Feeling Groovy? King’s Student Research Featured at Susquehanna River Symposium

King’s environmental students, May Fredericks, Emily Kane, and Kayla Osborne, working with Professors Tara and Brian Mangan, recently presented their research at the 19th Susquehanna River Symposium held Nov. 8, 2024, at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.  

The title of their research poster was, “Feeling Groovy? Salamander Use of Artificial Cover Objects in a Riparian Forest.” 

The project was part of Professor Tara Mangan’s wildlife techniques class. Students experimented with the use of two types of artificial microhabitats (ACOs )by red-backed salamanders. Red-backed salamanders are common throughout the northeast, and this species of salamander occurs in two color phases (a red phase and dark phase) in their study area. 

The microhabitats used were 30-cm square plywood boards placed in six grids at three locations in a forest along the Susquehanna River.  Half the ACOs were smooth boards, while the other half had grooves cut in the surface of the board placed on the forest floor. 

The goal of the project was to see if these salamanders used one type of surface more than the other.  As it turns out, preliminary results suggest that grooved boards are used more often.  The results also suggest that the dark phase salamanders use grooved boards more than the red phase.