A step-by-step method to quantify coloration with digital photography.

Coloration is often used in biological studies, for example when studying social signaling or antipredator defense. Yet, few detailed and standardized methods are available to measure coloration using digital photography. Here we provide a step-by-step guide to help researchers quantify coloration from digital images.

Effects of ophidiomycosis on movement, survival, and reproduction of eastern foxsnakes (Pantherophis vulpinus).

Ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease) is caused by the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, which causes dermal lesions, occasional systemic infections, and in some cases, mortality. To better understand potential conservation implications of ophidiomycosis (i.e.

SEASONAL AND INTERSPECIFIC VARIATION IN THE PREVALENCE OF OPHIDIOMYCES OPHIDIICOLA AND OPHIDIOMYCOSIS IN A COMMUNITY OF FREE-RANGING SNAKES.

Ophidiomycosis in snakes is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola. Clinical signs associated with the disease range from minor skin lesions to severe swelling of the face. In some cases, the fungus invades the snake's underlying muscle and bone and internal organs; disease severity appears to peak during brumation.

Revisiting Ophidiomycosis (Snake Fungal Disease) After a Decade of Targeted Research.

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are typically characterized by novelty (recent detection) and by increasing incidence, distribution, and/or pathogenicity. Ophidiomycosis, also called snake fungal disease, is caused by the fungus (formerly "). Ophidiomycosis has been characterized as an EID and as a potential threat to populations of Nearctic snakes, sparking over a decade of targeted research.

Transcriptional host-pathogen responses of and three species of bats with white-nose syndrome.

Understanding how context (e.g., host species, environmental conditions) drives disease susceptibility is an essential goal of disease ecology.

Road avoidance and its energetic consequences for reptiles.

Roads are one of the most widespread human-caused habitat modifications that can increase wildlife mortality rates and alter behavior. Roads can act as barriers with variable permeability to movement and can increase distances wildlife travel to access habitats. Movement is energetically costly, and avoidance of roads could therefore impact an animal's energy budget.

Tree lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) growth decreases with population density, but increases with habitat quality.

Habitat selection models can explain spatial patterns in the relative abundance of animals in different habitats based on the assumption that fitness declines as density in a habitat increases. Ectotherms, such as lizards, may not follow predictions of density-dependent habitat selection models because temperature, which is unaffected by density, strongly influences their habitat selection. If competition for limited resources decreases fitness, then crowding should cause a decrease in body size and growth rates.

Do ectotherms partition thermal resources? We still do not know.

Partitioning of the niche space is a mechanism used to explain the coexistence of similar species. Ectotherms have variable body temperatures and their body temperatures influence performance and, ultimately, fitness. Therefore, many ectotherms use behavioral thermoregulation to avoid reduced capacities associated with body temperatures far from the optimal temperature for performance.