Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Fear of the dark: substrate preference in Amazonian tadpoles

Fear of the dark: substrate preference in Amazonian tadpoles Due to the importance of camouflage to avoid detection by predators, predation pressure can cause coupled evolution of skin colour and preference for substrate colour. Individuals can choose regions where the background makes their skin colour less noticeable (crypsis) or where it accentuates warning coloration (aposematism). In such scenario, individuals should optimally choose substrate according to their skin colour and mechanism of predation avoidance: toxic species are expected to choose highly lit places and non-toxic species should avoid such places. We studied substrate choice on five species of tadpoles that differ in body colour and toxicity. The results of the present study did not confirm our prediction that non-toxic and cryptically coloured species would prefer a lower contrast substrate that maximizes camouflage. We show that individuals preferred highly lit areas that accentuated their contrast with the substrate. The general preference for lighter substrate might be related to the tadpole’s limited vision on a dark substrate, which hampers their ability in detecting predators. This study demonstrates that tadpoles can distinguish the substrate colour and that their choice of habitat might be linked to both their defence mechanism in the case of aposematic species and recognition of habitat elements in the case of cryptically-coloured species. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png acta ethologica Springer Journals

Fear of the dark: substrate preference in Amazonian tadpoles

Download PDF
7 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/fear-of-the-dark-substrate-preference-in-amazonian-tadpoles-D9zqOL5y0N
Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © ISPA, CRL 2021
ISSN
0873-9749
eISSN
1437-9546
DOI
10.1007/s10211-021-00374-x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Due to the importance of camouflage to avoid detection by predators, predation pressure can cause coupled evolution of skin colour and preference for substrate colour. Individuals can choose regions where the background makes their skin colour less noticeable (crypsis) or where it accentuates warning coloration (aposematism). In such scenario, individuals should optimally choose substrate according to their skin colour and mechanism of predation avoidance: toxic species are expected to choose highly lit places and non-toxic species should avoid such places. We studied substrate choice on five species of tadpoles that differ in body colour and toxicity. The results of the present study did not confirm our prediction that non-toxic and cryptically coloured species would prefer a lower contrast substrate that maximizes camouflage. We show that individuals preferred highly lit areas that accentuated their contrast with the substrate. The general preference for lighter substrate might be related to the tadpole’s limited vision on a dark substrate, which hampers their ability in detecting predators. This study demonstrates that tadpoles can distinguish the substrate colour and that their choice of habitat might be linked to both their defence mechanism in the case of aposematic species and recognition of habitat elements in the case of cryptically-coloured species.

Journal

acta ethologica – Springer Journals

Published: Oct 1, 2021

Keywords: Aposematism; Body colour; Camouflage; Habitat selection

References

  • Spectral sensitivity of the system controlling visual pigment composition in tadpole eyes
    Bridges, CDB
  • Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm?
    Briolat, ES; Burdfield-Steel, ER; Paul, SC
  • The costs of an inducible defense in anuran larvae
    Buskirk, J
  • Frog breeding pond selection in response to predators and conspecific cues
    Buxton, VL; Ward, MP; Sperry, JH
  • Visual avoidance in xenopus tadpoles is correlated with the maturation of visual responses in the optic tectum
    Dong, W; Lee, RH; Xu, H
  • Evidence for crypsis in coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), parr: substrate colour preference and achromatic reflectance
    Donnelly, WA; Dill, LM
  • Influence of rainbow trout (Oncothynchus mykiss) on density and feeding behaviour of a perlid stonefly
    Feltmate, BW; Williams, DD
  • Oviposition site selection in two basin-digging Leptodactylus Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura)
    Giaretta, AA; da Silva, WR; Facure, KG
  • A simplified table for staging anuran embryos and larvae with notes on identification
    Gosner, KL
  • Visual signalling in anuran amphibians
    Hödl, W; Amézquita, A
  • Imperfect camouflage: how to hide in a variable world?
    Hughes, A; Liggins, E; Stevens, M
  • Effects os sandy substrate and light on hypermelanosis of the blind side in cultured Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus
    Iwata, N; Kikuchi, K
  • Responses of young Xenopus laevis tadpoles to light dimming: possible roles for the pineal eye
    Jamieson, D; Roberts, A
  • Colour and pattern change against visually heterogeneous backgrounds in the tree frog Hyla japonica
    Kang, C; Kim, YE; Jang, Y
  • The effect of stress and stress hormones on dynamic colour-change in a sexually dichromatic Australian frog
    Kindermann, C; Narayan, EJ; Wild, F
  • Environmental complexity reduces tadpole predation by water bugs
    Kopp, K; Wachlevski, M; Eterovick, PC
  • Predator-induced morphological changes in an amphibian: predation by dragonflies affects tadpole shape and color
    McCollum, SA; Leimberger, JD
  • Preference for background color of the Xenopus laevis tadpole
    Moriya, T; Kito, K; Miyashita, Y; Asami, K
  • Does background colouration affect the behaviour of tadpoles? An experimental approach with an odonate predator
    Nomura, F; De Marco, P; Carvalho, AFA; Rossa-Feres, DC
  • Distribuição espacial de peixes em ambientes lênticos : interação de fatores
    Oliveira, EF; Goulart, E
  • Resolving tradeoffs among crypsis, escape behavior, and microhabitat use in sexually dichromatic species
    Orton, RW; McBrayer, LD
  • The tadpole of Leptodactylus elenae (Anura: Leptodactylidae), with the description of the internal buccal anatomy
    Prado, CP; D’Heursel, A
  • Description of a new reproductive mode in Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae), with a review of the reproductive specialization toward terrestriality in the genus
    Prado, CP; Uetanabaro, M; Haddad, CF
  • Background matching and disruptive coloration as habitat-specific strategies for camouflage
    Price, N; Green, S; Troscianko, J
  • Non-visual detection of anuran tadpoles by odonate larvae
    Richards, SJ; Bull, CM
  • Tadpole communities: pond permanence and predation are powerful forces shaping the structure of tadpole communities
    Skelly, DK
  • Differential oviposition and offspring success of gray treefrogs in the presence of an invasive fish
    Smith, GR; Harmon, JJ
  • The development of animal personality: relevance, concepts and perspectives
    Stamps, J; Groothuis, TGG
  • Animal camouflage: current issues and new perspectives
    Stevens, M; Merilaita, S
  • Coloration of Anuran tadpoles (Amphibia): development, dynamics, function, and hypotheses
    Thibaudeau, G; Altig, R
  • Quantifying camouflage: how to predict detectability from appearance
    Troscianko, J; Skelhorn, J; Stevens, M
  • Bold tail coloration protects tadpoles from dragonfly strikes
    Van Buskirk, J; Aschwanden, J; Buckelmüller, I
  • Differential predation on tadpoles
    Voris, HK; Bacon, JP
  • Tadpole behaviour: aggregation in larval Xenopus laevis
    Wassersug, R; Hessler, CM
  • Substrate color selection by tadpoles of Physalaemus gracilis (Boulenger, 1883) (Anura, Leiuperidae)
    Ximenez, SS; Gonçalvez, TP; Oliveira, MCLM; Tozetti, AM