Photo credit: Heidi Smith
Recent work from Adam Chouinard (click here to read the paper) provides evidence of the ability of female red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) to evaluate chemical cues from the mental and postcloacal glands of possible mates based on diet differences alone. Males were starved for one week and then fed either high quality or low quality diet. Cues were obtained and presented to the females in a simple Y-maze. Females tended to chose the males from the high quality diets which may be indicative of greater fitness.
