Vol. 60, 2021

(update: 2021.12.02; 12.28)

Macroinvertebrate Communities and Body Condition of Larval Eastern Hellbender Salamanders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) in North Carolina

¹Biology Department, Wingate University, Wingate, NC 28174, USA. *Correspondence: E-mail: .unger@wingate.edu (Unger). Tel: 512-396-0769. E-mail: sierrabellebenfield@gmail.com (Benfield)
²North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 1722 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699, USA. E-mail: lori.williams@ncwildlife.org (Williams); charles@equinoxenvironmental.com (Lawson)
³North Carolina Zoological Park, 4401 Zoo Parkway, Asheboro, NC 27205, USA. E-mail: johngroves2005@yahoo.com (Groves)

Received 24 November 2021 / Accepted 29 November 2021
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

Salamanders are important biological indicators of freshwater aquatic ecosystems. The Eastern Hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, is found primarily in streams across the southeastern, midwestern, and eastern portions of the United States. However, this unique large aquatic salamander is facing numerous threats and declines across its geographic range, including in Appalachia. Moreover, little is known regarding the early life history stages (gilled larvae), particularly regarding food availability (aquatic insects present in streams) and body condition. In this study, we assessed the macroinvertebrate communities of streams sampled for larval C. alleganiensis and report on the body condition index
within western North Carolina streams. We found varying levels of diversity across sample locations for macroinvertebrates (total sampled = 3,619, representing over 30 genera), with the most prevalent insects from Trichoptera order, with an overall high percent of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) in all streams, ranging from 68.5% to 90.7%. Functional Feeding Groups included 40.5% filterers, 24.3%
predators, 17.6% gatherers, 10.7% shredders, and 6.9% scrapers. Shannon Diversity Index in sample streams ranged from 2.101 to 2.698. Body condition or SMI (scaled mass index) ranged from 1.5 to 3.3 across sites with a largely consistent and strong linear relationship between log mass and total length (r² = 0.910). Our results add to the body of knowledge on the larval ecology of this North American salamander and may aid in future management of future management of hellbender stream habitats.

Key words: Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, Aquatic Insects, Water Quality, Salamander, Cryptobranchidae.

Citation: Unger S, Benfield S, Williams L, Lawson C, Groves J. 2021. Macroinvertebrate communities and body condition of larval eastern hellbender salamanders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) in north Carolina. Zool Stud 60:77. doi:10.6620/ZS.2021.60-77.