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Description

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Vomerine tooth series in two lines which widely diverge posteriorly and converge anteriorly. Tail length approximately equal to or a little shorter than body with head. Skin smooth in the adults in the aquatic phase and granular in the terrestrial phase. Dorsal surface dark, grayish, brown or olive, and sometimes almost black. Unclear light spots often present, sometimes forming blotched-like pattern; sometimes white spots are present on the flanks. Ventral surface are bright yellow or orange. Terrestrial males have remains of the mid-dorsal crest, and a more swollen cloaca than females. During the breeding season, the male has a low middorsal crest, unnotched, with light and dark spots, and bright blue spots and white or silver longitudinal bands with dark points on the body flanks. The female has no middorsal crest or lateral bands. The blue spots on her dorsal surface may be fused. There are also significant sexual differences in morphometrics of body and tail length (females are slightly larger), the lengths of the foreleg and hindleg, relative head length, etc.The phylogeography of I. alpestris has recently been investigated using mtDNA, revealing five major clades (Sotiropoulos et al. 2007). Clade A consists of populations from southeastern Serbia, with this clade originating in the late Miocene. This Serbian lineage is thought to be ancestral to a western and an eastern lineage, with a mid-Pliocene divergence. The western lineage is divided into Clade B (Italy) and C (central Europe and Iberia). The eastern lineage is divided into Clade D (southern Balkans) and E (central-northern Balkans). Eastern clades seem to have been isolated in multiple refugia during glaciation cycles, based on high sequence divergence. Western clades are thought to have colonized central, western, and northeastern Europe from a possible refugium in central Europe (Sotiropoulos et al. 2007).This analysis also indicates that paedomorphic lineages of I. alpestris appear to have evolved during early to mid-Pleistocene, likely in response to the ongoing climatic fluctuations (Sotiropoulos et al. 2007).At the southernmost edge of the species range, in Greece, two major mitochondrial lineages of I. alpestris veluchiensis have been separated since the mid-Pleistocene. Populations from Peloponnisos and the Greek mainland show significant differences in both nuclear gene frequencies and mitochondrial haplotypes, and consistently fall out into separate, strongly supported clades. These lineages have been proposed to warrant separate conservation status (Sotiropoulos et al. 2007). This species was featured as News of the Week on 3 July 2017:Understanding species thermal niche is critical to predicting how amphibians will respond to climate change. To characterize the thermal niche of European alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris), Gvoždík and Kristin (2017) devised a suite of behavioral and physiological experiments. Using both thermal gradient tracks to calculate preferred temperatures and respirometry trials to monitor aerobic capacity, they tracked food digestion as a measure of thermal performance. Given knowledge of ectotherm physiology one would predict that satiated newts should optimize their aerobic capacity for digestion (i.e., select thermal habitats that maximize their ability to process food). However, the alpine newts in their experiments instead behaved more “economically”, preferring body temperatures that were lower than those required for maximum aerobic capacity. They demonstrate the importance of considering maintenance costs for understanding measures of maximum physiological performance. Here, alpine newts did indeed demonstrate thermoregulatory behavior that maximized their ability to process food, yet they did it relative to the lowest possible energy expense (written by Jeffery Frederick).

References

  • Ćirović, R, Radović, D., and Vukov, T. D. (2008). ''Breeding site traits of European newts (Triturus macedonicus, Lissotriton vulgaris, and Mesotriton alpestris in the Montenegrin karst region.'' Archives of Biological Sciences, 60(3), 459-468.
  • Kalezić, M. L., Džukić, G., and Tvrtković, N. (1990). ''Newts (Triturus, Salamandridae, Urodela) of the Bukovica and Ravni Kotari regions.'' Spixiana, 13, 329-338.
  • Schabetsberger, R. and Jersabek, C.D. (1995). ''Alpine Newts (Triturus alpestris) as top predators in a high-altitude karst lake: daily food consumption and impact on the copepod Arctodiaptomus alpinus.'' Freshwater Biology, 33, 47-61.
  • Sotiropoulos, K., Eleftherakosa, K., Džukićb, G., Kalezićb, M. L., Legakisd, A., and Polymenia, R. M. (2007). ''Phylogeny and biogeography of the alpine newt Mesotriton alpestris (Salamandridae, Caudata), inferred from mtDNA sequences.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 45(1), 211-226.
  • Sotiropoulosa, K., Eleftherakosa, K., Kalezićb, M. L., Legakisc, A., and Polymenia, R. M. (2008). ''Genetic structure of the alpine newt, Mesotriton alpestris (Salamandridae, Caudata), in the southern limit of its distribution: Implications for conservation.'' Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 36(4), 297-311.

