Differential Survival and the Effects of Predation on a Color Polymorphic Species, the Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Grant, Alexa H.; Ransom, Tami S.; Liebgold, Eric B.

doi:10.1670/16-185

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Climate also shapes habitat predictability, i.e., presence and location of breeding and shelter sites (Piha et al, 2007; Cayuela et al, 2019a), and food availability, i.e., energy resources for somatic growth and reproduction (Reading, 2007; Mills et al, 2008). Predation contributes considerably to mortality in amphibians (Lima & Dill, 1990; Grant, Ransom & Liebgold, 2018), but unpalatability determined by chemical defences (skin toxins) increases survival (Darst, Cummings & Cannatella, 2006; Hettyey et al, 2019). Pathogens, i.e., chytrid fungi, Ranavirus, and parasites, may reduce viability of hosts or cause their death (Spitzen-van der Sluijs et al, 2017; Campbell et al, 2018; Becker et al, 2019; Sinsch et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fast–slow continuum of longevity among yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata): intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of variation

Hantzschmann

Gollmann

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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Yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata) show a wide fast–slow continuum of the life-history trait longevity ranging from 5 to 23 years. We investigated populations in Germany (n = 8) and Austria (n = 1) to determine their position within the continuum of longevity and the potential drivers of adult survival at the local and the continental scale. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors considered were local weather, nutritional state, allocation of ingested energy to somatic growth, pathogen prevalence, and geographical clines (latitude, altitude, and longitude). Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) monitoring and direct age assessment by skeletochronology allowed for reliable estimates of longevity and adult survival. Raw and corrected recapture rates as well as a probabilistic estimate of the lifespan of the eldest 1% adults of a cohort (CMR data) were used as surrogates for adult survival and thus longevity in a population. Additionally, survival rates were calculated from static life tables based on the age structure (skeletochronological data) of eight populations. Populations in Germany were short-lived with a maximum lifespan of annual cohorts varying from 5 to 8 years, whereas the population in Austria was long-lived with a cohort longevity of 13 to 23 years. We provide evidence that annual survival rates and longevity differ among years and between short- and long-lived populations, but there was no decrease of survival in older toads (i.e. absence of senescence). Variation of weather among years accounted for 90.7% of variance in annual survival rates of short-lived populations, whereas the sources of variation in the long-lived population remained unidentified. At the continental scale, longevity variation among B. variegata populations studied so far did not correspond to geographical clines or climate variation. Therefore, we propose that a population’s position within the fast–slow continuum integrates the response to local environmental stochasticity (extrinsic source of variation) and the efficiency of chemical antipredator protection determining the magnitude of longevity (intrinsic source of variation).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fast–slow continuum of longevity among yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata): intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of variation

Hantzschmann

Gollmann

et al. 2019

PeerJ

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“…However, Kraemer et al (2016) did not find evidence of negative frequency-dependent selection with mammalian predators. In addition, Grant et al (2018) found no evidence of negative frequency-dependent selection in one population, although avian predation rates were higher and overall survivorship was lower in the striped morph. Finally, it is unclear how ecological niche divergence impacts color morph variation within and among populations.…”

Section: Maintenance Of the Color Polymorphismmentioning

confidence: 70%

Do genetic structure and landscape heterogeneity impact color morph frequency in a polymorphic salamander?

et al. 2019

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Landscape heterogeneity plays an important role in population structure and divergence, particularly for species with limited vagility. Here, we used a landscape genetic approach to identify how landscape and environmental variables affect genetic structure and color morph frequency in a polymorphic salamander. The eastern red‐backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is widely distributed in northeastern North America and contains two common color morphs, striped and unstriped, that are divergent in ecology, behavior, and physiology. To quantify population structure, rates of gene flow, and genetic drift, we amplified 10 microsatellite loci from 648 individuals across 28 sampling localities. This study was conducted in northern Ohio, where populations of P. cinereus exhibit an unusually wide range of morph frequency variation. To test whether genetic distance was more correlated with morph frequency, elevation, canopy cover, waterways, ecological niche or geographic distance, we used resistance distance and least cost path analyses. We then examined whether landscape and environmental variables, genetic distance or geographic distance were correlated with variation in morph frequency. Tests for population structure revealed three genetic clusters across our sampling range, with one cluster monomorphic for the striped morph. Rates of gene flow and genetic drift were low to moderate across sites. Genetic distance was most correlated with ecological niche, elevation and a combination of landscape and environmental variables. In contrast, morph frequency variation was correlated with waterways and geographic distance. Thus, our results suggest that selection is also an important evolutionary force across our sites, and a balance between gene flow, genetic drift and selection interact to maintain the two color morphs.

