Ontogenetic switch between alternative antipredatory strategies in the leopard gecko ( Eublepharis macularius ): defensi
- PDF / 394,933 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 91 Downloads / 157 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
Ontogenetic switch between alternative antipredatory strategies in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius): defensive threat versus escape Eva Landová & Jitka Jančúchová-Lásková & Veronika Musilová & Štěpánka Kadochová & Daniel Frynta
Received: 19 December 2012 / Revised: 27 March 2013 / Accepted: 28 March 2013 / Published online: 18 April 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Abstract Ontogenetic changes in antipredator behavior optimize survival of growing animals. Leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) respond to a simulated predator either by postural and vocal threats, sometimes followed by biting, or alternatively by a rapid escape. The former “confrontational” and the latter “avoidance” behavior rarely occurs in a sequence; in fact, they represent mutually exclusive defensive strategies. We examined 552 individuals of a leopard gecko (E. macularius) of various ages, from hatching up to adulthood (31 months). Each experimental animal was exposed to a sequence of five “water-spraying” and ten “stick” (stick poking on base of the tail) stimuli, and the emitted behavior was recorded. We analyzed the effects of age, body size, body condition, adult–juvenile coloration, and sex on observed behavioral traits. The results showed that in the case of water-spraying stimulus, the usage of deterrent vocalization or escape tactic was affected by age and condition. In addition to that, using deterrent vocalization was influenced by the coloration of the animal. Stick stimulus evokes antipredator strategies that correspond with age and coloration (deterrent vocalization) and also with standardized body size (escape). Thus, leopard geckos exhibit clear ontogenetic change of defensive strategies, from threat–vocalization–bite strategy prevailing in juveniles to an escape strategy typical for adults. This behavioral change Communicated by S. J. Downes Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00265-013-1536-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. E. Landová : J. Jančúchová-Lásková : V. Musilová : Š. Kadochová : D. Frynta (*) Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic e-mail: [email protected]
is accompanied by the ontogenetic switch of coloration from presumably warning contrasting light–dark banded pattern of juveniles to a cryptic spotted coloration of the adults. Keywords Antipredation . Ontogeny . Alternative strategies . Aposematic coloration . Lizard . Eublepharis macularius
Introduction Antipredatory behavior fundamentally contributes to survival, and thus, it may determine fitness in many animals. An extensive research effort has been devoted to the function of antipredatory strategies (for review, see Caro 2005; Lind and Cresswell 2005). The antipredatory skills either emerge gradually during development (Pongracz and Altbacker 2000; Blumstein and Munos 2005; Hollén and Manser 2006) or its efficiency may change substantially in different ages
Data Loading...
