Habitat selection and refuge-use by a color polymorphic salamander reveal behavioral niche differences

Color polymorphic species provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the ecology and evolution of intraspecific niche differences. The red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus, is a fully terrestrial lungless salamander with two common color forms, striped and unstriped. Previous research suggests the morphs may be differentially adapted to surface and subsurface microhabitats, with the unstriped morph being more fossorial. This hypothesis predicts that the unstriped morph should be more sensitive to the risks of surface activity (e.g., thermal stress, dehydration, predation), and therefore be more selective than striped morphs when choosing soil surface microhabitats. To test this hypothesis, we experimentally manipulated leaf litter mass in small forest patches (~0.45m2). Leaf litter addition reduced soil temperatures, buffered against changes in air temperature, and likely provided physical protection from predators. Over three years, we found that unstriped adults responded po..., Habitat selection by striped and unstriped red-backed salamanders was studied in a field experiment where leaf litter abundance on the forest floor was manipulated.
Refuge-use by striped and unstriped red-backed salamanders was studied in a laboratory assay., , # Habitat selection and refuge-use by a color polymorphic salamander reveal behavioral niche differences

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tmpg4f55k](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.tmpg4f55k)

There are three data files, and four R Markdown files submitted as part of this manuscript.

## Description of the data and file structure

The **\"2018-2021 adults-BSM.csv\"** file has data from the leaf litter experiment in the field. A few abbreviated headers are clarified here: \"ACO\" = artificial over object, LL = leaf litter treatment, \"Sal\" = salamander\", \"pres\" = present. This file contains both count and presence/absence data (0/1) for the salamanders. In addition, blank cells represent cases where the data were not collected/available for some reason (described in manuscript). These should be treated as blanks/missing data, not as zeros.

The **\"Adult individuals 2018-2021.csv\"** file is arranged differently, with every adult salamander from the field experiment occurring in its own row. Headi...