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Distribution and Habitat

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The species is distributed in the middle of Europe. The range reaches Denmark as a northern limit and runs southeastward to Romania and Bulgaria via the Carpathians and the Balkan Mountains. The range is fragmented with lowlands, broad valleys, etc., especially in the southern part. A large part of central Europe is inhabited by I. alpestris alpestris; Montenegro is inhabited by I. alpestris serdarus; central Greece by I. alpestris veluchiensis; northern Italy by I. alpestris apuanus; southern Italy by I. alpestris inexpectatus; northern Spain by I. alpestris cyreni. There are seven more populations whose subspecific position was designated by separate names, but was not justified. The species lives usually in mountains up to the alpine belt. It occurs, however, at much lower altitudes. The populations occur usually in the forest and in the areas formerly occupied by forests. This is true especially for lowland populations. In the aquatic phase, it inhabits lakes, ponds, rivulets and swamps with clear stagnant or semi-flowing water. Observations in the Ukrainian Carpathians revealed that the Alpine Newt prefers clearer and cooler waters than the syntopic Carpathian Newt (Lissotriton montandoni). In Montenegro, the Alpine Newt is syntopic with the Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) in the Upper Zone of the Montenegrin karst, and is restricted to elevations above 870 m (Ćirović et al. 2008). The Alpine Newt has also been found in other areas of exposed karst within the Balkans but at much lower elevations (e.g. on Mt. Velebit, Croatia, at 80 m) than reported for Montenegro populations (Kalezić et al. 1990).
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Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors

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The Alpine Newt usually is not numerous, but its population density locally reaches 1 specimen per 0.5 m2 in some ponds, usually one specimen per 20-50 m2 at most suitable sites. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, the species is most numerous in forest habitats at altitudes from 500 to 900 m, i.e. on average higher than Lissotriton montandoni. In general, I. alpestris seems to have a narrower ecological niche than L. montandoni and a lower total population number. The daily activity is similar to that of Triturus and Lissotriton. Hibernation begins in September - October and ends in February (or earlier in the south) to May. The variation in timing and duration of active period depends on latitude and altitude. In highlands the activity period is shorter. The same applies for its reproductive period. In general, the courtship pattern of the Alpine Newt is more similar to that in Lissotriton vulgaris and Lissotriton montandoni than in the crested newts (Triturus cristatus superspecies). Adults and larvae tend to be bottom dwellers. The clutch contains probably 73-190 eggs deposited singly or in short chains of 3-5 eggs over a few days. In the Ukrainian Carpathians, metamorphosis occurs in September, later than in other newt species. However, larval hibernation and even neoteny (i.e. reproduction in the larval condition) occurs frequently in this species. Some populations in the mountains consist mostly of neotenic individuals. The sexual maturity in normal individuals is reported for the age of two or three years. Just after transition to active feeding, larvae of the Alpine Newt eat prey of the same taxa as larvae of the Carpathian Newt. During subsequent development, they consume increasing amounts of Mollusca, large forms of microcrustaceans (Daphniidae), and aquatic insects. In general, larval I. alpestris feed on more benthic prey than other syntopic larval newts. Feeding of adults is similar to that in other newts, such as those in the genus Triturus, and Lissotriton. Consumption of terrestrial prey by aquatic adults, as well as oophagy on nesting sites, is common.Dorsal crests in male newts (family Salamandridae) are particularly conspicuous during breeding season and their origin may be related to the complex courtship behaviors of these salamanders. In a new analysis that looks at many species and combines information on evolutionary relationships with data on morphology as well as behaviors, Wiens et al. (2011) reveal a complex relationship among these traits. The various dorsal crest traits (in mature males) that characterize different species have been lost repeatedly. The evolution of the dorsal crest may be related to certain specific behaviors such as fanning and whipping of the tail. Species with higher numbers of crest-related traits also have larger repertoires of courtship behaviors.
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Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors

