Tonic immobility behaviour does not differ between fire salamander larvae from ponds and streams

Abstract

Abstract Tonic immobility is an antipredator defence in which the prey animal remains motionless after physical contact with the predator, pretending to be dead. This behaviour has been observed among a variety of taxa but has received only little attention in amphibian larvae. During our field studies with fire salamander larvae, we observed that larvae from different habitats display tonic immobility after handling. In our study site, we find larvae in pond and stream habitats, that differ in several aspects such as their stress response and their risk‐taking behaviour, likely caused by the very different habitat conditions. We measured the time that the tonic immobility behaviour was displayed but found no difference between larvae from the two habitat types. Likewise, we also found no correlation between the size of the larvae and the duration of displaying the behaviour. In conclusion, we found that fire salamander larvae show tonic immobility, but found no evidence that the different habitat conditions influence the tonic immobility behaviour.

Keywords

• amphibia
• caudata
• death‐feigning
• defence behaviour
• Salamandra salamandra
• thanatosis