Presenter: Kasey Morgan Kellogg

Faculty Sponsor: Amanda L. M. Hyde

School: Greenfield Community College

Research Area: Biology

Session: Poster Session 6, 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM, Auditorium, A6

ABSTRACT

Ambystoma jeffersonianum and Ambystoma laterale are two closely related mole salamander species native to eastern North America. An estimated 3.5 million years ago these two species began to interbreed and formed a new hybrid or complex (a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear.). This hybrid (sometimes referred to as the Silvery salamander or A. platineum, however this term can be used to describe many different unisexual hybrids that have genetic material from various Ambystomas) is a unisexual hybrid that reproduces with ‘pure’ males. My goal is to further research how this complex came to be and how these unisexual hybrids continue to reproduce today despite all odds. I will do this by reviewing a mix of reference/tertiary, secondary, and primary sources relating to the natural history and reproduction of the hybrid Ambystoma and working to interpret and analyze the information found to form a better understanding on the subject.