Plethodon study from removal plots located at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory

Recent research shows Plethodon shermani and Plethodon teyahalee within the hybrid zone at the Coweeta LTER in Otto, North Carolina forage heavily on ants (>50% of all prey items consumed; found in 94% of samples). As most vascular plants in the Southern Appalachians rely on ants for seed dispersal, this significant predation on ants, especially Aphaenogaster, reveals an intriguing and important relationship between these salamanders and the vascular plant abundance and distribution within their ecosystem. Additionally, consumption of ants increases with high temperatures and low relative humidity indicating that, with climate change, the effects of Plethodon foraging behavior on woodland biodiversity will be amplified. Using a paired design, we placed removal plots along an elevational gradient within the plethodon shermani-teyahalee hybrid zone at the Coweeta LTER to observe and quantify the effect of Plethodon foraging on ant communities, seed dispersal, and vascular plant distribution by removing the salamanders from treatment plots. Foraging rates of ants, with a focus on Aphaenogaster, were monitored at treatment and control plots using direct observation/counts of ants visiting tuna bait stations.