Mustelid Communication

Aposematic coloration is traditionally considered to signal unpalatability or toxicity. In mammals, most research has focused on just one form of defense, namely, noxious anal secretions, and its black‐and‐white advertisement as exemplified by skunks. The original formulation of aposematism, however, encompassed a broader range of morphological, physiological, and behavioral defenses, and there are many mammal species with black‐and‐white contrasting patterns that do not have noxious adaptations. Here, using Bayesian phylogenetic models and data from 1726 terrestrial nonvolant mammals we find that two aspects of conspicuous coloration, black‐and‐white coloration patterns on the head and body, advertise defenses that are morphological (spines, large body size), behavioral (pugnacity), and physiological (anal secretions), as well as being involved with sexual signaling and environmental factors linked to crypsis. Within Carnivora, defensive anal secretions are associated with complex black‐and‐white head patterns and longitudinal black‐and‐white body striping; in primates, larger bodied species exhibit irregular patches of black‐and‐white pelage; and in rodents, pugnacity is linked to sharp countershading and irregular blocks of white and black pelage. We show that black‐and‐white coloration in mammals is multifunctional, that it serves to warn predators of several defenses other than noxious anal secretions, and that aposematism in mammals is not restricted to carnivores.

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“…), both of which produce a noxious deterrent secretion from anal scent glands when threatened (Kitchener et al. 2017; Mumm and Knörnschild 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reverse countershading is seen in the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) and grison (Galictis spp. ), both of which produce a noxious deterrent secretion from anal scent glands when threatened (Kitchener et al 2017;Mumm and Knörnschild 2018).…”

Section: Physiological Defensesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aposematism in mammals

et al. 2021

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“…Photons headed toward the cell wall instrumented with optical fibers pass through the acrylic with a small chance of being absorbed before reaching the fibers, where they are collected, wavelength-shifted (spectrum shown in figure 2), and then killed by the simulation. A Vikuiti dielectric mirror (96% reflectivity [17]) surface is installed on the non-fiber cell wall surfaces to prevent photons from escaping the measurement cell. The probability of a photon to reach a SiPM once it has been successfully wavelength-shifted in a fiber is determined by the product of the Y-11 fiber trapping efficiency [18], transmission efficiencies in the Y-11 [19,20] and clear fibers [21], and losses from fiber transitions and bends [22] (See Table 1).…”

Section: Simulation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulations of the nEDM@SNS light collection system efficiency

Loomis,

Cianciolo,

Leggett

2021

Preprint

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A system for collecting the scintillation light produced by the capture process of ultracold neutrons (UCN) on polarized 3 He is discussed and results from simulations of its performance are presented. This system will be implemented in nEDM@SNS, the experiment searching for the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Simulation results show that the light collection system collects on average 17 photoelectrons per UCN-3 He capture event (sufficient to generate a robust signal), reconstructs the event location in the beam direction to approximately 3 cm accuracy, detects capture events with a high and spatially uniform efficiency (0.95 with 1% variation), and rejects greater than 50% of beta decay background events. K: Simulation methods and programs, Photon detectors for UV, visible and IR photons (vacuum) (photomultipliers, HPDs, others), Scintillators, scintillation and light emission processes (solid, gas and liquid scintillators)

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American martens use vigilance and short-term avoidance to navigate a landscape of fear from fishers at artificial scavenging sites

Kautz

Beyer

Farley

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Where two sympatric species compete for the same resource and one species is dominant, there is potential for the subordinate species to be affected through interference competition or energetic costs of avoiding predation. Fishers (Pekania pennanti) and American martens (Martes americana) often have high niche overlap, but fishers are considered dominant and potentially limiting to martens. We observed presence and vigilance of fishers and martens at winter carcass sites using remote cameras in Michigan, USA, to test the hypothesis that interference competition from fishers creates a landscape of fear for martens. Within winters, fishers co-occupied 78–88% of sites occupied by martens, and martens co-occupied 79–88% of sites occupied by fishers. Fishers displaced martens from carcasses during 21 of 6117 marten visits, while martens displaced fishers during 0 of 1359 fisher visits. Martens did not alter diel activity in response to fisher use of sites. Martens allocated 37% of time to vigilance compared to 23% for fishers, and martens increased vigilance up to 8% at sites previously visited by fishers. Fishers increased vigilance by up to 8% at sites previously visited by martens. Our results indicate that fishers were dominant over martens, and martens had greater baseline perception of risk than fishers. However, fishers appeared to be also affected as the dominant competitor by putting effort into scanning for martens. Both species appeared widespread and common in our study area, but there was no evidence that fishers spatially or temporally excluded martens from scavenging at carcasses other than occasional short-term displacement when a fisher was present. Instead, martens appeared to mitigate risk from fishers by using vigilance and short-term avoidance. Multiple short-term anti-predator behaviors within a landscape of fear may facilitate coexistence among carnivore species.

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Mustelid Communication

Cited by 4 publications

References 41 publications

Aposematism in mammals

Aposematism in mammals

Simulations of the nEDM@SNS light collection system efficiency

American martens use vigilance and short-term avoidance to navigate a landscape of fear from fishers at artificial scavenging sites

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