plethodontid clades, whereas rates of morphological evolution do not. A subsequent study stated that rates of morphological evolution instead explained patterns of species richness among plethodontid clades (along with "ecological limits" on richness of clades, leading to saturation of clades with species, given limited resources). However, they did not consider climatic-niche evolution. Using phylogenetic multiple regression, we show that rates of climatic-niche evolution explain most variation in richness among plethodontid clades, whereas rates of morphological evolution do not. We find little evidence that ecological limits explain patterns of richness among plethodontid clades. We also test whether rates of morphological and climatic-niche evolution are correlated, and find that they are not. Overall, our results help explain richness patterns in a major amphibian group and provide possibly the first test of the relative importance of climatic niches and morphological evolution in explaining diversity patterns.