Color morphs of the fire salamander are discriminated at night by conspecifics and predators

Abstract

The coexistence of multiple discrete color phenotypes (i.e. color polymorphism) has been studied in many diurnal species where environmental light allows most visual systems to chromatically discriminate color morphs. However, there is a large gap in our understanding of the discrimination thresholds and the function color polymorphisms play at night. We collected spectral data from the throats of red- and yellow-morph males in a polymorphic population of the nocturnal amphibian Salamandra salamandra gallaica. We estimated the discriminability between morphs and their conspicuousness at night by fitting visual models of conspecifics and predators. We also collected morphological, behavioral and physiological data and assessed the abundance and activity patterns of each morph to explore their potential function. Visual models indicated that both conspecifics and predators can visually discriminate salamander color morphs under night-light conditions. Assuming the potential role of yellow and red color patches as visual signals, putatively related to social signaling, we could suspect that these colors represent different adaptive optima. Red-morph individuals had shorter bodies and lower body condition, but both morphs showed similar space use. In addition, both color morphs exhibited similar metabolic physiology, suggesting that the observed similarity in these traits may be better explained by the shared environmental conditions, rather than color. Finally, differences in the conspicuousness of red and yellow morphs could result in differential predation pressure.