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Chemical pollution of wetlands, as well as destruction of habitats has led to the species' extinction from some localities. Reproduction in wheel ruts on country roads leads to population declines caused by high embryonic and larval mortality in the ruts. Mass collecting of newts for education and science has negatively influenced some populations.Newt habitat in the Montenegrin holokarst region (a rocky, dry habitat) has been steadily declining over the past several decades, as many ponds originally created for cattle drinking and human water consumption have been abandoned by humans (Ćirović et al. 2008).
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Relation to Humans

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In addition to the above mentioned factors, illegal trade in this species for terrarium amateurs previously took place in the former USSR. The extent of synanthropization seems to vary by the species' geographic populations.
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Basic info

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It usually prefers altitude from 1,200 to 2,200m. Size up to 12cm, sometimes more. Females are larger than males. Females give birth to 250 to 300 eggs until the end of the breeding season.

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Population

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It is generally common in suitable habitat. The species is considered to be rare in Hungary and Bulgaria; threatened in Austria and Denmark; vulnerable in Spain (M.a. cyreni) and endangered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece (Gascet al., 1997; Denoël pers. comm.).

Current Population Trend:  src=Decreasing Additional data: ♦Population severely fragmented: No
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Jan Willem Arntzen, Mathieu Denoël, Sergius Kuzmin, Vladimir Ishchenko, Pedro Beja, Franco Andreone, Robert Jehle, Per Nyström, Claude Miaud, Brandon Anthony, Benedikt Schmidt, Agnieszka Ogrodowczyk, Maria Ogielska, Jaime Bosch, Milan Vogrin, Miguel Tejedo. 2009. Ichthyosaura alpestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T59472A11946568. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T59472A11946568.en. Downloaded on 15 April 2018.
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Alpine newt

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The alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.

The alpine newt occurs at high altitude as well as in the lowlands. Living mainly in forested land habitats for most of the year, the adults migrate to puddles, ponds, lakes or similar water bodies for breeding. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore. After fertilisation, females usually fold their eggs into leaves of water plants. The aquatic larvae grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in around three months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juvenile efts, which mature into adults at around three years. In the southern range, the newts sometimes do not metamorphose but keep their gills and stay aquatic as paedomorphic adults. Larvae and adults feed mainly on diverse invertebrates and themselves fall prey to dragonfly larvae, large beetles, fish, snakes, birds or mammals.

Populations of the alpine newt started to diverge around 20 million years ago. At least four subspecies are distinguished, and some argue there are several distinct, cryptic species. Although still relatively common and classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, alpine newt populations are decreasing and have locally gone extinct. The main threats are habitat destruction, pollution and the introduction of fish such as trout into breeding sites. Where it has been introduced, the alpine newt can potentially transmit diseases to native amphibians, and it is being eradicated in New Zealand.

Taxonomy

Nomenclature

The alpine newt was first described in 1768 by Austrian zoologist Laurenti, as Triton alpestris, from the Ötscher mountain in the Austrian Alps (alpestris meaning "alpine" in Latin).[4] He used that name for a female and described the male (Triton salamandroides) and the larva (Proteus tritonius) as different species.[5] Later, the alpine newt was placed in the genus Triturus along with most other European newts. When genetic evidence showed that Triturus as then defined contained several unrelated lineages,[6][7][8] García-París and colleagues in 2004 split off the alpine newt as the monotypic genus Mesotriton,[9] which had been erected as a subgenus by Bolkay in 1928.[10]

