98 
Raymond D. Semlitsch and Michael A. McMillan 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
Two Carolina bays, Rainbow Bay and Ellenton Bay, represent 
natural lentic habitats of the upper Coastal Plain (Schalles 1979) and 
were selected as study sites on the U. S. Department of Energy’s Savan- 
nah River Plant (SRP) near Aiken, South Carolina. Rainbow Bay is a 
Carolina bay < 1 ha in area and is surrounded primarily by pine planta- 
tions. Slash pine, Pinus elliotii, and loblolly pine, P. taeda, surround the 
bay, with wax myrtle, Myrica cerifera, and blackberry, Rubus sp., 
providing the peripheral understory vegetation. Rainbow Bay is subjec- 
ted to yearly drying, whereas Ellenton Bay is a more stable body of water, 
drying only twice in the last 24 years. Ellenton Bay is an approximately 
10 ha Carolina bay surrounded by an old field community undergoing 
secondary succession (Gibbons 1970). Predominant plants peripheral to 
the bay are bush clover, Lespedeza sp., dog fennel, Eupatorium sp., and 
blackberry, Rubus sp.. Additional soil and vegetation characteristics are 
described in Odum (1960). Rainbow Bay is approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) 
from Ellenton Bay. 
The drift fence and pitfall trap technique was employed at both bays. 
The Rainbow Bay drift fence was checked daily from 21 September 1978 
through 30 December 1979. Individuals caught in pitfall traps were coun- 
ted, and sex and reproductive condition noted before an animal was 
released on the opposite side of the fence. Samples for dissection were 
collected from pitfall traps at Rainbow Bay from 24 September through 
30 November 1978 and at Ellenton Bay from 30 September through 10 
November 1978. Movements of E. quadridigitata at Ellenton Bay were 
not monitored daily as they were at Rainbow Bay. Rainfall and 
minimum and maximum air temperatures at Rainbow Bay were recorded 
daily. 
Salamanders kept for dissection were sacrificed in chloretone, pre- 
served in 10% formaldehyde, and stored in 70% ethyl alcohol. Snout-vent 
length (SVL) was measured on preserved specimens from tip of the snout 
to posterior end of the cloaca. Individuals were dissected using a dis- 
secting microscope to determine sex, reproductive condition, and ovarian 
egg size. The diameters of six eggs, chosen at random, were measured 
with a stage micrometer. Sexual maturity for males was determined by 
the amount of pigmentation on testes and size of the testes and vasa 
deferentia, and the presence of enlarged cirri (Gordon 1953; Sever 1975). 
Females were considered mature if eggs ( > 0.7 mm) containing yolk were 
present in the oviducts or had recently been laid as evidenced by long, 
thin oviducts with clearly separated muscle bands (Gordon 1953; Ireland, 
1976). 
