Protocols

2x2 factorial design manipulating temperature and conductivity to test environmental drying cues on caddisfly development and survival. Uses shade manipulation and salt additions to simulate pond dryi...

Controlled microcosm experiments measuring invertebrate-mediated breakdown of sedge detritus by quantifying mass loss of coarse and fine particulate organic matter over time. Uses standardized biomass...

Controlled feeding trials in plastic mesocosms where starved salamanders are presented with multiple prey types and their consumption and foraging behavior is observed and quantified over a fixed time...

Short-term incubation of caddisfly larvae in filtered pond water to measure nitrogen and phosphorus excretion rates under ambient conditions. Five larvae per species were incubated for one hour in sha...

Organisms are incubated in filtered pond water for one hour to measure nitrogen and phosphorus excretion rates through water chemistry analysis before and after incubation.

Larvae offered multiple food choices in aquatic containers with instantaneous behavioral sampling over extended time periods to quantify feeding preferences.

Controlled laboratory experiment comparing survival, growth, and tag retention between PIT-tagged and control salamanders over 90 days to validate tag safety for small amphibians.

Laboratory aquarium experiment using surgically modified (de-mented) dragonfly larvae to separate behavioral interference effects from direct predation effects on prey consumption.

Custom apparatus measuring salamander temperature selection behavior using water-cooled and heated runway with position and body temperature tracking over 3.5 hour trials.

Controlled behavioral experiments using salamanders in tanks with traps at either end to test preferences for different light stimuli and biofluorescent vs. non-biofluorescent mates. Salamanders place...