SREL Reprint #3138

Summer microhabitat use of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) and Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) in an isolated wetland

Christopher M. Schalk1,2, Thomas M. Luhring1,3, Brian A. Crawford1

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA
2Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, 210 Nagle Hall, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-2258, USA
3Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 105 Tucker Hall, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA

Abstract: Although the habitats of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) and Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) have been described on a coarse scale; the microhabitat(s) of these species has not been examined. We trapped from 12 June 2008 to 1 July 2008 in an isolated wetland on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina where these two salamander species occur in sympatry. Traps were set in three different microhabitats; the water’s surface and benthic zone in deep water, and in a littoral zone. Siren lacertina captures were highest in the benthic zone, while A. means were captured more in the littoral zone. This differentiation in microhabitat usage may reflect a difference in prey availability or habitat structure; alternatively, it may be a response to interspecific interactions between species.

Keywords: Amphibian, aquatic habitat, aquatic salamanders, Caudata, depth, distribution.

SREL Reprint #3138

Schalk, C. M., T. M. Luhring, and B. A. Crawford. 2010. Summer microhabitat use of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) and Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) in an isolated wetland. Amphibia-Reptilia 31(2010): 251-256.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).