Space Use Change Associated With Climate Induces Camouflage Mismatch to Increase Extinction Risk in an Endangered...

Camouflage is vital for survival, but climate warming may distort the visual environment of predators and prey to reduce crypsis efficacy. Many animals store food using strategies that vary along a continuum from larderhoarding (centralized caching) to scatterhoarding (dispersed caching), and behavioral shifts and space use may help overcome challenges complicated by warming provided that prey remain cryptic. We combined long-term population and behavioral data with comparative analyses of pelage color to assess predation risk in a highly endangered mammal. Environmental warming was associated with decreased population densities, decreased larderhoard use, and expanded space use that reduced camouflage and increased avian predation rates. Integration of long-term demographics with predator-specific visual sensitivities in rapidly changing environments highlights mechanisms underlying population declines that accelerate extinction risk.