However, the name Ichthyosaura had been introduced in 1801 by Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille for "Proteus tritonius", the larva of the alpine newt.[11]: 310  It therefore has priority over Mesotriton and is now the valid genus name.[12][13]: 9–10  "Ichthyosaura", Greek for "fish lizard", refers to a nymph-like creature in classical mythology.[12]

Subspecies

Four subspecies (see table below) were recognised for the alpine newt by Roček and colleagues (2003),[14] followed by later authors,[15]: 214 [13]: 16–36  while some previously described subspecies were not retained. The four subspecies correspond only in part to the five major lineages identified within the species (see section Evolution below): The western populations of the nominate subspecies I. a. alpestris, together with the Cantabrian I. a. cyreni and the Apennine I. a. apuana form one group, while the eastern populations of I. a. alpestris are genetically closer to the Greek I. a. veluchiensis.[1] Differences in body shape and colour between the subspecies are not consistent.[15]: 214 [13]: 16–36 

Several authors argued that the ancient lineages of the alpine newt might represent cryptic species.[3][16] Four species were therefore distinguished by Raffaëlli in 2018,[16] but Frost considers this premature.[3]

Evolution

Alpine newt populations have separated since the Early Miocene, around 20 million years ago, according to a molecular clock estimate by Recuero and colleagues.[1] Known fossil remains are much more recent: they were found in the Pliocene of Slovakia[13]: 38  and the Pleistocene of Northern Italy.[17] An older, Miocene fossil from Germany, Ichthyosaura randeckensis, may be the sister species of the alpine newt.[18]

Molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that alpine newts split into a western and an eastern group. Each of these again contains two major lineages, which in part correspond to described subspecies (see section Distribution and subspecies above).[1][19] These ancient genetic differences suggest that the alpine newt may be a complex of several distinct species.[1][3][16] Higher temperatures during the Miocene or sea level oscillations may have separated early populations, leading to allopatric speciation, although admixture and introgression between lineages probably took place. Populations from Vlasina Lake in Serbia have mitochondrial DNA that is distinct from and more ancient than that of all other populations; it may have been inherited from a now extinct "ghost" population.[1] The Quaternary glaciation probably led to cycles of retreat into refugia, expansion and range shifts.[1][20]

Description

Dorsal view of a male (bright blue, left) courting a female (mottled grey, right) in a shallow pond
Dorsal view of a male (bright blue, left) courting a female (mottled grey, right) in a shallow pond
View of the orange underside of an alpine newt
Throat and belly are orange and usually unspotted.
Biofluorescence in an alpine newt

The alpine newt is medium-sized and stocky. It reaches 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) length in total, females measuring roughly 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) longer than males, and a body weight of 1.4–6.4 g. The tail is compressed sideways and is half as long or slightly shorter than the rest of the body. During their life in water, both sexes develop a tail fin, and males a low (up to 2.5 mm), smooth-edged crest on their back. The cloaca of males swells during breeding season. The skin is smooth during the breeding season and granular outside it, and is velvety during the animal's land phase.[15]: 213 [13]: 10–13 

The characteristic dark grey to bright blue of the back and sides is strongest during breeding season. This base colour may vary to greenish and is more drab and mottled in females. The belly and throat are orange and only occasionally have dark spots. Males have a white band with black spots and a light blue flash running along the flanks from the cheeks to the tail. During breeding season, their crest is white with regular dark spots. Juvenile efts, just after metamorphosis, resemble adult terrestrial females, but sometimes have a red or yellow line on the back. Very rarely, leucistic individuals have been observed.[15]: 213 [13]: 12–36 

While these traits apply to the widespread nominate subspecies, I. a. alpestris, the other subspecies differ slightly. I. a. apuana often has dark spots on the throat and sometimes on the belly. I. a. cyreni has a slightly rounder and larger skull than the nominate subspecies but is otherwise very similar. In I. a. veluchiensis, females have a more greenish colour, spots on the belly, sparse dark spots on the lower tail edge, and a narrower snout, but these differences between subspecies are not consistent.[15]: 214–215 [13]: 33–36 

