Erythrism in Eastern Red-backed Salamanders: Phenotypes, Climate, and Range Data

Enochs's dataset supports a study on the evolution of the erythristic color morph in the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus). It includes scored color phenotypes and metadata for approximately 55,000 iNaturalist records of P. cinereus, along with climate data from WorldClim and IUCN species range shapefiles. The data and analysis code were published on figshare in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between color morph frequency and climate variables based on the included WorldClim data.
• Analyzing spatial distribution patterns of amphibian phenotypes using the geospatial IUCN range shapefiles.
• Replicating evolutionary hypothesis tests from the associated paper using the provided R analysis code.
• Comparing community science observation metadata (iNaturalist) across amphibian species for the period 2020-2025.

Strengths

• Includes a large sample of approximately 55,000 scored iNaturalist records for the focal species.
• Provides replicable analysis code and multiple integrated data types (tabular, geospatial, climate).
• Data sources are clearly cited, including iNaturalist, WorldClim, and IUCN.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the full dataset is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and observer bias inherent to community science platforms like iNaturalist.

Provenance

Source

iNaturalist, WorldClim, IUCN, and a published scientific study.

Collection Method

Community science observations (iNaturalist) scored for phenotypes, combined with published climate and range data.

Time Range

iNaturalist records cover 2020-2025; climate and range data are from contemporary and historical sources.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-17 19:01:41; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Likely focuses on the range of Plethodon cinereus and Notophthalmus viridescens in North America.