Differential Survival and the Effects of Predation on a Color Polymorphic Species, the Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Animal Coloration in the Anthropocene

Natural habitats are increasingly affected by anthropogenically driven environmental changes resulting from habitat destruction, chemical and light pollution, and climate change. Organisms inhabiting such habitats are faced with novel disturbances that can alter their modes of signaling. Coloration is one such sensory modality whose production, perception and function is being affected by human-induced disturbances. Animals that acquire pigment derivatives through diet are adversely impacted by the introduction of chemical pollutants into their environments as well as by general loss of natural habitat due to urbanization or logging leading to declines in pigment sources. Those species that do manage to produce color-based signals and displays may face disruptions to their signaling medium in the form of light pollution and turbidity. Furthermore, forest fragmentation and the resulting breaks in canopy cover can expose animals to predation due to the influx of light into previously dark environments. Global climate warming has been decreasing snow cover in arctic regions, causing birds and mammals that undergo seasonal molts to appear conspicuous against a snowless background. Ectotherms that rely on color for thermoregulation are under pressure to change their appearances. Rapid changes in habitat type through severe fire events or coral bleaching also challenge animals to match their backgrounds. Through this review, we aim to describe the wide-ranging impacts of anthropogenic environmental changes on visual ecology and suggest directions for the use of coloration both as an indicator of ecological change and as a tool for conservation.

The trade-off between color and size in lizards' conspicuous tails

A tail of conspicuous coloration is hypothesized to be an advantageous trait for many species of lizards. Predator attacks would be directed to a non-vital, and autotomizable, body part, increasing the chance of survival. However, as body size increases it also increases the signaling area that could attract predators from greater distances, increasing the overall chance of predation. Here, we test the hypothesis that there is a trade-off between tail color and size, affecting predation probabilities. We used plasticine replicas of lizards to study the predation patterns of small and large lizards with red and blue tails. In a natural environment, we exposed six hundred replicas to the attacks of free-ranging predators. Large red-tailed replicas were more attacked by birds. Mammals and unidentified predators showed no preference for any size or colors. The attacks were not primarily directed to conspicuous tails when compared to the bodies/heads of our replicas. Our study suggests that red color signals in large lizards could enhance their detection by visually oriented predators (i.e., birds). The efficacy of conspicuous tails as a decoy may rely on associated behavioral displays, which are hard to test with static replicas.

The fast-slow continuum of longevity among yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata): intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of variation

Yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata) show a wide fast-slow continuum of the life-history trait longevity ranging from 5 to 23 years. We investigated populations in Germany (n = 8) and Austria (n = 1) to determine their position within the continuum of longevity and the potential drivers of adult survival at the local and the continental scale. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors considered were local weather, nutritional state, allocation of ingested energy to somatic growth, pathogen prevalence, and geographical clines (latitude, altitude, and longitude). Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) monitoring and direct age assessment by skeletochronology allowed for reliable estimates of longevity and adult survival. Raw and corrected recapture rates as well as a probabilistic estimate of the lifespan of the eldest 1% adults of a cohort (CMR data) were used as surrogates for adult survival and thus longevity in a population. Additionally, survival rates were calculated from static life tables based on the age structure (skeletochronological data) of eight populations. Populations in Germany were short-lived with a maximum lifespan of annual cohorts varying from 5 to 8 years, whereas the population in Austria was long-lived with a cohort longevity of 13 to 23 years. We provide evidence that annual survival rates and longevity differ among years and between short- and long-lived populations, but there was no decrease of survival in older toads (i.e. absence of senescence). Variation of weather among years accounted for 90.7% of variance in annual survival rates of short-lived populations, whereas the sources of variation in the long-lived population remained unidentified. At the continental scale, longevity variation among B. variegata populations studied so far did not correspond to geographical clines or climate variation. Therefore, we propose that a population's position within the fast-slow continuum integrates the response to local environmental stochasticity (extrinsic source of variation) and the efficiency of chemical antipredator protection determining the magnitude of longevity (intrinsic source of variation).

Predation risk and microhabitat selection by cave salamanders, Eurycea lucifuga (Rafinesque, 1822)

Habitat selection is driven by many factors, but no one location is likely to be best for all factors; thus, individuals are subject to trade-offs when selecting habitat. Caves provide a clear example of such trade-offs because these habitats are energy deprived. Cave salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga) commonly inhabit caves at least in part because this habitat is cool and wet. We tested the hypothesis that caves also provide cave salamanders with a reduction in predation risk. We used clay models to test for differences in predation risk in caves vs. forests and at low (e.g., ground) vs. elevated (e.g., cave wall) positions, and recorded locations of cave salamanders to assess vertical (i.e., wall) vs. non-vertical (e.g., ground) substrate selection in a cave. Overall, a mean of 3.2 models in caves were damaged and a mean of 8.2 were damaged in forests. Cave salamanders selected vertical substrate more often than non-vertical substrate (, ), and in caves, low-positioned models were more likely to be damaged than models on walls, although there was no effect of model height in forests. This study suggests that caves provide salamanders a refuge from increased predation pressure, a benefit that likely compensates for the costs of moving between caves and the richer foraging grounds outside them.