Orientation and flight behavior of a Neotenic Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) in Oregon

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Abstract
Neotenic A. gracile in lakes containing predatory trout was less abundant and less active than in lakes not containing fish. Flight behavior was quantified in 2 populations, one exposed to fish and one not exposed to fish, focusing on direction faced and direction of flight with respect to lake morphology, and burrowing behavior at the end of the flight movement. Relationships among behavior, water depth and substrate were investigated. Independence among behavioral alternatives was also evaluated. Both populations displayed significantly nonrandom behavior; the 2 populations differed in most behavioral components. Both populations faced toward deep water more often than could be expected by chance. In the absence of fish, 96% of the salamanders responded to simulated attack by moving into deeper water or by burrowing into the substrate. In the presence of fish, flight into shallower water was more frequent than expected by chance; alternatives of flight direction were dependent upon water depth in large (older) salamanders. Though burrowing for refuge was less frequent in the population exposed to fish, frequency of burrowing increased with water depth. Different frequencies of flight behaviors in the 2 populations are responses to differential predation pressure.