Aggression among larval salamanders has been touted as a proximate factor of such critical aspects of amphibian biology as survival, time to and size at metamorphosis, and susceptibility to top predators. Despite the importance of aggressive interactions in maintaining community structure among assemblages of larval amphibians, the means by which biotic and abiotic factors influence aggressive behavior remain unclear. Through laboratory manipulations, I will determine how a variety of factors, including ontogeny, water temperature, invertebrate predators and prey, and habitat acidification, contribute to changes in the intensity and direction of intraguild aggression among larval Ambystoma opacum, A. tigrinum tigrinum, and A. maculatum. I will also observe larval behavior in natural pond communities to determine if and how larval behavior may change throughout the larval period in response to seasonal fluctuation in the aforementioned biotic and abiotic variables.

BS Biology, East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, PA
MS Biology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA