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    Spatial and temporal variation in prey color patterns for background matching across a continuous heterogeneous environment

    Baling, Marleen; Stuart-Fox, D.; Brunton, D. H.; Dale, J.

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    Date
    2020-02-22
    Citation:
    Baling, M., Stuart-Fox, D., Brunton, D. H., & Dale, J. (2020). Spatial and temporal variation in prey color patterns for background matching across a continuous heterogeneous environment. Ecology and Evoltuion, 00, 1-10. doi:10.1002/ece3.6024
    Permanent link to Research Bank record:
    https://hdl.handle.net/10652/4939
    Abstract
    In heterogeneous habitats, camouflage via background matching can be challenging because visual characteristics can vary dramatically across small spatial scales. Additionally, temporal variation in signaling functions of coloration can affect crypsis, especially when animals use coloration seasonally for intraspecific signaling (e.g., mate selection). We currently have a poor understanding of how wild prey optimize background matching within continuously heterogeneous habitats, and whether this is affected by requirements of intraspecific signaling across biological seasons. Here, we quantified color patterns of a wild population of shore skink (Oligosoma smithi), a variably colored lizard endemic to New Zealand, to (a) investigate whether background matching varies across a vegetation gradient; (b) assess potential signaling functions of color; and (c) to determine whether there is a trade-off between requirements for crypsis and intraspecific signaling in coloration across seasons. Although all pattern types occurred throughout the vegetation gradient, we found evidence for background matching in skinks across the vegetation gradient, where dorsal brightness and pattern complexity corresponded with the proportion of vegetation cover. There was also a significant disparity between ventral color (saturation) of juveniles and adults, and also between sexes, suggestive of sex recognition. However, there was little indication that color was condition-dependent in adults. Despite some evidence for a potential role in signaling, crypsis did not greatly differ across seasons. Our study suggests that selection favors a mix of generalist and specialist background matching strategies across continuously heterogeneous habitats.
    Keywords:
    New Zealand, shore skinks (Oligosoma smithi), Oligosoma smithi, camouflage, crypsis, intraspecific signaling, temporal variation, skinks
    ANZSRC Field of Research:
    0603 Evolutionary Biology
    Copyright Holder:
    Authors
    Copyright Notice:
    © 2020 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
    Available Online at:
    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.6024
    Rights:
    This digital work is protected by copyright. It may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. You will recognise the author's and publishers rights and give due acknowledgement where appropriate.
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