2021
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7426
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Predation release of Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in small towns

Abstract: Altered community structure is a hallmark of urban environments; urban communities can differ greatly from their natural counterparts with some species able to adapt, while others decline (Fischer et al., 2012). The role that predation plays in structuring urban communities is not well understood but has been suggested to be similar to what is found in natural areas (Shochat et al., 2006). Increasing evidence, however, indicates that predation may act differently in urban environments, leading to what some aut… Show more

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Cited by 5 publications
(8 citation statements)
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“…Although the relative contributions to survival of these three levels of defense remain unknown, many aspects of their anatomy, color pattern, and behavior suggest that the first level, escaping the detection of visual predators, has had a profound, multifaceted influence on their evolution (Norris and Lowe, 1964; Sherbrooke, 2002). Mirkin et al (2021) demonstrated that gray-colored foam models of P. cornutum were attacked by birds on reddish substrate significantly more often than color-matched reddish models on the same substrate, although the two treatment groups were tested at different times. Future tests should use models painted different colors at the same time to further test the importance of background color matching for P. cornutum .…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Although the relative contributions to survival of these three levels of defense remain unknown, many aspects of their anatomy, color pattern, and behavior suggest that the first level, escaping the detection of visual predators, has had a profound, multifaceted influence on their evolution (Norris and Lowe, 1964; Sherbrooke, 2002). Mirkin et al (2021) demonstrated that gray-colored foam models of P. cornutum were attacked by birds on reddish substrate significantly more often than color-matched reddish models on the same substrate, although the two treatment groups were tested at different times. Future tests should use models painted different colors at the same time to further test the importance of background color matching for P. cornutum .…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…We created models to mimic two main raptor prey types in our study area: snakes and mice. Utilizing mimics as prey items has proven to be a valuable method to detect and estimate predation rates for a range of vertebrate species [18,[31][32][33]. We used urethane foam to make our models, because this material allows for accurate identification of predator species through marks left on the models (e.g., raptor talons, beaks, tooth marks from rodents, etc.…”
Section: Prey Mimic Modelsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Because observations of natural predation events are infrequent, the use of models is an effective tool for exploring differences in predation rates between natural and urban areas. Past experiments with birds have primarily used real and artificial nests to assess nest predation [10,11,15,16]; however, research with other vertebrates, such as the green anole (Anolis carolinensis) [17] and Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) [18], have used models of the organisms themselves. The use of multiple types of foam prey mimics is a technique, to our knowledge, not previously used to assess predator-prey dynamics along an urban gradient.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…and reduced predation pressure compared to natural areas by some types of predators (Mirkin et al, 2021).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Because predation pressure is lower in these towns than in more natural areas (Mirkin et al, 2021), we hypothesized that the primary cause of these declines is due to the loss of thermal refugia. In this study we first ask if horned lizard densities declined significantly at a site after shrub and brush pile removal using data we collected interspersed with clumps of trees and shrubs (Figure 1).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%