Eric Liebgold

My name is Eric Liebgold. I am currently a Master's student at the University of Louisiana.  My research interests involves questions relating to ecology, genetics, behavior, and conservation. Some of my current research involves dispersal and potential kin discrimination in red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus. Little is known about the dispersal of amphibians with direct development, including information about the dispersal or lack thereof in juveniles.  Laboratory tests have demonstrated that males of Plethodon cinereus are less aggressive towards familiar juveniles. Because aggressiveness and cannibalism occur in P. cinereus, if adults permit offspring to persist in defended territories, this would confer an advantage to offspring. In order to quantify juvenile movements and the relations of juveniles to nearby adults, a 10 m x 10 m plot has been established for a mark/recapture study to delineate territories and movements of adults and juveniles of P. cinereus at Mountain Lake Biological Station in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia.  Over 300 P. cinereus were marked and recaptured using fluorescent elastomers (see picture below) during nocturnal surveys and cover object searches.  Parental analysis using 5 microsatellite DNA primer pairs is underway to evaluate parentage of juveniles.  Juvenile persistence in parental territories of P. cinereus that are defended against other conspecifics would support a hypothesis of kin discrimination. The alternate hypothesis is that juveniles disperse and data will evaluate the extent of dispersal.

I have also recently finished conducting paternity testing of red-backed salamander clutches using five microsatellite loci in collaboration with Dr. Cabe's laboratory at Washington and Lee University.

Links

Eric Liebgold Thesis CV Tami and Eric's webpage Ecovore Leberg Lab Tami's webpage