Photographic documentation of melanism in bobcats (Lynx rufus) in the Greater Everglades

Abstract

We document the presence of bobcats (Lynx rufus) that demonstrate melanism in the Greater Everglades. The South Florida landscape is driven by a myriad of disturbance regimes particularly that of short fire intervals. We monitored 180 camera traps for 3 years and obtained 9503 photographs of bobcats 25 (<0.5%) of these detections included melanistic individuals. Our observations and historical accounts suggest melanism is a phenotype that persists, albeit it at an exceedingly low frequency, in bobcats in the region. While we do not know if the expression of melanism conferred a fitness benefit in our system, the vegetation structure that was characterized by frequently burned uplands and low‐light and densely vegetated swamps produced conditions that may render a benefit from melanism through enhanced crypsis. The investigation of rare phenomenon in ecology is important yet difficult within a given field study, but reporting novel observations, like melanism in bobcats, allows for science to gain insight across studies that would not be otherwise possible.

Isabelline coloration: a heretofore unrecognized chromatic aberration in bighorn sheep

“…Observations of this type are seldomly recorded, and less frequently reported in the literature, but serve to remind others that questions couched in natural history have important implications for the interpretation of adaptation and natural selection (Bleich and Oehler 2000;Bleich 2018) and can provide new insight into earlier conclusions. Indeed, publication of similar observations may encourage others to identify those factors driving the frequency of chromatic aberrations and their associated fitness consequences (Branney et al 2024).…”