× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

Does a rough life as a youngster foretell hard times as an adult? A Virginia Commonwealth University researcher wants to know if that’s true — for salamanders.

Doctoral student Julie Charbonnier is studying whether deprivation in early life affects how the little amphibians might fare in a world changed by global warming.

“How does your childhood impact you later in life?” asked Charbonnier, summarizing the work.

The object of her attention is the spotted salamander, a dark little cigar with legs, bright yellow spots and a wry, anatomically fixed grin.

Coincidentally, the moist-skinned belly crawler enjoys a cult following in the Richmond area, serving as the symbol of the Friends of the James River Park volunteer group and the catalyst for late-winter, rainy-night outings to see the animals migrate to small ponds to breed.

The study could shed light on ways to protect amphibians such as frogs and salamanders, which are dying out in many parts of the globe.

“Amphibians are super important to ecosystems. … Everybody eats them, and they eat a lot of bugs,” said Charbonnier, 26. “They serve as pest controls. And if we lose amphibians, in general, it’s not going to be a very good world for us.”