Clinging ability is related to particular aspects of foot morphology in salamanders

The interaction between morphology, performance, and ecology has long been studied in order to explain variation in the natural world. Within arboreal salamanders, diversification in foot morphology and microhabitat use are thought to be linked by the impact of foot size and shape on clinging and climbing performance, resulting in an ability to access new habitats. We examine whether various foot shape metrics correlate with stationary cling performance and microhabitat to explicitly quantify this performance gradient across 14 species of salamander, including both arboreal and non-arboreal species. Clinging performance did not correlate with foot shape, as quantified by landmark-based geometric morphometrics, nor with microhabitat use. Mass-corrected foot centroid size and foot contact area, on the other hand, correlated positively with clinging performance on a smooth substrate. Interestingly, these foot variables correlated negatively with clinging performance on rough substrates, su...