Lost in an orange blur
Kyoto UniversityPeer-Reviewed Publication
Kyoto, Japan -- Bright colors in animals are beautiful but often considered risky because they are more obvious to predators. However, conspicuous colors can also serve defensively, signaling toxicity or even luring predators away from more vulnerable body parts.
Previous studies have shown that the presence of predators such as dragonfly nymphs can induce tadpoles to develop bright orange tail coloration, an ability called phenotypic plasticity. But how this color change helps them avoid predation has not been clear. While observing tadpoles of the East Japan tree frog, Dryophytes leopardus, a team of researchers at Kyoto University was inspired to investigate how their predator-induced orange tails function as a defensive trait.
"After seeing these tadpoles with orange tails at the university's experimental farm, I wondered what role such a bright tail could have," says corresponding author Akihiro Noda.
- Journal
- Amphibia-Reptilia
- Funder
- Japan Science and Technology Agency