Abstract
This study aimed to see if Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens, the eastern red spotted newt, has the ability to orient following a short displacement. Previous studies on newt navigation have shown that newts have the ability to navigate home following displacement of up to 45km. These newts primarily used magnetoreception in order to navigate at these longer distances; however, at shorter distances this mechanism may not be useful due to the spatial variation in the magnetic field being too weak. This study displaced newts 40m, measured their initial orientation, and evaluated whether they oriented toward the pond or towards a specific cardinal direction. The experiment took place at Sandy Bottom Preserve in Buncombe County, NC from May 19th, 2025, to June 23rd, 2025. The results of this study showed that there was no significant tendency to orient towards the pond or a specific cardinal direction. This study provides a framework for future studies into this topic and investigates how and why future research is needed to better understand newt orientation.
Keywords
Salamander, Navigation, Homing, Wetlands
How to Cite
Collazo, N., (2025) “Newt Orientation after Displacement ”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 38(2).
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