Experiment
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We built pens from aluminum flashing standing three feet high and three feet deep to keep salamanders released into the pens from escaping. Newly captured metamorphic salamanders emerging from breeding ponds in the spring were released at natural densities into four replicate pens in each habitat type (clearcut and forest: Total number of pens = 8). We left metamorphs in the pens until the following breeding season, and then recaptured them, using pitfall traps, as they attempted to migrate to their breeding ponds. Upon recapture, we were able to measure growth rate, survival, and clutch size, and compare these variables between clearcut and forest pens.

ccpen.gif (32766 bytes)    ff_pen.gif (32353 bytes)
Clearcut Pen                                                         Forest Pen

You can read about this study in:

Chazal, A.C. and Niewiarowski, P.H.  1998.  Responses of Mole Salamanders to Clearcutting: Using Field Experiments in Forest Management.  Ecological Applications 8(4): 1133-1143.