Competitive Exclusion and Environmental Tolerances in the Distributions of Two Species of Salamanders (Genus Plethodon) in Virginia
Jaeger RG. 1969. Competitive Exclusion and Environmental Tolerances in the Distributions of Two Species of Salamanders (Genus Plethodon) in Virginia. University of Maryland College Park
Brief Description: In talus-enclosed patches of soil wherecinereus does not occur, shenandoah is abundant, indicating that thelatter is competitively excluded from soil by the former. However, innearby areas of talus where shenandoah is absent, cinereus fails tooccur, indicating that it is excluded from the talus by some factorother than competition. Full Description: On Hawksbill Mountain, Shenandoah National Park, Page County,Virginia, Plethodon richmondi shenandoah is restricted to areas oftalus and is encircled by P, c. cinereus which inhabits the deep soiloutside of the talus. In talus-enclosed patches of soil wherecinereus does not occur, shenandoah is abundant, indicating that thelatter is competitively excluded from soil by the former. However, innearby areas of talus where shenandoah is absent, cinereus fails tooccur, indicating that it is excluded from the talus by some factorother than competition. Experiments show that the talus is a drierenvironment than the soil and that shenandoah is better adapted to thisdryness by being more resistant to dehydration than is cinereus.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Jaeger, Robert
- Date of Issue
- 1969
- Publisher
- University of Maryland College Park
- Units
- SHEN
- Keywords
- Animal Communities (Wildlife), Animal Studies, Competition, Competition (Species), Dissertation, Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), Environmental, Research Report, Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah), Terrestrial