Dispersion Patterns of Salamanders along a Brook

Abstract

To test for aggregation among salamanders, 312 uniform sized boards, scattered along a small brook bed in central Pennsylvania, were turned 9266 times between 19 July and 11 September, with the number and species of salamanders under each board recorded. Five species were observed under boards; there were 379 cases of one salamander per board and 10 cases of two per board. Desmognathus f. fuscus, Desmognathus o. ochrophaeus and the total salamanders were randomly distributed. After 169 additional salamanders were introduced, 4864 board turnings were made between 19 September and 26 October. The distribution of native and introduced salamanders was random. No cases of three or more per board were observed during the study. Species were randomly distributed with respect to one another.