Graduation Year
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.
Degree Granting Department
Biology (Integrative Biology)
Major Professor
Earl D. McCoy, Ph.D.
Co-Major Professor
Henry R. Mushinsky, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Stephen M. Deban, Ph.D.
Keywords
aquatic salamander, clutch size, life history, oviposition, size at maturity
Abstract
The salamander family Sirenidae is composed of two extant genera, Siren and Pseudobranchus, each with two known species. Several questions regarding Sirenidae life history persist, and much of the available life history data for Pseudobranchus are attributed to studies of P. axanthus in northern Florida. Information on the reproductive biology of P. axanthus is limited, and historical references often suggest contradictory results. This study was undertaken to clarify information and expand on the limited data regarding P. axanthus reproductive biology, specifically for southern Florida populations. The study population was most likely the P. a. belli subspecies. P. axanthus in southern Florida exhibited year round, continuous reproduction with oviposition documented in nine months. Potential clutch size was positively correlated to female size. The largest observed potential clutch was a female with 58 pre-ovulatory oocytes. The largest observed bout was a female with 15 oviductal eggs. Female P. axanthus in southern Florida oviposited eggs singly and at total densities of 3-4 eggs/m2. Developmental time to egg hatching lasted about 30 days, larvae hatched at 16mm TL, and minimum size at female sexual maturity was 115mm TL and 72mm SVL. The reproductive biology of P. axanthus was distinctly contrasting to other members of the family Sirenidae, S. intermedia and S. lacertina, that occupy the same habitat at the same study location.
Scholar Commons Citation
Adcock, Zachary Cole, "Reproductive Biology of the Southern Dwarf Siren, Pseudobranchus axanthus, in Southern Florida" (2012). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/3941
