| I investigated two areas of research (kin recognition and heritability of foraging behavior) using the red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus ) as a model organism. Red-backed salamanders are ideal for behavior studies because they have complex social systems, mothers and eggs are easily collected together in the forest, and they are easy to maintain in the laboratory. In egg discrimination tests, females showed no significant preference for brooding their own eggs versus the eggs of another female; they attended both related and unrelated clutches in the laboratory. In a field experiment, all females that were displaced 1 m from their nest sites returned to their territories within three days and commenced egg-attendance.; Mother-offspring discrimination tests revealed that kin discrimination in red-backed salamanders may be context dependent. In four of five experiments, there were no significant differences in behaviors of mothers or offspring toward related and unrelated individuals. However, mothers preferentially cannibalized non-kin when given a choice between their own and unrelated neonates.; I also examined foraging behavior of the red-backed salamander to test two main hypotheses: that (1) salamanders at each of three age classes (neonates, yearlings, and adults) would increase their foraging efficiency with increasing exposure to novel prey and (2) various foraging parameters would have a heritable component. All age classes showed a significant increase in foraging efficiency after first exposure to a novel prey type. Significant clutch differences and heritability estimates suggest that some aspects of foraging (e.g., prey recognition and latency to prey capture) may be influenced by genetics. Individuals who captured fewer prey items as neonates were significantly less likely to survive to become yearlings under standardized laboratory conditions. This suggests that heritable variation in foraging efficiency may be directly related to future fitness (i.e., may influence mortality rates). My study indicates that learning, at all ages, plays an important role in successful foraging and that differences in foraging efficiency between individuals may have a genetic component. This research has not only led to an elevated understanding of the behavior of red-backed salamanders, but may also be applied to research in other animal systems. |
