Factors determining the dorsal coloration pattern of aposematic salamanders.

ABSTRACT: Aposematic bright colors have a key role for animal defense and can be expressed through metabolic production or by acquiring pigments from diet. Aposematic coloration can be related to both local adaptations and availability of trophic resources. The European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) shows significant color variability and occurs across a broad range of habitats. Here we combined field observations with common rearing experiments to disentangle the role of environmental conditions and local adaptations in determining aposematic coloration of salamander populations. We assessed color variation and measured habitat features and food availability in adults from 25 populations. Furthermore, we reared newborn larvae from 10 populations under different food availability and analy

SUBMITTER: Barzaghi B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9556531 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature