Terrestrial lungless salamanders are known to reach very high densities in forested ecosystems of the United States.
They can be important for the top down regulation of invertebrates
Diets of 57% (31 of 54) Plethodonsalamanders are still poorly known
The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) is a large plethodontid common in the Central Appalachians, however, its diet is only known from West Virginia
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18118.4768

Hutton, Jacob M.

Price, Steven J.

Richter, Stephen C.

English

Examining the diet of salamanders is important for understanding their effects on invertebrate communities and the interactions among sympatric salamander species. We
examined the diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander, Plethodon kentucki (Mittleman), in an old growth forest in southeastern Kentucky. A total of 763 prey items were recovered from 73 salamanders with an average of 10.75 prey items per stomach. The four most important prey groups were Formicidae (ants), Araneae (spiders), Coleoptera (beetles), and Collembola (springtails). Overall, we found a total of 58 different prey types in the stomach contents from 20 invertebrate orders. This study represents one of the few successful uses of nonlethal gastric lavage methods on a large plethodontid salamander and the first description of P. kentucki diet identified to family and genus. Future work should examine diet throughout the year, compare prey species composition to sympatric salamander species, and look at local prey abundances and diversity to explore salamander foraging behavior

Richter, Stephen C

Eastern Kentucky University

The Diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) in an Old Growth Forest of Southeastern Kentucky

Terrestrial lungless salamanders are known to reach very high densities in forested ecosystems of the United States.
They can be important for the top down regulation of invertebrates
Diets of 57% (31 of 54) Plethodon salamanders are still poorly known
The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) is a large plethodontid common in the Central Appalachians, however, its diet is only known from West Virginia
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.18118.4768

