Exploitative Competition in Salamanders: Test of a Hypothesis

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Abstract
Laboratory experiments were performed to test the hypothesis that the salamander Plethodon nettingi shenandoah is competitively excluded from certain forested areas in Virginia [USA] by the sibling species P. cinereus through the mechanism of differential exploitation of a limited food supply. P. cinereus has a faster rate of prey capture than its congener, both in simple and relatively complex environments, when individuals are tested alone. However, when congeneric pairs are tested, P. n. shenandoah is superior in rate of prey capture. Differential exploitation, when viewed as a consequence of differences in ingestion rates, may not be sufficient to explain the competitive exclusion seen in the forest.

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