Amphibian Orientation: An Unexpected Observation

Abstract

The study of homing movements of displaced newts (Taricha rivularis) revealed unexpected features of the migratory behavior of amphibians. Newts leaving the breeding stream in the spring move not directly uphill but at an angle carrying them upstream. When they emerge after summer estivation this tendency is not evident in captures made during the autumn and winter. During the latter period, however, newly metamorphosed frogs (Rana boylii) show the same pronounced upstream migration that characterizes T. rivularis in the spring.