Jamieson, David H.

Rust, Peter J.

Trauth, Stanley E.

UARK (University of Arkansas )

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science Volume 55 Article 28 2001 Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in Arkansas David H. Jamieson Arkansas State University - Newport Peter J. Rust Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Stanley E. Trauth Arkansas State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas  Part of the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Jamieson, David H.; Rust, Peter J.; and Trauth, Stanley E. (2001) "Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 55 , Article 28. Available at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol55/iss1/28 This article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able to read, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu. 179Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathusbrimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in ArkansasDavid H.Jamieson Pete RustArkansas State University - Newport Minnesota Department of Natural ResourcesFisheries DivisionDepartment of Biological Sciences7648 Victory BoulevardNewport, Arkansas 721125351 North Shore DriveDuluth,Minnesota 55804Stanley E. TrauthArkansas State UniversityDepartment of Biological SciencesP.O. Box 599State University, Arkansas 72467Desmognathus is part of the family Plethodontidae oflun-gless salamanders. Itis a large, multi-specific genus endem-ic to the eastern and southcentral United States and Canada.Members are characterized by a rigid lower jaw and a bodythat is usually more robust than slender. As adults they areoften found inor very near permanent streams and fish-lessponds (Behler and King, 1992). The genus is represented inArkansas by two species: D. fuscus, the most widespreadmember in North America, and D. brimleyorum, found onlyin the streams of southwestern Arkansas and southeasternOklahoma (Conant and Collins, 1991). The food habits ofseveral species of Desmognathus have been studied (Barbourand Lancaster, 1946; Hairston, 1949; Donovan and Folkerts,1972; Sites, 1978; Keen, 1979; Jones, 1981; Kleeberger, 1982;Davic, 1991; Camp, 1997). However, nothing to our knowl-edge is known about the diet of D. brimleyorum.Fifty-two adult Ouachita dusky salamanders (D.brimleyorum) were collected by hand from small streams onRich Mountain in Polk County, Arkansas, in the spring andsummer of 1980. Specimens were placed inplastic bags onice following capture and processed within 24 hr in the lab-oratory at Arkansas State University (ASU). Salamanderswere killed in a dilute chloretone solution and fixed in 10%formalin for 48 hr prior to examination. Stomachs wereremoved and stored in individual vials containing 70%ethanol. Food items were removed, counted, and identifiedusing a binocular dissecting microscope and dichotomouskeys provided by Merritt and Cummins (1984) and Borroret al. (1989). Afood item consisted of a whole specimen orparts representing a whole specimen.Coleoptera (A)(T)Coleoptera (L) (T=6, Aq=2) 5.76HymenopteraFormicidaeDiptera (A)Chironomidae (L)OrthopteraGryllacrididaeIsopodaLepidoptera (A)Ephemeroptera (L)OligochaetaDermapteraTrichoptera (A)AcariTurbellariaIctaluridaeNoturus sp.PlethodontidaeDesmognathus sp.Table 1. Stomach Contents of Desmognathus brimleyorumA=Adult,L=Larva, T=Terrestrial, Aq.=Aquatic% Occurrence Total NumberinStomachs ofTaxaN=52 Individuals17.30 14817.30 915.38 111.92 19.60 57.69 43.84 33.84 23.84 31.