Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
`It is strong in data presentation and is a great resource to a wealth of references to past work in this area. An essential library book as well as reference book for researchers.' Southern Naturalist, 1:1 (2202)
Review
`It is strong in data presentation and is a great resource to a wealth of references to past work in this area. An essential library book as well as reference book for researchers.'
Southern Naturalist, 1:1 (2202)
Synopsis
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."
Table of Contents
Symposium in Honor of Professor Richard Highton. 1. Points of View on Defining and Naming Species of Plethodontid Salamanders: A Symposium in Honor of Professor Richard Highton;
R.G. Jaeger. 2. Species;
D. Frost. 3. 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;
R. Highton, R.B. Peabody. 4. Detecting Species Borders Using Diverse Data Sets: Examples from Plethodontid Salamanders in California;
D.B. Wake, E.L. Jockusch. 5. The Systematics of
Desmognathus imitator;
S.G. Tilley. 6. Species Boundaries and Species Diversity in the Central Texas Hemidactyliine Plethodontid Salamanders, Genus
Eurycea;
P.T. Chippindale. 7. Systematics at the Turn of a Century;
S.J. Arnold. Evolutionary and Comparative Biology of Plethodontids. 8. Ethological Isolation and Variation in Allozymes and Dorsolateral Pattern between Parapatric Forms in the
Desmognathus ochrophaeus Complex;
L.S. Mead, S.G. Tilley. 9. Phylogenetic Relationships within the Lowland Tropical Salamanders of the
Bolitoglossa mexicana Complex (Amphibia: Plethodontidae);
M. García-París, et al. 10. Detecting Cryptic Species Using Allozyme Data;
R. Highton. 11. Sexual Size Dimorphism in the Plethodontidae;
R.C. Bruce. 12. Skull Development in Two Plethodontid Salamanders (Genus
Desmognathus) with Different Life Histories;
S.B. Marks. 13. Egg Recognition Cues and Maternal Behavior in
Desmognathus ocoee;
B.S. Masters, D.C. Forester. 14. Southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain Habitats of the Plethodontidae: The Importance of Relief, Ravines, and Seepage;
D. Bruce Means. 15. Life History Evolution and Adaptive Radiation of Hemidactyliine Salamanders;
T.J. Ryan, R.C. Bruce. 16. Population Cytogenetics of the Plethodontid Salamander
Eurycea wilderae;
S.K. Sessions, J.L. Wiktorowski. 17. Sperm Storage in Female Plethodontids with Especial Reference to the Desmognathinae;
D.M. Sever. 18. The Courtship of Plethodontid Salamanders: Form, Function, and Phylogeny;
P. Verrell, M. Mabry. Behavioral Ecology of Small Plethodon.
19. Divergence of Trophic Morphology and Resource Use among Populations of
Plethodon cinereus and
P. hoffmani in Pennsylvania: A Possible Case of Character Displacement;
D.C. Adams. 20. Environmental Variation and Territorial Behavior in a Terrestrial Salamander;
J.C. Maerz, D.M. Madison. 21. Contributions to the Life History of the Redback Salamander,
Plethodon cinereus: Preliminary Evidence for Kin Recognition;
D.C. Forester, C.L. Anders. 22. Alternative Life Styles in a Terrestrial Salamander: Do Females Preferentially Associate with Each Other;
M.E. Peterson, et al. 23. Pheromonal Attractions to Particular Males by Female Redback Salamanders (
Plethodon cinereus);
J.R. Gillette, et al. 24. A Model of Alternative Mating Strategies in the Redback Salamander,
Plethodon cinereus;
R.G. Jaeger, et al. 25. Cutaneous Microbial Flora and Antibiosis in
Plethodon ventralis: Inferences for Parental Care in the Plethodontidae;
R.M. Austin, Jr. 26. Monitoring
Plethodon cinereus populations: Field Tests of Experimental Coverboard Designs;
M.A. Carfioli, et al.