Life history patterns of Ambystoma tigrinum in montane Colorado
Abstract
A survey of approximately 60 ponds in the Gunnison Basin, Gunnison and Pitkin counties, Colorado, U.S.A., showed a cor- relation between the thermal ranges of the ponds and the life history pattern of Ambystoma tigrinum populations. Characterization of physical and biotic parameters allowed a ranking of ponds from warm to cool, verified by temperature data taken through two warm seasons (1974 and 1975). The life history pattern of the salamander populations was deter- mined on the basis of the number of size classes of salamanders observed in the pond. A model is proposed relating the thermal regimes of the pond and the observed life history pattern of the salamanders. Three life history patterns are defined for these populations: standard life his- tory, only one size class of larvae; neotenic life history, two size classes of larvae with metamorphosis occurring in the second warm season; and neotenic and paedogenic life histories, three or four size classes of larvae with metamorphosis occurring the the third or later warm season.
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