The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders

The fourth Conference on the Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders was held at "The Mountain," in Highlands, North Carolina on June 12-14, 1998. Hosted by the Highlands Biological Station, and sponsored by the Highlands Biological Foundation, Inc. , the conference afforded a state-of-the-art overview of these animals, as evidenced by the contents of the present volume and the credentials of the contributors. In the following pages, the reader will find the best current understanding of many aspects of plethodontid salamander evolution, systematics, development, morphology, life history, ecology, and field methodology. While the contents of this book consist of chapters developed from selected conference papers, their excellence is representative of the high overall quality of the conference presentations. The Highlands Biological Station is located on the Highlands Plateau in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. As these mountains are a present center of plethod­ ontid diversity, and are considered by some to be the center of origin of the group, the Highlands Biological Station has historically been important in the study of these animals. A list of visitors to the Station for the last 70 years would include a "who's who" of twentieth century North American herpetologists. The location and amenities of the Highlands Biological Station are unique. Within the city limits of Highlands at an elevation of nearly 1200 meters, the Station includes modern research laboratories, administrative offices, library facilities, as well as dormitory and living facilities. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Points of View on Defining and Naming Species of Plethodontid Salamanders....Pages 3-6 Species, Descriptive Efficiency, and Progress in Systematics....Pages 7-29 Geographic Protein Variation and Speciation in Salamanders of the Plethodon Jordani and Plethodon Glutinosus Complexes in the Southern Appalachian Mountains with the Description of Four New Species....Pages 31-93 Detecting Species Borders Using Diverse Data Sets....Pages 95-119 The Systematics of Desmognathus Imitator ....Pages 121-147 Species Boundaries and Species Diversity in the Central Texas Hemidactyliine Plethodontid Salamanders, Genus Eurycea ....Pages 149-165 Systematics at the Turn of a Century....Pages 167-178 Front Matter....Pages 179-179 Ethological Isolation and Variation in Allozymes and Dorsolateral Pattern between Parapatric Forms in the Desmognathus ochrophaeus Complex....Pages 181-198 Phylogenetic Relationships Within the Lowland Tropical Salamanders of the Bolitoglossa Mexicana Complex (Amphibia: Plethodontidae)....Pages 199-214 Detecting Cryptic Species Using Allozyme Data....Pages 215-241 Sexual Size Dimorphism in the Plethodontidae....Pages 243-260 Skull Development in Two Plethodontid Salamanders (Genus Desmognathus ) with Different Life Histories....Pages 261-276 Egg Recognition Cues and Maternal Behavior in Desmognathus Ocoee ....Pages 277-286 Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain Habitats of the Plethodontidae....Pages 287-302 Life History Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Hemidactyliine Salamanders....Pages 303-326 Population Cytogenetics of the Plethodontid Salamander Eurycea Wilderae ....Pages 327-343 Sperm Storage in Female Plethodontids with Especial Reference to the Desmognathinae....Pages 345-369 The Courtship of Plethodontid Salamanders....Pages 371-380 Front Matter....Pages 381-381 Divergence of Trophic Morphology and Resource Use Among Populations of Plethodon Cinereus and P. Hoffmani in Pennsylvania....Pages 383-394 Environmental Variation and Territorial Behavior in a Terrestrial Salamander....Pages 395-406 Front Matter....Pages 381-381 Contributions to the Life History of the Redback Salamander, Plethodon Cinereus ....Pages 407-416 Alternative Life Styles in a Terrestrial Salamander....Pages 417-429 Pheromonal Attractions to Particular Males by Female Redback Salamanders ( Plethodon Cinereus )....Pages 431-440 A Model of Alternative Mating Strategies in the Redback Salamander, Plethodon Cinereus ....Pages 441-450 Cutaneous Microbial Flora and Antibiosis in Plethodon Ventralis ....Pages 451-462 Monitoring Plethodon Cinereus Populations....Pages 463-475 Back Matter....Pages 477-485 This volume offers a state-of-the-art overview of plethodontid salamanders. The reader will find the best current understanding of many aspects of the evolution, systematics, development, morphology, life history, ecology, and field methodology of these animals. The book is divided into three sections. The first one features papers presented in honor of Richard Highton, a specialist in molecular systematics and speciation in plethodontids. This section, therefore, deals with amphibian systematics. The second section presents topics in evolutionary and comparative biology of plethodontids, and thus reflects the diversity of current research on plethodontid salamanders. Finally, the third section presents topics in behavioral ecology of small Plethodon (mainly P. cinereus), illustrating the usefulness of the smaller species of Plethodon as model organisms for investigation of a wide range of questions in behavioral ecology. This is an important volume which conveys to readers the current status of research on plethodontids, and will stimulate interest of researchers in furthering investigation of the many unresolved questions pertaining to the biology of these animals 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.