Data from: Salamander climbing behavior varies among species and is correlated with community composition

Species coexistence is often facilitated by behavioral strategies that minimize competition for limited resources. Terrestrial, lungless salamanders (genus Plethodon) coexist in predictable assemblages of body size guilds, but little is known about the behavioral mechanisms that promote such coexistence. Here, we considered the hypothesis that Plethodon salamanders use climbing behavior to reduce competitive interactions, thereby promoting coexistence through spatial partitioning. To explore this hypothesis, we quantified the frequency of climbing behavior at field sites where small-bodied (P. cinereus) and large-bodied (P. glutinosus) species are always present, but an intermediate-bodied species (P. montanus) is either absent, introduced, or native. We observed that climbing behavior varied among size guilds so that the smallest species climbed most frequently, followed by the intermediate, and then the large species. Further, we identified several correlates of climbing behavior that may be shaped by intraspecific and interspecific competition. Climbing frequency was positively correlated with intraspecific competition and negatively correlated with interspecific competition in the small species, unrelated to competition in the intermediate species, and positively correlated with interspecific competition in the large species. Our results suggest that Plethodon size guilds might differentially utilize climbing behavior to facilitate spatial partitioning in dense populations and communities. Further, we show how competition intensity can shape the behavior of cohabitating species, and ultimately provide insight into how behavioral plasticity and microhabitat partitioning can promote species coexistence.物种共存往往通过行为策略得到促进，此类策略可最大限度降低对有限资源的竞争。陆栖无肺螈属（Plethodon）物种以可预测的体型功能群（body size guilds）组合共存，但学界对促成这类共存的行为机制仍知之甚少。本研究围绕如下假说展开：无肺螈属物种可通过攀爬行为减少竞争互动，进而通过空间分区（spatial partitioning）促进物种共存。 为验证该假说，我们在野外样地中定量测定了攀爬行为的发生频率：这些样地中始终存在小型个体的红背无肺螈（P. cinereus）与大型个体的滑体无肺螈（P. glutinosus），而中型个体的山地无肺螈（P. montanus）则要么缺失、要么为引入种群、要么为本地原生种群。 观测结果显示，不同体型功能群的攀爬行为频率存在显著差异：小型物种攀爬频率最高，其次为中型物种，大型物种最低。此外，我们还明确了攀爬行为的多项关联因子，这些因子可能受种内竞争（intraspecific competition）与种间竞争（interspecific competition）的调控。 针对小型物种，攀爬频率与种内竞争呈正相关，与种间竞争呈负相关；中型物种的攀爬频率与竞争强度无显著关联；而大型物种的攀爬频率则与种间竞争呈正相关。 本研究结果表明，无肺螈属的体型功能群可差异化利用攀爬行为，以在高密度种群与群落中实现空间生态位分区。此外，本研究阐明了竞争强度如何调控共存物种的行为，并最终为理解行为可塑性（behavioral plasticity）与微生境分区（microhabitat partitioning）如何促进物种共存提供了新的理论视角。