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 128.84 38Desmognathus brimleyorum feeds predominately onarthropods (Table 1). Although D. brimleyorum is stronglyaquatic as an adult (Conant and Collins, 1991), most of thefood items (89%) were terrestrial in origin. The most com-monly encountered food items were adult terrestrial beetles(Coleoptera), ants (Formicidae), and adult flies (Diptera). Asimilar study of adult D.fuscus from Tennessee revealed thatspecies' diet to be as much as 85% terrestrial (Sites, 1978).Barbour and Lancaster (1946) and Bennett and Bellis (1972)reported similar findings from their food habits studies of D.fuscus. Davic (1991) reported a significant ontogenetic shift inthe diet of the closely related blackbelly salamander, D.quadramaculatus, in North Carolina. The data indicated anabrupt shift from aquatic to aerial prey associated withmeta- Nematoda (Parasitic)Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55, 2001179Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55 [2001], Art. 28Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2001»>180Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), inArkansasmorphosis. Itsuggests that the aquatic items inthe diet of D.brimleyorum may be consumed by younger aged adultswhich are less likely to leave the stream to forage. Furtherstudy is needed to better understand this potential behaviorinD.brimleyorum. Future research should also focus on foodpreference, seasonal variation, and interspecific competi-tion.In addition, nematodes were present in 15 of the 52(28.84%) stomachs examined. Atotal of 38 individuals werefound. McAllister et al. (1995) did an extensive study of theparasites of D. brimleyorum and found four species of para-sitic nematodes in the stomach or intestine of 41 specimensexamined.We tnank the Department of Biological Sciences atArkansas State University-Newport and ASU-Jonesboro forlaboratory facilities and technical support. A scientific col-lecting permit was provided to S.E.T. by the Arkansas Gameand Fish Commission.Literature CitedBarbour, R. W. and L. Y.Lancaster. 1946. Food habits ofDesmognathus fuscus inKentucky. Copeia, 1946: 48-49.Behler, J. and F. W. King.1992. The Audubon Society fieldguide to North American reptiles and amphibians.Knopf Publ., New York, 356 pp.Bennett, B.M.and E. D.Bellis. 1972. Comparative foodhabits of Desmognathus f. fuscus and Desmognathus o.ochrophaeus along a Pennsylvania stream. Proc.Pennsylvania Acad. Sci. 46:57-58.Borror, D.J., C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F.Johnson. 1989.An introduction to the study of insects. SaundersCollege Publ., Philadelphia, 875 pp.Camp, C. D.1997. The status of the black-bellied salaman-der {Desmognathus quadramaculatus) as a predator of het-erospecific salamanders in Appalachian streams. J.Herpetol. 31:616-619.Conant, R. andj. T. Collins. 1991. Afield guide to reptilesand amphibians of eastern and central North America.Houghton MifflinCo., Boston, 3rd ed., 450 pp.Davic, R. V. 1991. Ontogenetic shift in the diet ofDesmognathus quadramaculatus.]. Herpetol. 25:108-111.Donovan, L. A. and G. W. Folkerts. 1972. Foods of theseepage salamander, Desmognathus aeneus.Herpetologica 28:35-37.Eiairston, N. G., Sr. 1949. The local distribution and ecol-ogy of the plethodontid salamanders of the southernAppalachians. Ecol. Monog., 19:49-73.[ones, R. L. 1981. Distribution and ecology of the seepagesalamander Desmognathus aeneus Brown and Bishop(Amphibia: Plethodontidae), in Tennessee. Brimleyana7:95-100.Keen, W. H.1979. Feeding and activity patterns in the sala-mander Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Urodela:Plethodontidae). J. Herpetol. 13:461-467.Kleeberger, S. R. 1982. An empirical analysis of competi-tion in the salamanders Desmognathus monticola and D.quadramaculatus. Unpublished Ph.D. Diss., Kent StateUniversity, Kent, Ohio. 157 pp.Merritt, R. W. and K.W. Cummins. 1984. An introduc-tion to the aquatic insects of North America 2nd Ed.Kendall-Hunt Publ. Co., Dubuque, IA.441 pp.McAllister, C.T.,C. R. Bursey, S.J. Upton, S. E. Trauth,and D. B. Conn. 1995. Parasites of Desmognathusbrimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from theOuachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. J.Helminthol. Soc. Wash. 62:150-156.Sites, J. W.,Jr. 1978. The foraging strategy of the dusky sala-mander, Desmognathus fuscus, (Amphibia, Urodela,Plethodontidae): an empirical approach to predationtheory. J. Herpetol. 12:373-383.Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55, 2001180Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55 [2001], Art. 28https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol55/iss1/28