Larvae are 7–11 mm long after hatching and grow to 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) just before metamorphosis. They initially have only two small filaments (balancers), between the eyes and gills on each side of the head, which later disappear as the forelegs and then the hindlegs develop.[15]: 215 [13]: 97–104  The larvae are light brown to yellow and initially have dark longitudinal stripes, which later dissolve into a dark pigmentation that is stronger towards the tail. The tail is pointed and sometimes ends in a short filament. Alpine newt larvae are more robust and have wider heads than those of the smooth newt and palmate newt.[15]: 215 [13]: 13–14 

Distribution

The alpine newt is native to continental Europe. It is relatively common over a large, more or less continuous range from northwestern France to the Carpathians in Romania, and from southern Denmark in the north to the Alps and France just north of the Mediterranean in the south, but absent from the Pannonian basin. Isolated areas of distribution in Spain, Italy and Greece correspond to distinct subspecies (see section Taxonomy: Subspecies above).[15]: 214–215 [13]: 39–46 [1][16] Alpine newts have been deliberately introduced to parts of continental Europe, including within the boundaries of cities such as Bremen and Berlin.[13]: 39–46  Other introductions have occurred to Great Britain,[21] mainly England but also Scotland,[22] and Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand.[23]

The alpine newt can occur at high elevation and has been found up to 2,370 m (7,780 ft) above sea level in the Alps. It also occurs in the lowlands down to sea level. Towards the south of its range, most populations are found above 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[13]: 51–59 

Habitats

Shady pond surrounded by forest and
Shady ponds surrounded by forest (here in the Vosges, France) are typical breeding sites for alpine newts.
Young alpine newt sitting in rotting wood
Juvenile eft hibernating in dead wood

Forests, including both deciduous and coniferous forests (pure spruce plantations are avoided), are the main land habitat. Less common are forest edges, brownfield land, or gardens. Populations can be found above tree line in the high mountains, where they prefer south-exposed slopes. The newts use logs, stones, leaf litter, burrows, construction waste or similar structures as hiding places.[15]: 216 [13]: 54–59 

Aquatic breeding sites close to adequate land habitat are critical. While small, cool water bodies in forested areas are preferred, alpine newts tolerate a wide range of permanent or non-permanent, natural or human-made water bodies. These can range from shallow puddles over small ponds to larger, fish-free lakes or reservoirs and quiet parts of streams. Damming by beavers creates suitable breeding sites. Overall, the alpine newt is tolerant regarding chemical parameters such as pH, water hardness and eutrophication. Other European newts such as the crested, smooth, palmate or Carpathian newt often use the same breeding sites, but are less common at higher elevation.[15]: 216 [13]: 47–54 

Lifecycle and behaviour

Alpine newts are usually semiaquatic, spending most of the year (9–10 months) on land and only returning to the water for breeding. The efts are probably terrestrial until they reach sexual maturity.[13]: 54  At lower altitudes this occurs in males after around three years, and in females after four to five years. Lowland alpine newts can reach the age of ten. At higher altitudes, maturity is reached only after 9–11 years, and the newts can live for up to 30 years.[15]: 215 

Terrestrial phase

Newt curling up its tail
Defensive position, with tail curled up

On land, alpine newts are mainly nocturnal, hiding for most of the day and moving and feeding during the night or in the twilight. Hibernation also usually takes place in terrestrial hiding places. They have been observed to climb up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) on vertical walls of basement ducts, where they hibernated, on wet nights. [13]: 105–107  Migration to breeding sites occurs on sufficiently warm (above 5 °C) and humid nights and may be delayed or interrupted for several weeks in unfavourable conditions. The newts can also leave the water in case of a sudden cold snap.[13]: 89–90 

Alpine newts tend to stay close to their breeding sites and only a small proportion, mainly juvenile efts, disperse to new habitats. A dispersal distance of 4 km (2.5 mi) has been observed, but such large distances are uncommon. Over short distances, the newts use mainly their sense of smell for navigation, while over long distances, orientation by the night sky, and potentially through magnetoreception are more important.[13]: 122–128 

