biology

Southern two-lined salamander

Southern two-lined salamander is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Southern two-lined salamander rather than just read about it. In short: The southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, and freshwater springs.

Key takeaways

Southern two-lined salamander belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Southern two-lined salamander to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Southern two-lined salamander from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The southern two-lined salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) is a species of salamander in the family Plethodontidae, endemic to the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, and freshwater springs.

Appearance The southern two-lined salamander is a small thin salamander, distinguished by the two lines running down the lateral portion of its body. The salamander is deep-light brown and fairly small, growing up to 6.5–12 cm in length. The species has 14 costal grooves between its limbs. Southern two-lined salamanders experience female-based sexual dimorphism. The key difference between the Southern two lined salamander from the Northern salamander is that the black lines run all the way down to the tail. When the salamander reaches sexual maturity males begin to show Cirri and enlarged jaw muscles. The southern two-lined salamander had two morphs, one of these, the Brownback salamander is now its own species. The other morphs, the Cole Springs Phenotype is found in other two lined salamanders but in the southern two-lined salamander is limited to northern Alabama. This morph results in an individual being significantly larger and darker colored than the normal salamander. They exhibit sexual dimorphism in males having larger heads than females.

Reproduction Southern two-lined salamander uses external fertilization. Females will lay single-layer clusters of 20–100 eggs and deposit them under flat rocks that are located in shallow following streams during mid-March to April. Females are known to guard their nest against predators. Males premaxillary teeth enlarge during breeding season, and when court shipping, he scrapes the female's head, and this will help with the secretions of the mental gland.

Range The southern two-lined salamander is found in the Southeast United States except for peninsular Florida.

Habitat

Adults use small, rocky streams or seeps in forested areas, but can also be found in and around springs. They generally keep to a narrow home range. Eggs are laid in shallow, flowing water with gravelly substrate where they are attached singly undersurfaces of submerged rocks or logs.

Predators Southern two-lined salamanders are preyed upon by red salamanders (Pseudotriton ruber) and other larger salamanders. They are also eaten by snakes and owls.

Conservation It has been noted by researchers that as the watersheds are being urbanized the capacity of streams to be habitable for southern two-lined salamander decreases. Although this species is not in a concerned status for conservation, it has been recommended that unbreeched buffers be created in streams to preserve the habitat for this species.

References

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/?s=020050 Server, David M. Comments on the Taxonomy and Morphology of Two-Lined Salamanders of the Eurycea bislineata Complex. Chicago Herpitilogical Society. Saint Mary's College, n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. <http://www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/dsever/EuryceaCHS1989.pdf>. MAUGER, D., BELL, T., & PETERS, E. L. (2000). Distribution and Habitat'of the Southern Two-Lined Salamander, Eurycea cirrz'gem, in Will County, Illinois: Implications For Population Management and Monitoring. Jour. Iowa Acad. Sci. ID7, 3(163-I), 4_.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Southern two-lined salamander

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Southern two-lined salamander claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Southern two-lined salamander before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Southern two-lined salamander ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Southern two-lined salamander

In research: Southern two-lined salamander appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Southern two-lined salamander in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Southern two-lined salamander is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibians described in 1818, Endemic amphibians of the United States, Eurycea, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Southern two-lined salamander outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Southern two-lined salamander in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Southern two-lined salamander means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Southern two-lined salamander out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Southern two-lined salamander in simple terms?

Why does Southern two-lined salamander matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Southern two-lined salamander?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Southern two-lined salamander.