Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are an iconic species characterized by a dark body distinctively pigmented with a paired sequence of bright yellow-to-orange spots. These bright black-and-yellow spots are a convergent trait occurring in multiple, distantly related, woodland salamander species. The pigmentation patterns of these salamanders became the focus of a novel class research project for Medaille BIO422 Herpetology Lab students during the Fall of 2020. In collaboration with the Harris Center for Conservation Education, the Medaille University student research team was provided access to an extensive photo archive of spotted salamanders recorded during their annual migrations documented from 2015-2019. The results of the class project offered important new information as to the genetic components and environmental factors that contribute to the distribution patterns of the individual spots that occur on spotted salamanders (!).

The remarkable scientific discovery occurring at Medaille Universit will be showcased at the upcoming Monadnock Region Natural History Conference 2022 in Keene, New Hampshire. In preparation for this conference, Dr. M. Ryan Woodcock, program director for Biology at Medaille University, will be hosting a demo talk entitled: “Spots to the Left, Right, or Center? Dorsal Spot Patterns and Symmetry in Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) of the Monadnock region of Southern New Hampshire.”

The presentation(s) will start at 7 p.m. EST Friday, November 4, and Saturday, November 5, over zoom. (Please click on the link to join in!)

  • : M. Ryan Woodcock

Posted by: M. Ryan Woodcock