Chloe Fouilloux

University of Jyväskylä | JYU ·  Department of Biological and Environmental Science

Chloe Fouilloux and colleagues introduce animal cannibalism.

Many species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species: Osteocephalus oophagus, an arbor...

Many animals use signals, such as vocalizations, to recognize familiar individuals. However, animals risk making recognition mistakes because the signal properties of different individuals often overlap due to within-individual variation in signal production. To understand the relationship between signal variation and decision rules for social reco...

Amphibian larvae typically inhabit relatively shallow freshwater environments, and within these boundaries there is considerable diversity in the structure of the habitats exploited by different species. This diversity in habitat structure is usually taken into account in relation to aspects such as locomotion and feeding, and plays a fundamental r...

In juveniles extreme intraspecies aggression can seem counter-intuitive, as it might endanger their developmental goal of surviving until reproductive stage. Ultimately, aggression can be vital for survival, although the factors (e.g., genetic or environmental) leading to the expression and intensity of this behavior vary across taxa. Attacking (an...

Turbidity challenges the visual performance of aquatic animals. Here, we use the natural diversity of ephemeral rearing sites occupied by tadpoles of two poison frog species to explore the relationship between environments with limited visibility and individual response to perceived risk. We sampled wild tadpoles of Dendrobates tinctorius, a rearin...

1. Turbidity challenges the visual performance of aquatic animals. During development, environments with limited visibility may affect the fine-tuning of visual systems and thus the perception of, and response to, risk. While turbidity has frequently been used to characterise permanent aquatic habitats, it has been an overlooked feature of ephemera...

Individual behaviour is a combination of previous experiences and genetic factors whose interaction can be adaptively adjusted to respond to changes in the surrounding environment. Understanding the continuity of behaviours both within and among individuals can help us disentangle the ecological and evolutionary significance underlying patterns of...

The current and cascading effects of global change challenges the interactions both between animal individuals (i.e. social and sexual behaviour) and the environment they inhabit. Amphibians are an ecologically diverse class with a wide range of social and sexual behaviours, making them a compelling model to understand the potential adaptations of...

Many animals use signals to recognize familiar individuals but risk making mistakes because the signal properties of different individuals often overlap. Furthermore, outcomes of correct and incorrect decisions yield different fitness payoffs, and animals incur these payoffs at different frequencies depending on interaction rates. To understand how...

Many species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species: Osteocephalus oophagus, an arbor...

Aggression between juveniles can be unexpected, as their primary motivation is to survive until their reproductive stage. However, instances of aggression, which may escalate to cannibalism, can be vital for survival, although the factors (e.g. genetic or environmental) leading to cannibalism vary across taxa. While cannibalism can greatly accelera...

Animals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, and being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (banding, collars, PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohor...

Animals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, but being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioural studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with...

When defense is more costly, prey should differentiate more strongly between predator cues and benign stimuli and may therefore use more sources of information. Red-eyed treefrog (Agalychnis callidryas) embryos hatch prematurely to escape from egg-eating snakes and wasps, cued by physical disturbance in attacks. Missing predator cues is always cost...

Parental care; water-quality; pool-choice

Social recognition; territoriality; acoustic communication; perception

Pellicles; biofilms; public goods theory; competition; evolution