RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE OF STREAM SALAMANDER POPULATIONS TO DISTURBANCE

Abstract

Urbanization and drought represent two pervasive disturbances that affect animal inhabitants of small, first-order streams. Stream salamanders (Family Plethodontidae) represent the dominant vertebrate group and play important ecological roles in first-order streams, although they have often been neglected in previous studies on the effects of disturbance on system ecosystems. It was hypothesized that urbanization and drought would strongly influence vital rates (e.g., occupancy, abundance, survival, etc.) of salamander populations.