Aquatic phase and breeding

The aquatic phase starts at snowmelt, from February in the lowlands to June at higher altitudes, while egg laying follows a few months later and can continue until August.[15]: 216 [13]: 87–90  Some southern populations in Greece and Italy appear to stay aquatic most of the year and hibernate underwater.[13]: 104–105  In the Apennine subspecies, I. a. apuana, two rounds of breeding and egg-laying in autumn and spring have been observed .[13]: 96 

Stages of courtship display, filmed in captivity[24]

Breeding behaviour occurs mainly in the morning and at dawn. Males perform a courtship display. The male first places himself in front of the female remains static for a while, then fans his tail to stimulate the female and wave pheromones towards her. After leaning in and touching her snout, he creeps away, followed by the female. When she touches the base of his tail with her snout, he releases a sperm packet (spermatophore) and blocks the female's path so she picks it up with her cloaca. Several rounds of spermatophore deposition may follow. Males frequently interfere with displays of rivals.[15]: 215  Experiments suggest that it is mainly male pheromones that trigger mating behaviour in females, while colour and other visual cues are less relevant.[24] In a breeding season, a male can produce more than 48 spermatophores, and offspring from one female usually have several fathers.[13]: 83–86 

Young larva inside jelly capsule
Egg with larva just before hatching
Side view of larva with fore- and hindlegs
Larva with fore- and hindlegs developed

Females wrap their eggs in leaves of water plants for protection, preferring leaves closer to the surface where temperatures are higher. Where no plants are available, they may also use leaf litter, dead wood or stones for egg deposition.[13]: 94–104  They can lay 70–390 eggs in a season, which are light grey-brown and 1.5–1.7 mm in diameter (2.5–3 mm including the jelly capsule). Incubation time is longer under cold conditions, but larvae typically hatch after two to four weeks.[15]: 216  The larvae are benthic, staying in general close to the bottom of the water body.[13]: 98  Metamorphosis occurs after around three months, again depending on temperature, but some larvae overwinter and metamorphose only in the next year.[15]: 216 

Paedomorphy

Pale-coloured adult newt with gills
Paedomorphic adult of subspecies I. a. apuana

Paedomorphy, where adults do not metamorphose and instead retain their gills and stay aquatic, is more common in the alpine newt than in other European newts. It is almost exclusively found in the southern part of the range (but not in the Cantabrian subspecies, I. a. cyreni). Paedomorphic adults are paler in colour than metamorphic ones. Only part of a population is usually paedomorphic, and metamorphosis can follow if the pool dries out. Paedomorphic and metamorphic newts sometimes prefer different prey, but they do interbreed. Overall, paedomorphy appears to be a facultative strategy under particular conditions that are not fully understood.[13]: 60–65 

Diet, predators and parasites

Alpine newts are diet generalists, taking mainly different invertebrates as prey. Larvae and adults living in the water eat for example plankton, molluscs,[25] larvae of insects such as chironomids, crustaceans such as water fleas,[25] ostracods, or amphipods, and terrestrial insects falling on the surface. Amphibian eggs and larvae, including of their own species, are also eaten. Prey on land includes insects, worms, spiders and woodlice.[13]: 68–72 

Predators of adult alpine newts are snakes such as the grass snake, fish such as trout, birds such as herons or ducks, and mammals such as hedgehogs, martens or shrews. Under water, large diving beetles (Dytiscus) can prey on newts, while small efts on land may be predated by ground beetles (Carabus). For eggs and larvae, diving beetles, fish, dragonfly larvae, and other newts are the main enemies.[13]: 73–77 Predator pressure can affect the phenotype of developing alpine newts.[26] In an experiment, alpine newt larvae raised in the presence of caged dragonfly larvae took longer to emerge from the larval stage, growing slower and emerging later in the season than newt larvae that did not experience predator presence. They also exhibited traits such as darker coloration, larger body size, a proportionally larger head and tail, and more wary behavior than their predator-free counterparts.[26]

