Tail Shedding in Island Lizards [Lacertidae, Reptilia]: Decline of Antipredator Defenses in Relaxed Predation Environments

Pafilis, Panayiotis; Foufopoulos, Johannes; Poulakakis, Nikos; Lymberakis, Petros; Valakos, Efstratios D.

doi:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2009.00635.x

Cited by 72 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…Lizards at high cat density sites had longer FIDs and a strongly elevated ease of caudal autotomy. In line with other studies [4,14], we found that all populations from Naxos shed their tails more easily than the islet populations. The reduction in caudal autotomy in relaxed predation environments is best explained by the high costs of this anti-predator defence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction

Belasen

Pafilis

et al. 2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Exotic predators have driven the extinction of many island species. We examined impacts of feral cats on the abundance and anti-predator behaviours of Aegean wall lizards in the Cyclades (Greece), where cats were introduced thousands of years ago. We compared populations with high and low cat density on Naxos Island and populations on surrounding islets with no cats. Cats reduced wall lizard populations by half. Lizards facing greater risk from cats stayed closer to refuges, were more likely to shed their tails in a standardized assay, and fled at greater distances when approached by either a person in the field or a mounted cat decoy in the laboratory. All populations showed phenotypic plasticity in flight initiation distance, suggesting that this feature is ancient and could have helped wall lizards survive the initial introduction of cats to the region. Lizards from islets sought shelter less frequently and often initially approached the cat decoy. These differences reflect changes since islet isolation and could render islet lizards strongly susceptible to cat predation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction

Belasen

Pafilis

et al. 2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Variation in predation among prey populations is relatively easy to identify (particularly at the level of presence or absence of predators; but see Reimchen, 1994), as are adaptations whose primary function is to avoid predation. Some examples in which antipredator adaptations have been reduced or lost following relaxed selection by a subset of predators include antipredator responses in island-dwelling wallabies ( Macropus eugenii : Blumstein & Daniel, 2002; Blumstein et al, 2000), reduction in tail autotomy in lizards living in the absence of vipers (Pafilis, Foufopoulos, Poulakakis, Lymberakis, & Valakos, 2009), and the decline of the acoustic startle response in noctuid moths no longer subject to bat predation (Fullard & Ratcliffe, 2006; Fullard et al, 2004). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of antipredator behaviour following relaxed and reversed selection in Alaskan threespine stickleback fish

et al. 2015

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Changing environments, whether through natural or anthropogenic causes, can lead to the loss of some selective pressures (‘relaxed selection’) and possibly even the reinstatement of selective agents not encountered for many generations (‘reversed selection’). We examined the outcome of relaxed and reversed selection in the adaptive radiation of the threespine stickleback fish, Gasterostues aculeatus L., in which isolated populations encounter a variety of predation regimes. Oceanic stickleback, which represent the ancestral founders of the freshwater radiation, encounter many piscivorous fish. Derived, freshwater populations, on the other hand, vary with respect to the presence of predators. Some populations encounter native salmonids, whereas others have not experienced predation by large fish in thousands of generations (relax-selected populations). Some relax-selected populations have had sport fish, including rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, introduced within the past several decades (reverse-selected). We examined the behavioural responses of stickleback from three populations of each type to simulated attacks by trout and birds to determine whether relaxed and reversed selection has led to divergence in behaviour, and whether this divergence was predator specific. Fish from trout-free populations showed weak responses to trout, as predicted, but these responses were similar to those of oceanic (ancestral) populations. Fish from populations that co-occur with trout, whether native or introduced, showed elevated antipredator responses, indicating that in freshwater, trout predation selects for enhanced antipredator responses, which can evolve extremely rapidly. Comparison of laboratory-reared and wild-caught individuals suggests a combination of learned and genetic components to this variation. Responses to a model bird flyover were weakly linked to predation environment, indicating that the loss of predation by trout may partially influence the evolution of responses to birds. Our results reject the hypothesis that the consistent presence of predatory birds has been sufficient to maintain responses to piscivorous fish under periods of relaxed selection.

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“…The high number of autotomized tails -compared to entire lizards -found in predator stomachs [10], indicate that this is a highly effective antipredator strategy. On the other hand, caudal autotomy carries a series of important and potentially lifelong costs (for an overview see [11]). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeing through the lizard’s trick: do avian predators avoid autotomous tails?

2011

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Counter-adaptations of predators towards their prey are a far less investigated phenomenon in predator-prey interactions. Caudal autotomy is generally considered an effective last-resort mechanism for evading predators. However, in victim-exploiter relationships, the efficacy of a strategy will obviously depend on the antagonist’s ability to counter it. In the logic of the predator-prey arms race, one would expect predators to develop attack strategies that minimize the chance of autotomy of the prey and damage on the predator. We tested whether avian predators preferred grasping lizards by their head. We constructed plasticine models of the Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula) and placed them in natural habitat of the species. Judging from counts of beak marks on the models, birds preferentially attack the head and might also avoid the tail and limb regions. While a preference for the head might not necessarily demonstrate tail and limb avoidance, this topic needs further exploration because it suggests that even unspecialised avian predators may see through the lizard’s trick-of-the-tail. This result may have implications for our understanding of the evolution of this peculiar defensive system and the loss or decreased tendency to shed the tail on island systems with the absence of terrestrial predators.

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Tail Shedding in Island Lizards [Lacertidae, Reptilia]: Decline of Antipredator Defenses in Relaxed Predation Environments

Abstract: The ability of an animal to shed its tail is a widespread antipredator strategy among lizards. The degree of expression of this defense is expected to be shaped by prevailing environmental conditions including local predation pressure. We test these hypotheses by

Cited by 72 publications

References 95 publications

Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction

Effects of feral cats on the evolution of anti-predator behaviours in island reptiles: insights from an ancient introduction

The evolution of antipredator behaviour following relaxed and reversed selection in Alaskan threespine stickleback fish

Seeing through the lizard’s trick: do avian predators avoid autotomous tails?

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