The role of familiarity in shelter site fidelity: insights from a mesocosm experiment with a plethodontid salamander

Abstract

Behavioral adaptation is one of the first responses put in play by individuals to buffer environmental variations and to maintain homeostatic equilibrium with their environment. Microhabitat selection is pivotal for maximizing fitness, survival and reproduction, but how individuals process and exploit information acquired from the environment to make future microhabitat choice is yet understudied. In this study, we used outdoor mesocosms in which we introduced Strinati’s cave salamanders (Speleomantes strinatii), to assess their behavioral patterns of shelter site fidelity. In each mesocosm three microhabitats were available to the salamanders: the leaf litter, a log and a rock. A total of 22 salamanders were tested over an 8-day period, 11 in autumn and 11 in spring. Salamanders shelter site fidelity was driven by both microhabitat humidity and previous experience obtained in the mesocosm. In our experiment, the time spent in the mesocosm was the main factor influencing shelter site fidelity, suggesting that previous experience and familiarity are important in salamanders’ behavioral adaptation. Therefore, cave salamanders are capable of learning from experience when selecting their shelters, a behavior that could also be relevant during migration, colonization of new environments and adaptation to climate change.

Highlights

• How individuals exploit information gained from experience to select a microhabitat is understudied

• We found that plethodontid salamanders are capable of exploiting information on their environment to select the most suitable microhabiat

Key Words:

• experience
• information ecology
• microclimate
• Plethodontidae
• Speleomantes

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Enrico Lunghi and Andrius Pašukonis for providing valuable comments on a previous version of this study.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ETHICAL STANDARD

Permits for capture, handling and stomach flushing of salamanders in the present study were issued by the Italian Ministry of Environment – authorization #0039130 of 15 April 2021.

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

Supplemental Data for this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2024.2361686

DATA ACCESSIBILITY

Datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Figshare repository as private data for peer-review, and will be made publicly available after publication https://figshare.com/s/fd9ebc811a2c58f6cc06

Additional information

Funding

G. Rosa is fulfilling his PhD at the University of Genoa, S. Salvidio is funded by the University of Genoa [FRA-2018] and A. Costa is funded by the Italian National Operative Programme “Research and Innovation” [PON–Ricerca e Innovazione, tematica GREEN; CUP N. D31B21008270007] and by University of Genova FRA 2022/23.