Department
Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2025
Embargo Period
10-28-2025
Abstract
Urbanization alters many aspects of stream ecosystems, and its effects upon wildlife will likely increase as more watersheds become developed. This may be particularly true for species with complex life histories, which could be vulnerable in different life stages. Eurycea cirrigera (Green) (Southern Two-lined Salamanders) are common members of many stream communities in the southeastern United States, and they prefer to nest in cobble with little sedimentation—a microhabitat that is threatened by stream degradation. We collected data on the nesting ecology of this amphibian species in urban streams in Atlanta, Georgia, to evaluate microhabitat availability, nest-site selection, and the influence of impervious surface cover—a proxy for urbanization—upon nesting behaviors and life history parameters. We confirmed that these salamanders preferentially nest in shallow riffles with cobble, and we found higher embeddedness (i.e., the percentage of coarse substrate buried in or surrounded by fine substrate) and lower nest density in streams with higher impervious surface cover. We also found preliminary evidence for a small, positive effect of impervious surface cover on female body size—which itself is predictive of clutch size. Together, these results add to our understanding of how urbanization-driven changes in substrate and other habitat characteristics can influence the life history of stream salamanders.
Journal Title
Urban Naturalist
Journal ISSN
2328-8965
Volume
12
Issue
81
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
n/a
Comments
This article received funding through Kennesaw State University's Faculty Open Access Publishing Fund, supported by the KSU Libraries and KSU Office of Research.