Antipredator pheromones in amphibians: a review

Rajchard, Josef

doi:10.17221/5563-vetmed

Cited by 26 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Another possibility is that the resident frog was residing deep in a burrow system, preventing confirmation of their presence. We do not have an understanding of how P. frosti respond to domestic dogs, but the flight response is a common antipredator behavior in amphibians (see Rajchard, 2006). Moreover, P. frosti often display retreat behavior in response to physical disturbance during collection attempts (D.G, personal observations).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scent of a frog: Can conservation detection dogs be used to locate endangered amphibians in the wild?

Gilbert,

Magrath,

Edwards

et al. 2024

Conservat Sci and Prac

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In recent years, the potential to locate endangered animals using scent trained detection dogs (conservation detection dogs) has gained attention. Among vertebrates, conservation detection dogs have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to detect the scent of endangered mammals, reptiles, and birds, but their use in detecting amphibians is only beginning to be explored. A lack of work in this area is surprising given that amphibians are declining faster than any other vertebrate taxa. Moreover, amphibians are generally small, highly cryptic and breed in complex habitats, making them difficult to locate for the purpose of monitoring or establishing conservation breeding programs. This study aimed to provide a preliminary investigation into whether conservation detection dogs can be imprinted on the scent of the critically endangered Baw Baw frog (Philoria frosti) under captive conditions, and then effectively trained to locate wild frogs in their complex natural habitat. Two conservation detection dogs were trained to identify and locate P. frosti scent under controlled conditions before assessing their ability to locate wild P. frosti. Both conservation detection dogs were effective at locating P. frosti scent under controlled conditions, and also demonstrated an ability to detect live frogs under natural conditions. From an applied perspective, our findings provide new evidence that conservation detection dogs are capable of learning to detect the scent of small, cryptic anuran species. They also indicate that detection dogs are capable of locating frogs in highly complex forest habitat, confirming their untapped potential to aid in the management of imperiled species that have previously proven difficult to detect, monitor, and protect. We discuss the limitations of our approach and provide recommendations to help direct future amphibian conservation detection dog research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scent of a frog: Can conservation detection dogs be used to locate endangered amphibians in the wild?

Gilbert,

Magrath,

Edwards

et al. 2024

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…While many of the aforementioned studies refer to kairomones or not further specified chemical cues, predator diet and conspecific alarm cues also influence antipredator behaviour (e.g. Chivers & Mirza, 2001; Laurila et al., 1997; Rajchard, 2012). For example, Asian black‐spined toad tadpoles did not react to starved predator cues, but to cues from predators fed with conspecifics (Mogali et al., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural responses to chemical cues of predators differ between fire salamander larvae from two different habitats

2022

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Prey organisms need to detect predators and respond with adequate antipredator behaviours. To recognize predators, chemosensory cues play a pivotal role, particularly in aquatic ecosystems, where sight may be restricted. However, it is less known whether the ability to use these cues, enabling appropriate antipredator behaviour, varies between subpopulations occupying different habitats with different predation risks. We examined antipredator behaviour of wild-caught larval fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) from two different habitats, ponds and streams. Ponds and streams are inhabited by habitat-specific predators, such as alpine newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris), which only occur in ponds. We confronted larvae from both habitats with either tap water (control) or tap water that had contained alpine newts (newt treatment) and investigated potential behavioural differences in activity and shelter emergence. In the activity test, pond larvae, but not stream larvae, were significantly less active when faced with chemical cues (potentially kairomones) from newts than those faced with a control stimulus, but stream larvae generally exhibited significantly lower activity than pond larvae. In the shelter-emergence test, larvae from both habitats spent significantly less time outside a shelter in the newt treatment than in control water. This suggests that larval fire salamanders, independent of their habitat, recognize chemical cues from potential predators and alter their behaviour accordingly. Larvae of both habitats were able to detect and use chemical cues released from potential predators, but they differed slightly in their response to these chemical cues. This finding reflects varying antipredator strategies in response to the habitat-specific differences.

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“…Chemical signals can also provide early warning of the presence or approach of a predator. For example, the larvae of many anuran species have well-developed pheromonal communication systems (Summey and Mathis 1998, Spieler and Linsenmair 1999, Rajchard 2006. When disturbed or injured, a phylogenetically diverse array of larval anurans produce alarm pheromones that induce behavioural responses to conspecifics Shine 2008, 2009a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural responses of cane toad (Rhinella marina) adults and tadpoles to chemical cues

Haramura

2018

Bangladesh J. Zool.

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Pheromonal communication may be possible to control the invader animal. Pheromone-induced behavioural changes could be exploited to control invasive species such as the cane toad (Rhinella marina). Injured cane toad tadpoles are known to produce species-specific chemical cues that alert conspecific tadpoles to danger. These chemical cues reduce both the survival rate of other tadpoles and body size at metamorphosis, and suggest that cane toad tadpoles express chemical substances that control the behaviour of other tadpoles. Identification of the chemical substance(s) involving in tadpole could lead to the development of methods to control the behaviour of cane toad. Here, the behaviour of cane toad adults and tadpoles was characterized following exposure to chemical substances extracted from dead cane toad tadpoles using methanol (MeOH) or distilled water (H2O). Adult toads showed signs of avoiding water to which the H2O-extracted chemical cue had been added. By contrast, no differences were observed in the swimming behaviour of tadpoles (control, MeOHor H2O-extracted samples). These data indicate that development of a chemicalbased behaviour control method will require more detailed chemical analyses. We used dead tadpoles to extract chemical substrate, but in future studies, the potential behaviour-controlling chemical cues should be extracted from live cane toad tadpoles.Bangladesh J. Zool. 45(2): 149-157, 2017

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Antipredator pheromones in amphibians: a review

Cited by 26 publications

References 22 publications

Scent of a frog: Can conservation detection dogs be used to locate endangered amphibians in the wild?

Scent of a frog: Can conservation detection dogs be used to locate endangered amphibians in the wild?

Behavioural responses to chemical cues of predators differ between fire salamander larvae from two different habitats

Behavioural responses of cane toad (Rhinella marina) adults and tadpoles to chemical cues

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