Presentation Details
| YOU DO BOTH? CAMOUFLAGE AND APOSEMATISM LOWER PREDATION RISK IN A TREEFROG Angela M.E.Mish, Gerlinde Höbel. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA |
Abstract
Coloration is often used for predator avoidance, with common tactics being camouflage (blending into surrounding) and aposematic coloration (conspicuous warning colors). Some organisms, such as Eastern Gray Treefrogs, may use both strategies: they can change color to improve camouflage of their bodies and reveal hidden patches of aposematic coloration on their legs. We conducted a clay model study to determine if camouflage, aposematic coloration, or their interaction provided greatest protection from predation. We found that aposematic leg color protected gray models but did not affect predation in green models. We also took photographs of each placed model and it’s surrounding, which allows us to compare model-background contrasts (estimated as Just Noticeable Difference, JND) between models that were preyed on or not. We will calculate vision models for different putative avian and mammalian predators to estimate whether lower JND values correlate with lower levels of predation.
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