Nest ecology of the Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) in eastern Illinois

Peripherally distributed populations of animals often exhibit different life-history parameters compared to those from more central locations. We report on the ecology of Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander) from its western range limit in eastern Illinois. We searched two streams and an intervening ridge from April 2002 until December 2003 to monitor clutch size and seasonal abundance of life stages. Oviposition began in April, and larvae were detected by late May. Mean clutch size was smaller than estimates from other parts of the species' range and did not covary with snout-vent length of the attending female. Nest-attendance rates we detected tended to be lower than previous estimates. As in other parts of their range, clutches were often found under rocks with at least one other clutch. Longer rocks were 1.30 times more likely to have multiple nests deposited under them.