Spotty at Best: Brook Trout Exploit Large, Adult Spotted Salamanders in the Early Spring

At temperate and boreal latitudes, seasonal transitions drive large fluxes in resource availability. For both terrestrial aquatic predators, pulses have the capacity to shape physiological ecological strategies. However, our ability detect seasonally dynamic trophic interactions is limited by logistical difficulty of year-round monitoring. Here, we document a novel, pulse freshwater predator across multiple lakes years: breeding spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) consumption brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). Better understanding prevalence impacts fish preying on adult amphibians will better inform amphibian conservation fisheries management moving forward. Photo 1: The fontinalis) sensitive cold-water species that exhibits massive morphological diversity their native introduced ranges. As result, this able inhabit vast array habitats, from trickling headwater streams coastal rivers. credit: Timothy Fernandes. 2: Though salamanders breed predominantly ephemeral pools small ponds, many populations Algonquin Park (Ontario, Canada) appear utilize lakes.