Threatened adult newts often take on a defensive position, where they expose the warning colour of their belly by bending backwards or raising their tail and secrete a milky substance.[13]: 74–75  Only trace amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin, abundant in the North American Pacific newts (Taricha), have been found in the alpine newt.[27] They also sometimes produce sounds, whose function is unknown.[13]: 74–75  When adult newts are in the presence of a predator, they tend to flee a majority of the time.[28] However, the decision of whether or not to flee can depend on the newt’s sex and temperature. In an experiment, female newts fled more often and at a greater speed over a greater range of temperatures than males, who tended to flee at a slower speed and remained immobile while secreting tetrodotoxin when the temperature was outside of the normal range.[28]

Parasites include parasitic worms, leeches, the ciliate Balantidium elongatum, and potentially toadflies.[13]: 77  A ranavirus transmitted to alpine newts from midwife toads in Spain caused bleeding and necrosis.[13]: 142  The chytridiomycosis-causing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been found in wild populations,[29] and the emerging B. salamandrivorans was lethal for alpine newts in laboratory experiments.[30]

Captivity

Several subspecies of the alpine newt have been bred in captivity, including a population from Prokoško Lake in Bosnia that is now probably extinct in the wild. Efts often return to the water after only one year. Captive individuals have reached an age of 15–20 years.[31][15]: 217 

Threats and conservation

Because of its overall large range and populations that are not severely fragmented, the alpine newt was classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2009. The population trend, however, is "Decreasing", and the different geographic lineages, which may represent evolutionary significant units, have not been evaluated separately.[2] Several populations in the Balkans, some of which have been described as subspecies of their own, are highly threatened or have even gone extinct.[16][13]: 133–134 

Threats are similar to those affecting other newts and include mainly destruction and pollution of aquatic habitats. Beavers, previously widespread in Europe, were probably important in maintaining breeding sites. Introduction of fish, especially salmonids such as trout, and potentially crayfish is a significant threat that can eradicate populations from a breeding site. In the Montenegrin karst region, populations have declined as ponds created for cattle and human use were abandoned over the last decades. Lack of adequate, undisturbed land habitat (see section Habitats above) and dispersal corridors around and between breeding sites, is another problem.[15]: 216 [13]: 130–144 

Effects as introduced species

Introduced alpine newts may pose a threat to native amphibians if they carry disease. A particular concern is chytridiomycosis, which was found in at least one introduced population in the United Kingdom.[2] In New Zealand, the risk of spreading chytridiomycosis to endemic frogs[23] has led to the introduced subspecies I. a. apuana being declared an "unwanted organism", and eradication being recommended. It has proven challenging to detect and remove the newts, but over 2000 individuals have been eradicated until 2015.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Recuero, E.; Buckley, D.; García-París, M.; et al. (2014). "Evolutionary history of Ichthyosaura alpestris (Caudata, Salamandridae) inferred from the combined analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial markers" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 81: 207–220. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.09.014. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 25263421.
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Alpine newt: Brief Summary

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The alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.

The alpine newt occurs at high altitude as well as in the lowlands. Living mainly in forested land habitats for most of the year, the adults migrate to puddles, ponds, lakes or similar water bodies for breeding. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore. After fertilisation, females usually fold their eggs into leaves of water plants. The aquatic larvae grow up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in around three months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juvenile efts, which mature into adults at around three years. In the southern range, the newts sometimes do not metamorphose but keep their gills and stay aquatic as paedomorphic adults. Larvae and adults feed mainly on diverse invertebrates and themselves fall prey to dragonfly larvae, large beetles, fish, snakes, birds or mammals.

Populations of the alpine newt started to diverge around 20 million years ago. At least four subspecies are distinguished, and some argue there are several distinct, cryptic species. Although still relatively common and classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, alpine newt populations are decreasing and have locally gone extinct. The main threats are habitat destruction, pollution and the introduction of fish such as trout into breeding sites. Where it has been introduced, the alpine newt can potentially transmit diseases to native amphibians, and it is being eradicated in New Zealand.

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