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Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams.

ABSTRACT: Tonic immobility is an antipredator defence in which the prey animal remains motionless after physical contact with the predator, pretending to be dead. This behaviour has been observed among a variety of taxa but has received only little attention in amphibian larvae. During our field studies with fire salamander larvae, we observed that larvae from different habitats display tonic immobility after handling. In our study site, we find larvae in pond and stream habitats, that differ in several aspects such as their stress response and their risk-taking behaviour, likely caused by the very different habitat conditions. We measured the time that the tonic immobility behaviour was displayed but found no difference between larvae from the two habitat types. Likewise, we also found no correlation between the size of the larvae and the duration of displaying the behaviour. In conclusion, we found that fire salamander larvae show tonic immobility, but found no evidence that the different habitat conditions influence the tonic immobility behaviour.

SUBMITTER: Schulte L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10985366 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams.

Schulte Laura L Caspers Barbara A BA

Ecology and evolution 20240401 4

Tonic immobility is an antipredator defence in which the prey animal remains motionless after physical contact with the predator, pretending to be dead. This behaviour has been observed among a variety of taxa but has received only little attention in amphibian larvae. During our field studies with fire salamander larvae, we observed that larvae from different habitats display tonic immobility after handling. In our study site, we find larvae in pond and stream habitats, that differ in several a ...[more]

PMID: 38571785

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Project description:Phenotypic plasticity has been proposed as a mechanism facilitating the colonisation and adaptation to novel environments, such as caves. However, phenotypic plasticity in subterranean environments remains largely unexplored. Here, we test for plasticity in growth and development of fire salamander larvae (Salamandra salamandra) from subterranean and surface habitats, in response to contrasting food availability and light conditions. We hypothesized that: (i) low food availability and absence of light decrease larval growth and delay metamorphosis, (ii) light conditions mediate the effects of food availability on growth and time to metamorphosis, and (iii) larval response to contrasting light and food conditions is shaped by the habitat of origin. Our study showed that reduced food availability significantly delayed metamorphosis and slowed total length and body mass growth rates, while exposure to constant darkness slowed body mass growth rate. However, larvae slowed growth rates and increased time to metamorphosis without compromising size at metamorphosis. The effect of food availability on growth and time to metamorphosis did not change under different light conditions. Fire salamanders from subterranean and surface habitats responded differently only in relation to contrasting food availability conditions. Specifically, larvae from the surface habitat grew faster in high food conditions, while growth in larvae from the subterranean habitat was not influenced by food availability. Initial size also appeared to be an influential factor, since larger and heavier larvae grew slower, metamorphosed faster, and the size advantage was maintained in newly-metamorphosed juveniles. Overall, the results of our experiment suggest that plasticity and local adaptation favor the exploitation of aquatic subterranean habitats for breeding by fire salamanders, allowing successful development even under food shortage and day-length constraints, without compromising metamorphic size. Our findings have implications for conservation because they confirm that phenotypic plasticity plays a critical role in allowing fire salamanders to overcome altered environmental conditions.

Project description:For many species, population sizes are unknown despite their importance for conservation. For population size estimation, capture-mark-recapture (CMR) studies are often used, which include the necessity to identify each individual, mostly through individual markings or genetic characters. Invasive marking techniques, however, can negatively affect the individual fitness. Alternatives are low-impact techniques such as the use of photos for individual identification, for species with stable distinctive phenotypic traits. For the individual identification of photos, a variety of different software, with different requirements, is available. The European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) is a species in which individuals, both at the larval stage and as adults, have individual specific patterns that allow for individual identification. In this study, we compared the performance of five different software for the use of photographic identification for the European fire salamander: Amphibian & Reptile Wildbook (ARW), AmphIdent, I3S pattern+, ManderMatcher and Wild-ID. While adults can be identified by all five software, European fire salamander larvae can currently only be identified by two of the five (ARW and Wild-ID). We used one dataset of European fire salamander larval pictures taken in the laboratory and tested this dataset in two of the five software (ARW and Wild-ID). We used another dataset of European fire salamander adult pictures taken in the field and tested this using all five software. We compared the requirements of all software on the pictures used and calculated the False Rejection Rate (FRR) and the Recognition Rate (RR). For the larval dataset (421 pictures) we found that the ARW and Wild-ID performed equally well for individual identification (99.6% and 100% Recognition Rate, respectively). For the adult dataset (377 pictures), we found the best False Rejection Rate in ManderMatcher and the highest Recognition Rate in the ARW. Additionally, the ARW is the only program that requires no image pre-processing. In times of amphibian declines, non-invasive photo identification software allowing capture-mark-recapture studies help to gain knowledge on population sizes, distribution, movement and demography of a population and can thus help to support species conservation.

Dataset Information

Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams.

Publications

Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams.

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