Poor Nutritional Conditions During the Early Larval Stage Reduce Risk-Taking Activities of Fire Salamander Larvae (Salamandra salamandra)

Abstract

Environmental conditions experienced early in life have been shown to significantly affect growth trajectories at later stages in many vertebrate species. Amphibians typically have a biphasic life history, with an aquatic larval phase during early development and a subsequent terrestrial adult phase after completed metamorphosis. Thus, the early conditions have an especially strong impact on the future survival and fitness of amphibians. We studied whether early nutritional conditions affect the behavioural reaction of fire salamander larvae (Salamandra salamandra) before completion of metamorphosis. Fire salamander larvae reared under rich nutritional conditions were heavier and larger, displayed better body condition overall throughout the first three month of life and metamorphosed earlier compared with larvae raised under poor nutritional conditions. Specifically, we tested whether larvae reared under these different conditions differed with respect to their risk‐taking behaviour and activity. We found no differences in the activity of larvae with respect to their experienced early food conditions. However, larvae reared under poor nutritional conditions hid significantly more often in a risk‐taking test than larvae reared under rich food conditions. This increase in shelter‐seeking behaviour might be an adaptation to reduce the risk of larval drift or an adaptation to compensate for physiological deficits in part by appropriate behavioural reactions. Our results indicate that environmental conditions, such as food availability, may lead to different behavioural strategies.

Learn and live: predator experience and feeding history determines prey behaviour and survival

“…Hungry individuals, or those in poor body condition, take more risks to gain their next meal compared with individuals that have fed recently [8][9][10]. Classic examples of this behaviour are shown by ants and sticklebacks that prefer a profitable but more risky food patch when hungry and a less profitable but safe patch when satiated [11,12].…”

Correlates and consequences of injury in a large, predatory stream salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus)

“…In the short term, fresh injuries may cause debilitation (e.g. loss of tail or limbs, infection), by decreasing a salamander's ability to compete for food resources, mates, or refugia to avoid prédation (Krause, Steinfartz and Caspers, 2011). In the longer term, repair of injured tissues requires extra energy that likely represents a trade-off with maintaining structures necessary for survival or reproduction (Fitzpatrick, 1976;Scott et al, 2007), which may be further exacerbated if debilitation reduces a salamander's ability to catch prey (e.g.…”

There is no place like home: Larval habitat type and size affect risk‐taking behaviour in fire salamander larvae (Salamandra salamandra)

“…predator avoidance and foraging strategies) due to the different ecological conditions. The antipredator behaviour can be measured in various ways such as risk‐taking (Krause, Steinfartz, & Caspers, 2011) or flight and freezing responses (Urszán, Török, Hettyey, Garamszegi, & Herczeg, 2015). It has been shown to be influenced by predation risk as well as nutritional status.…”

“…For example, both factors shaped the trade‐off between predator avoidance and foraging in perches (Magnhagen & Borcherding, 2008) and had an impact on risk‐taking behaviour in several amphibian species (e.g. Anholt, Werner, & Skelly, 2000; Babbitt, 2001; Krause et al., 2011; Nicieza, 2000; Urszán et al., 2015).…”