Amphibians: Provide particular plants as breeding areas or egg laying sites

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

75%
Certainty

20%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Study locations

Key messages

One small, controlled study in the USA found that salamanders bred in an aquarium heavily planted with java moss and swamp-weed.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A small, controlled study in 1990–1994 of Texas salamanders Eurycea neotenes in Dallas, USA found that captive breeding was successful in a heavily planted aquarium but not in aquariums without plants. Between 1990 and 1993, a pair of salamanders housed in a planted aquarium produced 19 eggs (in February 1991) but none were produced by salamander pairs housed in an aquarium containing a gravel substrate or one with partially buried rocks and rock shards over the same period. The eggs were fixed singly to live plants. Four of the eggs hatched and three larvae were reared to maturity. The planted aquarium contained java moss Vesicularia dubyana and swamp-weed Hygrophila sp.. Eggs were removed to a separate aquarium to avoid predation by the adult salamanders or snails.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Roberts D.T., Schleser D.M. & Jordan T.L. (1995) Notes on the captive husbandry and reproduction of the Texas salamander Eurycea neotenes at the Dallas Aquarium. Herpetological Review, 26, 23-25.

Please cite as:

Jonas, C.S., Timbrell, L.L., Young, F., Petrovan, S.O., Bowkett, A.E. & Smith, R.K. (2020) Management of Captive Animals. Pages 527-553 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

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This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Management of Captive Animals

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Amphibians: Provide multiple egg laying sites within an enclosure Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Amphibians: Provide natural substrate for species which do not breed in water (e.g. burrowing/tunnel breeders) Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Amphibians: Provide particular plants as breeding areas or egg laying sites Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link