Marbled Salamander Food Chain

Ambystoma opacum the marbled salamander is found throughout most of the eastern united states from massachusetts west to central illinois southeastern missouri and oklahoma and eastern texas south to the gulf of mexico and the carolina coast it is absent from peninsular florida.

Marbled salamander food chain.

Asked by wiki user. Background marbled salamanders are distributed across the eastern us from new hampshire to northern florida and west to lake michigan in the north and texas in the south 1 the species generally inhabits deciduous forest and prairie and is absent from much of the appalachian mountains 1 2 in massachusetts it is present at relatively low abundances partially due to being at the extreme. It can be found in a variety of habitats from moist sandy areas to dry hillsides. Diet adult marbled salamanders eat invertebrates including earthworms slugs snails centipedes and a variety of insects.

The marbled salamander is one of many amphibians found in the bottomland hardwood forests of mississippi. A small stout bodied salamander this species is easily identified by its distinct black and white patterning across its entire body. There is little real competition for food among these species in the spring. Marbled salamanders grow to about 3 5 4 25 in 9 10 7 cm in size and are stout bodied and chubby in appearance.

Upon metamorphosis they have a grayish blue spotted pattern on a purplish black body. Marbled larvae transform to the land dwelling form in may and june. The tiger sits at the top of the food chain tertitay and primary predator. It spends most of its time in a burrow in leaf litter or under bark and logs.

Disjunct populations are found in eastern missouri central illinois in northwest ohio. The body is black with light bands of varying widths running across the back. They can be identified by their black dark brown body including its venter with light white silvery crossbands on the dorsum. Adult marbled salamanders maintained on a low food diet were more prone to bite an intruding salamander than those on a high food diet ducey and heuer 1991 which may indicate that aggression functions to repel an intruder from an individual s feeding area burrow refuge.

The marbled salamander is a stocky boldly banded salamander. The bands of females tend to be gray while those of males are more white. Adults can grow to about 11 cm 4 in small compared to other members of its genus. Where is the marbled salamander found on the food chian.

This species is sexually dimorphic males tend to have white crossbands and females tend to have gray silvery crossbands. Like other mole salamanders marbled salamanders are predators of smaller creatures but though they are voracious predators of insects worms and slugs they along with their eggs and juvenile forms provide food for many other hungry animals.