Thermal dependence of chemical assessment of predation risk affects the ability of wall lizards, Podarcis muralis, to avoid unsafe refuges

Abstract

Prey often respond to predators by increasing refuge use, but some refuges may expose prey to other types of predators. Because predators are not always visible inside refuges, their chemical stimuli may provide early warning of their presence. However, in ectotherms, chemosensory detection of predators may be thermally dependent. Lizards often hide in cold refuges, where their body temperature (Tb) may decrease, and this might affect their ability to detect chemicals of saurophagous snakes that ambush inside refuges. We examined the effects of Tb of wall lizards, Podarcis muralis, on their ability to detect chemicals of smooth snakes, Coronella austriaca. Differential tongue flick (TF) rates and behavioral patterns of lizards in response to scent of smooth snakes showed that lizards with optimal Tb discriminated and avoided the snake's scent, whereas lizards with suboptimal Tb did not. We also examined the importance of this effect on movement patterns and refuge use by lizards in terraria with safe (odorless) or unsafe refuges (snake-scented). While results of this experiment were variable, there was evidence of snake avoidance in that lizards at optimal Tb spent less time in snake-scented refuges relative to odorless refuges. Therefore, this study provides evidence that chemosensory discrimination of snake chemicals is thermally dependent, and, thus, suboptimal Tb impedes a lizard's ability to avoid snake-scented refuges.