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The red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is a common woodland amphibian that is found throughout much of eastern North America. The species is important to forest ecological processes, and changes in their population density are often used to measure the impacts of forest management, pollution, and environmental change. Therefore, consistent methods of density estimation are required. In the first chapter, I review spatial capture-recapture, a modern modeling tool that incorporates spatial information to reliably estimate population density without the need for the ad-hoc methods that render other density estimates incomparable. It can also be used to make inferences on space-use, population dynamics, and connectivity. I then demonstrate the versatility of spatial capture-recapture using P. cinereus mark-recapture data collected from my study sites in central Pennsylvania. For the second chapter of this thesis, I use spatial capture-recapture and other modeling approaches to test hypotheses about P. cinereus climate change adaptive capacity. This salamander is a convenient model for understanding dispersal-limited species, so I tested eight hypotheses to see how behavioral plasticity and fitness were affected by climate variability. Based on previous evidence, I also tested whether a common color polymorphism is a useful visual cue for predicting within-population variation in climate tolerances. Using four years of mark-recapture information from Maryland, I found the color morph is not a useful indicator, but overall, the population did show strong climate preferences, indicating that population persistence could be threatened by warmer and drier conditions predicted in the future.
Documents in comprehensive detail a major environmental crisis: rapidly declining amphibian populations and the disturbing developmental problems that are increasingly prevalent within many amphibian species.
“Authoritative and comprehensive—provides an up-to-date description of the tool box of methods for inventorying and monitoring the diverse spectrum of reptiles. All biodiversity scientists will want to have it during project planning and as study progresses. A must for field biologists, conservation planners, and biodiversity managers.”—Jay M. Savage, San Diego State University “Kudos to the editors and contributors to this book. From the perspective of a non-ecologist such as myself, who only occasionally needs to intensively sample a particular site or habitat, the quality and clarity of this book has been well worth the wait.”—Jack W. Sites, Jr.
Consisting of more than six thousand species, amphibians are more diverse than mammals and are found on every continent save Antarctica. Despite the abundance and diversity of these animals, many aspects of the biology of amphibians remain unstudied or misunderstood. The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians aims to fill this gap in the literature on this remarkable taxon. It is a celebration of the diversity of amphibian life and the ecological and behavioral adaptations that have made it a successful component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Synthesizing seventy years of research on amphibian biology, Kentwood D. Wells addresses all major areas of inquiry, including phylogeny, classification, and morphology; aspects of physiological ecology such as water and temperature relations, respiration, metabolism, and energetics; movements and orientation; communication and social behavior; reproduction and parental care; ecology and behavior of amphibian larvae and ecological aspects of metamorphosis; ecological impact of predation on amphibian populations and antipredator defenses; and aspects of amphibian community ecology. With an eye towards modern concerns, The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians concludes with a chapter devoted to amphibian conservation. An unprecedented scholarly contribution to amphibian biology, this book is eagerly anticipated among specialists.
The generation of electricity by wind energy has the potential to reduce environmental impacts caused by the use of fossil fuels. Although the use of wind energy to generate electricity is increasing rapidly in the United States, government guidance to help communities and developers evaluate and plan proposed wind-energy projects is lacking. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects offers an analysis of the environmental benefits and drawbacks of wind energy, along with an evaluation guide to aid decision-making about projects. It includes a case study of the mid-Atlantic highlands, a mountainous area that spans parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This book will inform policy makers at the federal, state, and local levels.
Studies of animal behavior often assume that all members of a species exhibit the same behavior. Geographic Variation in Behavior shows that, on the contrary, there is substantional variation within species across a wide range of taxa. Including work from pioneers in the field, this volume provides a balanced overview of research on behavioral characteristics that vary geographically. The authors explore the mechanisms by which behavioral differences evolve and examine related methodological issues. Taken together, the work collected here demonstrates that genetically based geographic variation may be far more widespread than previously suspected. The book also shows how variation in behavior can illuminate both behavioral evolution and general evolutionary patterns. Unique among books on behavior in its emphasis on geographic variation, this volume is a valuable new resource for students and researchers in animal behavior and evolutionary biology.
One of the most obvious changes that has occurred in behavioural biology in recent years is that it has become conspicuously a problem orientated subject. Moreover, one of the most impor tant consequences of this has been to stimulate interdisciplinary links between evolutionary biology, zoology, ecology, anthro pology and psychology. The time is now right to ask questions which relate whole animals in the contexts of their ecosystems, with their social behaviour and development, with their perceptual and cog nitive capacities. These are new ways of looking at old problems, but we are still at the stage of finding out what kinds of questions to ask. For several years now I have been involved in teaching behavioural biology to students of psychology as well as zoology, and have greatly appreciated the opportunity to relate material across many different subject areas. It is the interfacing of prob lems, as in ecology and psychology for example, that makes 'more sense' of topics such as 'intelligence', responses to 'novelty', feeding strategies and socialleaming. The aim of the book is to provide readily digestible information in a number of areas of current interest in behavioural biology. Above all, it is intended to provide a basis for discussion and further inquiry.
This volume offers a state-of-the-art overview of plethodontid salamanders. Readers will find the best current understanding of many aspects of the evolution, systematics, development, morphology, life history, ecology, and field methodology of these animals.
Landscape ecology is an integrative and multi-disciplinary science and Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology reconciles the geological, botanical, zoological and human perspectives. In particular ,new paradigms and theories such as percolation, metapopulation, hierarchies, source-sink models have been integrated in this last edition with the recent theories on bio-complexity, information and cognitive sciences. Methods for studying landscape ecology are covered including spatial geometry models and remote sensing in order to create confidence toward techniques and approaches that require a high experience and long-time dedication. Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology is a textbook useful to present the landscape in a multi-vision perspective for undergraduate and graduate students of biology, ecology, geography, forestry, agronomy, landscape architecture and planning. Sociology, economics, history, archaeology, anthropology, ecological psychology are some sciences that can benefit of the holistic vision offered by this texbook.