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Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in Arkansas

ScholarWorks@UARK

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of ScienceVolume 55 Article 282001Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander,Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata:Plethodontidae), in ArkansasDavid H. JamiesonArkansas State University - NewportPeter J. RustMinnesota Department of Natural ResourcesStanley E. TrauthArkansas State UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaasPart of the Zoology CommonsThis article is available for use under the Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0). Users are able toread, download, copy, print, distribute, search, link to the full texts of these articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking priorpermission from the publisher or the author.This General Note is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of the ArkansasAcademy of Science by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact scholar@uark.edu.Recommended CitationJamieson, David H.; Rust, Peter J.; and Trauth, Stanley E. (2001) "Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathusbrimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in Arkansas," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science: Vol. 55 , Article 28.Available at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol55/iss1/28179Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathusbrimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in ArkansasDavid H.Jamieson Pete RustArkansas State University - Newport Minnesota Department of Natural ResourcesFisheries DivisionDepartment of Biological Sciences7648 Victory BoulevardNewport, Arkansas 721125351 North Shore DriveDuluth,Minnesota 55804Stanley E. TrauthArkansas State UniversityDepartment of Biological SciencesP.O. Box 599State University, Arkansas 72467Desmognathus is part of the family Plethodontidae oflun-gless salamanders. Itis a large, multi-specific genus endem-ic to the eastern and southcentral United States and Canada.Members are characterized by a rigid lower jaw and a bodythat is usually more robust than slender. As adults they areoften found inor very near permanent streams and fish-lessponds (Behler and King, 1992). The genus is represented inArkansas by two species: D. fuscus, the most widespreadmember in North America, and D. brimleyorum, found onlyin the streams of southwestern Arkansas and southeasternOklahoma (Conant and Collins, 1991). The food habits ofseveral species of Desmognathus have been studied (Barbourand Lancaster, 1946; Hairston, 1949; Donovan and Folkerts,1972; Sites, 1978; Keen, 1979; Jones, 1981; Kleeberger, 1982;Davic, 1991; Camp, 1997). However, nothing to our knowl-edge is known about the diet of D. brimleyorum.Fifty-two adult Ouachita dusky salamanders (D.brimleyorum) were collected by hand from small streams onRich Mountain in Polk County, Arkansas, in the spring andsummer of 1980. Specimens were placed inplastic bags onice following capture and processed within 24 hr in the lab-oratory at Arkansas State University (ASU). Salamanderswere killed in a dilute chloretone solution and fixed in 10%formalin for 48 hr prior to examination. Stomachs wereremoved and stored in individual vials containing 70%ethanol. Food items were removed, counted, and identifiedusing a binocular dissecting microscope and dichotomouskeys provided by Merritt and Cummins (1984) and Borroret al. (1989). Afood item consisted of a whole specimen orparts representing a whole specimen.Coleoptera (A)(T)Coleoptera (L) (T=6, Aq=2) 5.76HymenopteraFormicidaeDiptera (A)Chironomidae (L)OrthopteraGryllacrididaeIsopodaLepidoptera (A)Ephemeroptera (L)OligochaetaDermapteraTrichoptera (A)AcariTurbellariaIctaluridaeNoturus sp.PlethodontidaeDesmognathus sp.Table 1. Stomach Contents of Desmognathus brimleyorumA=Adult,L=Larva, T=Terrestrial, Aq.=Aquatic% Occurrence Total NumberinStomachs ofTaxaN=52 Individuals17.30 14817.30 915.38 111.92 19.60 57.69 43.84 33.84 23.84 31.