Campus Units
Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
Document Type
Article
Publication Version
Accepted Manuscript
Publication Date
8-2016
Journal or Book Title
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Volume
118
Issue
4
First Page
889
Last Page
900
DOI
10.1111/bij.12780
Abstract
Predators influence the evolution of color pattern in prey species, yet how these selective forces might differ among predators is rarely considered. In particular, prey color patterns that indicate unpalatability to some predator species may not carry the same signal for other predators. We test several hypotheses of selection on patterning between mammal predators and the polymorphic salamander Plethodon cinereus, which, under an avian visual system appears as a mimic of the toxic newt Notophthalmus viridescens. We fit each hypothesis against field observations of mammalian attacks on salamander clay replicas. We then develop a novel analytical procedure that enables the combination of multiple non-exclusive models in a likelihood framework. We find that mammals do not follow any single hypothesis proposed, including the hypothesis of mimicry. Instead, mammals in this system use visual cues while foraging to avoid unfamiliar, novel prey and attack conspicuous prey. We propose that mammals may help to maintain color pattern polymorphism within populations of P. cinereus by avoiding novel, unfamiliar color morphs. Additionally, selective pressures from multiple predators and variation in predator communities among sites may contribute to the maintenance of color polymorphism within and among localities in this salamander species.
Copyright Owner
The Linnean Society of London
Copyright Date
2016
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Kraemer, Andrew C.; Serb, Jeanne M.; and Adams, Dean C., "Both novelty and conspicuousness influence selection by mammalian predators on the colour pattern of Plethodon cinereus (Urodela: Plethodontidae)" (2016). Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Publications. 210.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/eeob_ag_pubs/210
Included in
Behavior and Ethology Commons, Evolution Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Comments
This is a manuscript of an article from Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 118 (2016): 889, doi: 10.1111/bij.12780. Posted with permission.