Eastern Kentucky UniversityEncompassEKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship2-2017The Diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander(Plethodon kentucki) in an old growth forest ofsoutheastern KentuckyJacob M. HuttonUniversity of KentuckySteven J. PriceUniversity of KentuckyStephen C. RichterEastern Kentucky UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://encompass.eku.edu/fs_researchPart of the Biology CommonsThis Poster is brought to you for free and open access by Encompass. It has been accepted for inclusion in EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship by anauthorized administrator of Encompass. For more information, please contact Linda.Sizemore@eku.edu.Recommended CitationHutton, Jacob M.; Price, Steven J.; and Richter, Stephen C., "The Diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) inan old growth forest of southeastern Kentucky", Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Annual Meeting,February 2017See	discussions,	stats,	and	author	profiles	for	this	publication	at:	https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313897748The	Diet	of	the	Cumberland	Plateau	Salamander	(Plethodon	kentucki)	in	an	old	growth	forest	of	southeastern	KentuckyPoster	·	February	2017DOI:	10.13140/RG.2.2.18118.47682CITATIONS0READS163	authors:Some	of	the	authors	of	this	publication	are	also	working	on	these	related	projects:The	Diets	of	Central	Appalachian	Salamanders	View	projectJacob	M.	HuttonUniversity	of	Kentucky5	PUBLICATIONS			0	CITATIONS			SEE	PROFILESteven	J.	PriceUniversity	of	Kentucky73	PUBLICATIONS			705	CITATIONS			SEE	PROFILEStephen	C.	RichterEastern	Kentucky	University38	PUBLICATIONS			455	CITATIONS			SEE	PROFILEAll	content	following	this	page	was	uploaded	by	Jacob	M.	Hutton	on	23	February	2017.The	user	has	requested	enhancement	of	the	downloaded	file.	All	in-text	references	underlined	in	blue	are	added	to	the	original	documentand	are	linked	to	publications	on	ResearchGate,	letting	you	access	and	read	them	immediately.The Diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) in an old growth forest of southeastern KentuckyJacob M. Hutton1,2, Steven J. Price1, and Stephen C. Richter21 Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546  2Department of Biological Sciences and Division of Natural Areas, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kentucky 40475 IntroductionAcknowledgements: We thank J. Alex Baecher for help with sampling and Daniel Douglas for assistance on micro-gastropod identification. We would also like to thank Robert Watts and Curtis Cox for their invaluable knowledge of LCW. Lastly, we would like to thank the Division of Natural Areas (EKU) for field station access and support. Research was performed under the Eastern Kentucky University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocol No. 05-2015 and Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources permit No. SC1611150.Discussion• Terrestrial lungless salamanders are known to reach very high densities in forested ecosystems of the United States• They can be important for the top down regulation of invertebrates• Diets of 57% (31 of 54) Plethodon salamanders are still poorly known • The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) is a large plethodontid common in the Central Appalachians, however, its diet is only known from West Virginia Objectives 1) Non-lethally examine the diet of P. kentucki in SE KY2) Report the first description of P. kentucki diet to family and genusResults• The most important prey in P. kentucki from West Virginia (listed in order) were ants, beetles, micro-gastropods, spiders, pseudoscorpions, collembolans, mites, and dipterans (Bailey 1992)• In West Virginia, micro-gastropods, pseudoscorpions, and diplopodans were eaten more frequently. Whereas in Kentucky, coleopterans, spiders, and collembolans were eaten more frequently • Since Bailey (1992) did not include the life stages of prey items or sampling periods, we are unable make any comparisons beyond the order level or explore the influences of seasonality on prey composition• Lewis et al. (2014) found the ants Aphaenogaster fulva and A. rudis most frequently in P. shermani from North Carolina and Paluh et al. (2015) found A. picea the most in P. cinereus from Ohio• The majority of the ants found in P. kentucki belonged to the genus Pheidole. Sympatric Plethodon richmondi and P. glutinosus also sampled in our study area, both consumed a large diversity of ant genera, the majority of which were also Pheidole • Similarly to our study, beetles from Scarabidae and Carabidae were among the most frequently consumed in P. albagula, P. amplus, and P. shermani (Lewis et al. 2014; Milanovich et al. 2008;  Rubin 1969)• Larval flies have been reported more frequently than adults in the stomachs of P. albagula, P.  metcalfi, P. shermani, P. petraeus , and P. glutinosus (Jensen and Whiles 2000; Oliver 1967; Whitaker and Rubin 1971)• In P. kentucki however, larval flies were less important than adults, which could be attributed to seasonal differences • Future studies should non-lethally examine salamander diet beyond order across their known ranges and sample through the various seasons  in order to better understand the mechanisms behind prey acquisition, composition, and possible selection• Adult P. kentucki were collected on a ridgetop within the forest of EKU’s Lilley Cornett Woods Appalachian Ecological Research Station (LCW)• Eight sampling events from 26 April to 27 May 2016• Salamanders were anesthetized in a Benzocaine solution (Cecala et al. 2007)• 1.3 mm OD tubing and syringes were used to pump water into the stomach• Salamander were placed in a recovery container of aged tap water and returned• Prey items were identified to the lowest taxonomic level and placed in 70% ethanol• 763 prey items were recovered from 71 salamanders, 10.75 items /salamander • 58 prey types from 20 orders (Table 1)• Ants, spiders, beetles, and springtails comprised 75% of all prey items (Fig. 1)• Ants made up 45% of all prey items and were consumed by 73% of the salamanders; Pheidole were the most numerous• Nearly 70% of the beetles were adults, but adults and larvae were each found in 50% of the salamanders that consumed beetles• Among flies found in salamanders: adults  occurred in more than 80% and larvae in 30%• Larval prey made up 6% of all itemsMethods01020304050607080Occurrence (%)Total items (%)Table 1. Prey types found in the stomachs of adult Plethodon kentuckiidentified beyond the level of order and their percent occurrencesFig. 1. Prey categories found in adult Plethodon kentucki (n = 73), expressed as percent occurrence and percent of total dietReferencesBailey, J. E. 1992. An Ecological Study of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander, Plethodon kentucki Mittleman, in West Virginia. Unpublished M.S. Thesis, Marshall University, Huntington, WV. p. 92–101. Cecala, K. K., S. J. Price, and M. E. Dorcas. 2007. Diet of larval red salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber) examined using a nonlethal technique. J. Herpetol., 41:741–745.Oliver, G. V. 1967. Food habits of the white-throated slimy salamander in central Texas. Trans. Oklahoma Junior Acad. S., 1967:500–503.Jensen, J. B., and M. R. Whiles, 2000. Diets of sympatric Plethodon petraeus and Plethodon glutinosus. J. Elisha Mitch. Sci. S., 116:245–250.Lewis, J. D., G. M. Connette, M. A. Deyrup, J. E. Carrel, and R. D. Semlitsch. 2014. Relationship between diet and microhabitat use of Red-legged Salamanders (Plethodon shermani) in southwestern North Carolina. Copeia, 2014:201–205.Milanovich, J. R., S. E. Trauth, and T. McKay. 2008. Diet of Western Slimy Salamander, Plethodon albagula (Caudata: Plethodontidae), from Two Mountain Ranges in Arkansas. Southeast. Nat., 7:323–330.Paluh, D. J., C. Eddy, K. Ivanov, C. A. M. Hickerson, and C. D. Anthony. 2015. Selective foraging on ants by a terrestrial polymorphic salamander. Am. Midl. Nat., 174:265–277.Rubin, D. 1969. Food habits of Plethodon longicrus Adler and Dennis. Herpetologica, 25:102–105.Whitaker Jr, J. O., and D. C. Rubin. 1971. Food habits of Plethodon jordani metcalfi and Plethodon jordani shermani from North Carolina. Herpetologica, 27:81–86.J. Alex BaecherView publication stats

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The Diet of the Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon kentucki) in an old growth forest of southeastern Kentucky

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