| experimental infection of native north carolina salamanders with batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. | chytridiomycosis is an often fatal fungal disease of amphibians caused by batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. this disease has been implicated in the worldwide decline of many anuran species, but studies of chytridiomycosis in wild salamanders are limited. between august 2006 and december 2006, we tested wild amphibians in north carolina, usa (n=212) by polymerase chain reaction (pcr). we identified three pcr-positive animals: one rana clamitans and two plethodontid salamanders. we experimentally in ... | 2009 | 19617473 |
| effects of host species and environment on the skin microbiome of plethodontid salamanders. | the amphibian skin microbiome is recognized for its role in defence against pathogens, including the deadly fungal pathogen batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd). yet, we have little understanding of evolutionary and ecological processes that structure these communities, especially for salamanders and closely related species. we investigated patterns in the distribution of bacterial communities on plethodon salamander skin across host species and environments. quantifying salamander skin microbiom ... | 2017 | 28682480 |
| salamanders on the bench - a biocompatibility study of salamander skin secretions in cell cultures. | salamanders have evolved a wide variety of antipredator mechanisms and behavior patterns, including toxins and noxious or adhesive skin secretions. the high bonding strength of the natural bioadhesives makes these substances interesting for biomimetic research and applications in industrial and medical sectors. secretions of toxic species may help to understand the direct effect of harmful substances on the cellular level. in the present study, the biocompatibility of adhesive secretions from fo ... | 2017 | 28551363 |
| comparative and developmental patterns of amphibious auditory function in salamanders. | early amphibious tetrapods may have detected aquatic sound pressure using sound-induced lung vibrations, but their lack of tympanic middle ears would have restricted aerial sensitivity. sharing these characteristics, salamanders could be models for the carryover of auditory function across an aquatic-terrestrial boundary without tympanic middle ears. we measured amphibious auditory evoked potential audiograms in five phylogenetically and ecologically distinct salamanders (amphiuma means, notopht ... | 2016 | 27766381 |
| effects of timber harvests and silvicultural edges on terrestrial salamanders. | balancing timber production and conservation in forest management requires an understanding of how timber harvests affect wildlife species. terrestrial salamanders are useful indicators of mature forest ecosystem health due to their importance to ecosystem processes and sensitivity to environmental change. however, the effects of timber harvests on salamanders, though often researched, are still not well understood. to further this understanding, we used artificial cover objects to monitor the r ... | 2014 | 25517409 |
| concurrent speciation in the eastern woodland salamanders (genus plethodon): dna sequences of the complete albumin nuclear and partial mitochondrial 12s genes. | salamanders of the north american plethodontid genus plethodon are important model organisms in a variety of studies that depend on a phylogenetic framework (e.g., chemical communication, ecological competition, life histories, hybridization, and speciation), and consequently their systematics has been intensively investigated over several decades. nevertheless, we lack a synthesis of relationships among the species. in the analyses reported here we use new dna sequence data from the complete nu ... | 2012 | 22230029 |
| ecological resistance surfaces predict fine-scale genetic differentiation in a terrestrial woodland salamander. | landscape genetics has seen tremendous advances since its introduction, but parameterization and optimization of resistance surfaces still poses significant challenges. despite increased availability and resolution of spatial data, few studies have integrated empirical data to directly represent ecological processes as genetic resistance surfaces. in our study, we determine the landscape and ecological factors affecting gene flow in the western slimy salamander (plethodon albagula). we used fiel ... | 2014 | 24712403 |
| a parametric method for assessing diversification-rate variation in phylogenetic trees. | phylogenetic hypotheses are frequently used to examine variation in rates of diversification across the history of a group. patterns of diversification-rate variation can be used to infer underlying ecological and evolutionary processes responsible for patterns of cladogenesis. most existing methods examine rate variation through time. methods for examining differences in diversification among groups are more limited. here, we present a new method, parametric rate comparison (prc), that explicit ... | 2013 | 23356610 |
| competition at the range boundary in the slimy salamander: using reciprocal transplants for studies on the role of biotic interactions in spatial distributions. | 1. determining the factors that influence the distribution of species has been a longstanding goal in the field of ecology. new techniques such as ecological niche modelling have the potential to aid in addressing many broad questions in ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavioural ecology. 2. this study combines broad-scale ecological niche models with fine-scaled studies of biotic interactions to examine how abiotic and biotic interactions affect the spatial distribution of the terrestrial s ... | 2009 | 18771502 |
| phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial gene flow and introgression in the salamander, plethodon shermani. | plethodon shermani comprises a series of geographically disjunct populations occupying high-elevation mountain isolates. these populations hybridize at their borders with salamanders of the plethodon glutinosus species complex, and past range expansions inferred from pleistocene climatic cycles may have increased the possible genetic interactions between p. shermani and species of the p. glutinosus complex. because mitochondrial dna haplotypes often show introgression across species borders, we ... | 2005 | 15813784 |
| ultrastructural and histochemical features of the thymus glands of the adult lungless salamander, plethodon glutinosus (caudata: plethodontidae). | the thymus glands of adult slimy salamanders (plethodon glutinosus) were examined by light and electron microscopy with the objective of describing the populations of epithelial cells believed to be secretory. the results of various histochemical procedures designed to demonstrate nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and mucosubstances were evaluated by light microscopy. each thymus is incompletely subdivided into a variable number of interconnected lobules by trabeculae extending inward from a thin ... | 1979 | 458863 |
| extraoptic phase shifting of circadian locomotor rhythm in salamanders. | timing of locomotor rhythm in the slimy ralamander, plethodon glutinosus, can be shifted in phase by the environmental light cycle, whether the animals have eyes or not. rhythmicity persists at least for the first day when animals are transferred to constant conditions, with a period of about 24 hours, and is therefore circadian in nature. an extraoptic photoreceptor site in the brain is suggested. | 1969 | 5770622 |
| variation in the slimy salamander (plethodon spp.) skin and gut-microbial assemblages is explained by geographic distance and host affinity. | a multicellular host and its microbial communities are recognized as a metaorganism-a composite unit of evolution. microbial communities have a variety of positive and negative effects on the host life history, ecology, and evolution. this study used high-throughput amplicon sequencing to characterize the complete skin and gut microbial communities, including both bacteria and fungi, of a terrestrial salamander, plethodon glutinosus (family plethodontidae). we assessed salamander populations, re ... | 2020 | 31802185 |
| ultrastructure of the bone marrow of the salamander plethodon glutinosus (caudata: plethodontidae). | the unusual lymphogranulopoietic bone marrow of the large lungless salamander plethodon glutinosus was examined by light and electron microscopy. developing neutrophils, eosinophils, and fat cells were found in large numbers, while lymphocytes of various sizes, plasma cells, plasmablasts, macrophages, pigment cells, and fibroblasts were present in more moderate numbers. basophils were observed only rarely. macrophages were found in extravascular locations and did not appear to be associated dire ... | 1979 | 30213151 |