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 11.92 128.84 38Desmognathus brimleyorum feeds predominately onarthropods (Table 1). Although D. brimleyorum is stronglyaquatic as an adult (Conant and Collins, 1991), most of thefood items (89%) were terrestrial in origin. The most com-monly encountered food items were adult terrestrial beetles(Coleoptera), ants (Formicidae), and adult flies (Diptera). Asimilar study of adult D.fuscus from Tennessee revealed thatspecies' diet to be as much as 85% terrestrial (Sites, 1978).Barbour and Lancaster (1946) and Bennett and Bellis (1972)reported similar findings from their food habits studies of D.fuscus. Davic (1991) reported a significant ontogenetic shift inthe diet of the closely related blackbelly salamander, D.quadramaculatus, in North Carolina. The data indicated anabrupt shift from aquatic to aerial prey associated withmeta- Nematoda (Parasitic)Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55, 2001179Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55 [2001], Art. 28Published by Arkansas Academy of Science, 2001»>180Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), inArkansasmorphosis. Itsuggests that the aquatic items inthe diet of D.brimleyorum may be consumed by younger aged adultswhich are less likely to leave the stream to forage. Furtherstudy is needed to better understand this potential behaviorinD.brimleyorum. Future research should also focus on foodpreference, seasonal variation, and interspecific competi-tion.In addition, nematodes were present in 15 of the 52(28.84%) stomachs examined. Atotal of 38 individuals werefound. McAllister et al. (1995) did an extensive study of theparasites of D. brimleyorum and found four species of para-sitic nematodes in the stomach or intestine of 41 specimensexamined.We tnank the Department of Biological Sciences atArkansas State University-Newport and ASU-Jonesboro forlaboratory facilities and technical support. A scientific col-lecting permit was provided to S.E.T. by the Arkansas Gameand Fish Commission.Literature CitedBarbour, R. W. and L. Y.Lancaster. 1946. Food habits ofDesmognathus fuscus inKentucky. Copeia, 1946: 48-49.Behler, J. and F. W. King.1992. The Audubon Society fieldguide to North American reptiles and amphibians.Knopf Publ., New York, 356 pp.Bennett, B.M.and E. D.Bellis. 1972. Comparative foodhabits of Desmognathus f. fuscus and Desmognathus o.ochrophaeus along a Pennsylvania stream. Proc.Pennsylvania Acad. Sci. 46:57-58.Borror, D.J., C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F.Johnson. 1989.An introduction to the study of insects. SaundersCollege Publ., Philadelphia, 875 pp.Camp, C. D.1997. The status of the black-bellied salaman-der {Desmognathus quadramaculatus) as a predator of het-erospecific salamanders in Appalachian streams. J.Herpetol. 31:616-619.Conant, R. andj. T. Collins. 1991. Afield guide to reptilesand amphibians of eastern and central North America.Houghton MifflinCo., Boston, 3rd ed., 450 pp.Davic, R. V. 1991. Ontogenetic shift in the diet ofDesmognathus quadramaculatus.]. Herpetol. 25:108-111.Donovan, L. A. and G. W. Folkerts. 1972. Foods of theseepage salamander, Desmognathus aeneus.Herpetologica 28:35-37.Eiairston, N. G., Sr. 1949. The local distribution and ecol-ogy of the plethodontid salamanders of the southernAppalachians. Ecol. Monog., 19:49-73.[ones, R. L. 1981. Distribution and ecology of the seepagesalamander Desmognathus aeneus Brown and Bishop(Amphibia: Plethodontidae), in Tennessee. Brimleyana7:95-100.Keen, W. H.1979. Feeding and activity patterns in the sala-mander Desmognathus ochrophaeus (Urodela:Plethodontidae). J. Herpetol. 13:461-467.Kleeberger, S. R. 1982. An empirical analysis of competi-tion in the salamanders Desmognathus monticola and D.quadramaculatus. Unpublished Ph.D. Diss., Kent StateUniversity, Kent, Ohio. 157 pp.Merritt, R. W. and K.W. Cummins. 1984. An introduc-tion to the aquatic insects of North America 2nd Ed.Kendall-Hunt Publ. Co., Dubuque, IA.441 pp.McAllister, C.T.,C. R. Bursey, S.J. Upton, S. E. Trauth,and D. B. Conn. 1995. Parasites of Desmognathusbrimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from theOuachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma. J.Helminthol. Soc. Wash. 62:150-156.Sites, J. W.,Jr. 1978. The foraging strategy of the dusky sala-mander, Desmognathus fuscus, (Amphibia, Urodela,Plethodontidae): an empirical approach to predationtheory. J. Herpetol. 12:373-383.Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55, 2001180Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, Vol. 55 [2001], Art. 28http://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol55/iss1/28

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Food Habits of the Ouachita Dusky Salamander, Desmognathus brimleyorum (Caudata: Plethodontidae), in Arkansas

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