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“…The authors also found that survival was only explained by the combination of color and age in spring, but not in autumn. Birds were more likely to attack the striped clay models, providing a potential mechanism for the differential survival, while mammals showed no differential predation by color phenotype (Grant et al 2018). Interestingly, Grant et al (2018) show color phenotype frequencies that are opposite what Highton (1977) found.…”

Section: (B) Systematics and Geographic Variationmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Several studies since Petranka (1998), have explored the variation of color phenotypes in P. cinereus for reasons other than climate, three focusing on selection imposed by predators using clay models (Fitzpatrick et al, 2009;Kraemer, Serb, & Adams, 2016;Grant et al, 2018), and two focusing on genetic structure and landscape heterogeneity (Fisher-Reid et al, 2013;Hantak et al, 2019). Fitzpatrick et al (2009) found that avian predators will attack the more common morph when presented with striped and unstriped clay models at varying frequencies, suggesting negative frequency-dependent selection is acting to maintain color polymorphism.…”

Section: (B) Systematics and Geographic Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kraemer et al (2016) argue that the complexity of how mammals prey on salamanders is strongly influenced by local conditions, and is only one piece of the complex puzzle of morph frequency variation throughout the range of P. cinereus. Grant et al (2018) combined the clay model approach with demographic data from three years of markrecapture of a Maryland population on the Delmarva Peninsula (i.e., the peninsula includes portions of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) to explore morph-specific differences in survival. Delmarva is another location with its own unique color phenotype frequencies (Petranka, 1998).…”

Section: (B) Systematics and Geographic Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

Fisher‐Reid¹,

Grayson²,

Grouleff³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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What makes a model organism? Identifying the qualities of a model organism has been given a great deal of attention in the biomolecular sciences, but less so in the fields of evolution, ecology, and behavior (EEB). In EEB, biotic and abiotic variation are features to understand, not bugs to get rid of, and EEB scientists often select organisms to study which best suit the scientific question at hand. Successful EEB model organisms can be studied at multiple biological scales and have a wealth of accumulated knowledge on which current research programs build. A recent call within EEB to invest in the inclusive development of diverse model systems and scientists has led us to evaluate the standing of the widespread, abundant, terrestrial salamander we study, the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus). We first look at salamanders as EEB models more generally, to determine where P. cinereus fits in this broader context. We next present a comprehensive review of the literature on the eastern red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) since the last comprehensive review was completed in 1998. The core of our paper reviews 410 recent studies and highlights inconsistencies, gaps in our knowledge, and future directions in the context of the 1998 review. Finally, we present a collaborative research network, SPARCnet, as a nascent infrastructure for continued research on P. cinereus. Here, we especially discuss how this type of infrastructure can be broadly applied not just to other salamanders, but to other model systems, so that the future of EEB research may benefit from models which accurately represent, in Darwin’s words, “endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful.”

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Differential Survival and the Effects of Predation on a Color Polymorphic Species, the Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Cited by 11 publications

References 60 publications

The fast–slow continuum of longevity among yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata): intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of variation

The fast–slow continuum of longevity among yellow-bellied toad populations (Bombina variegata): intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of variation

Do genetic structure and landscape heterogeneity impact color morph frequency in a polymorphic salamander?

Eastern red-backed salamanders: A comprehensive review of an undervalued model in evolution, ecology, & behavior

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