272.
Avian predation is one of the most probable factors maintaining polymorphism of shell coloration in
Cepaea nemoralis. This assumption is justified by the fact that birds frequently forage on snails and their prey choice varies with morph coloration. However, in all preceding studies, the conspicuousness of morphs was determined only by using human vision which is significantly different from birds’ visual perception. In this study, we assessed how birds perceive colors of four
Cepaea nemoralis morphs using physiological models of avian color vision. We calculated combined chromatic and achromatic contrast between shells and three habitat background types as a measure of shell conspicuousness. The degree of background color matching in
Cepaea nemoralis depended on both shell morph and habitat type. On average, banded morphs were more conspicuous than unbanded morphs. Morphs were the most cryptic against dry vegetation and the most conspicuous on bare ground. We also found a significant interaction between habitat type and color morph. The relative conspicuousness of shell morphs depended on habitat and was the most variable against green vegetation. Our study provides the first insight into how potential avian predators view
Cepaea nemoralis morphs. The results are discussed in light of multiple hypotheses explaining selective predation on
Cepaea nemoralis morphs.
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