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Data from: The Bogert effect revisited: salamander regulatory behaviors are differently constrained by time and space

Cite this dataset

Farallo, Vincent R.; Wier, Rebecca; Miles, Donald B. (2019). Data from: The Bogert effect revisited: salamander regulatory behaviors are differently constrained by time and space [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.73q5474

Abstract

The use of behavior to buffer extreme environmental variation is expected to enable species to a) extend the breadth of environments they inhabit beyond that predicted from climatic data, and b) diminish the negative effects of broad-scale and chronic disturbances such as climate change. The term Bogert effect refers to behavioral compensation entailing microhabitat selection to maintain performance across a gradient of environmental conditions resulting in evolutionary inertia of physiological traits. Here we compare microhabitats used by plethodontid salamanders distributed along an elevational gradient to determine whether there is behavioral compensation that buffers them from deleterious temperatures and moisture levels. Overall, salamanders preferred cooler and more mesic environments and occupied microhabitats that maintained constant moisture conditions at both high and low elevation sites. Our results suggest that salamanders use microhabitats to regulate temperature and moisture levels, which is consistent with the Bogert effect. Maintenance of more moist conditions may help buffer these species from rising temperatures, but only in suitable high-elevation environments that are likely to disappear over the next century. We conclude that behavioral regulation of temperature and moisture is a potential mechanism for the Bogert effect in plethodontid salamanders.

Usage notes

Funding

National Science Foundation, Award: US NSF EF 1241848

Location

Appalachian Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains National Park