Abstract:
Intraspecific interactions are an important aspect of an organism's behavior.
These interactions play a large role in the structuring of populations. Adult
salamander interactions have been well studied, while larval interactions have
received far less attention. When the larval stage of an organism is a large
part in its life cycle, as in Desmognathus quadramaculatus, understanding
larval interactions become necessary for a more complete picture of its life
history. This study examined such interactions, between two different size classes
of D. quadramaculatus. Two Large larvae were observed interacting in
one treatment, one large larva and one small larva were observed in a second,
and two small larvae interacting in a third. Large larvae were found to be more
active, and more aggressive than smaller conspecifics. Also, Large/Large interactions
had a significantly shorter time to first interaction than interactions between
Small/Small and Large/Small larvae. This implies that large larvae are dominate
over smaller larvae in intraspecific interaction.