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Gonzalez M, Carazzone C. Eco-Metabolomics Applied to the Chemical Ecology of Poison Frogs (Dendrobatoidea). J Chem Ecol 2023; 49:570-598. [PMID: 37594619 PMCID: PMC10725362 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-023-01443-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Amphibians are one of the most remarkable sources of unique natural products. Biogenic amines, peptides, bufodienolides, alkaloids, and volatile organic compounds have been characterized in different species. The superfamily Dendrobatoidea represents one of the most enigmatic cases of study in chemical ecology because their skin secretome is composed by a complex mixture (i.e. cocktail) of highly lethal and noxious unique alkaloid structures. While chemical defences from dendrobatoids (families Dendrobatidae and Aromobatidae) have been investigated employing ecological, behavioral, phylogenetic and evolutionary perspectives, studies about the analytical techniques needed to perform the chemical characterization have been neglected for many years. Therefore, our aim is to summarize the current methods applied for the characterization of chemical profiles in dendrobatoids and to illustrate innovative Eco-metabolomics strategies that could be translated to this study model. This approach could be extended to natural products other than alkaloids and implemented for the chemical analysis of different species of dendrobatoids employing both low- and high-resolution mass spectrometers. Here, we overview important biological features to be considered, procedures that could be applied to perform the chemical characterization, steps and tools to perform an Eco-metabolomic analysis, and a final discussion about future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabel Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry, Universidad de los Andes, 4976, Bogotá, AA, Colombia.
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 94305, USA.
| | - Chiara Carazzone
- Department of Chemistry, Universidad de los Andes, 4976, Bogotá, AA, Colombia.
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2
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Rebouças R. White-edged cowards: high-pitched treefrogs will be attacked by those with orange legs. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Anurans are one of the most diverse groups of animals, with single and multi-modal communication forms commonly used to settle disputes over territory and to attract females. Thus, I aimed to evaluate if male white-edged treefrogs tend to attack smaller individuals and which morphometric factor is related to it. Advertisement calls of this species were recorded and used in a four-choice experiment with the emission of artificially designed calls. I evaluated which speaker individuals approached and if morphometric variables could predict it. I observed that individuals approached significantly more often towards the high-pitched call than other treatments, and the frequency to do so was predicted by the extension of orange colour in their legs. These results indicate that smaller individuals are actively excluded from calling sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoni Rebouças
- Laboratório de História Natural de Anfíbios Brasileiros (LaHNAB), Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, 13083-862, Brazil
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3
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Chaloupka S, Peignier M, Stückler S, Araya-Ajoy Y, Walsh P, Ringler M, Ringler E. Repeatable Territorial Aggression in a Neotropical Poison Frog. Front Ecol Evol 2022; 10:881387. [PMID: 38989273 PMCID: PMC7616157 DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.881387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Intra-specific aggressive interactions play a prominent role in the life of many animals. While studies have found evidence for repeatability in boldness, activity, and exploration in amphibians, we know relatively little about consistent among-individual variation in aggressiveness, despite its importance for male-male competition and territoriality. Amphibians, and Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) in particular, are highly suitable for investigating among-individual variation in aggressiveness, as most species exhibit strong territoriality in at least one of the sexes. In the present study, we aimed to fill this gap in knowledge, by investigating within- and between-individual variation in territorial aggression in a semi-natural population of the Neotropical poison frog Allobates femoralis (Dendrobatidae) in French Guiana. We conducted repeated, standardized behavioral tests to assess if the level of territorial aggression is consistent within and different between individuals. Further, we tested a possible link between body size and level of territorial aggression. We found moderate repeatability in territorial aggressiveness, but no link to age and/or body size. In conclusion, our study represents the first documentation of repeatable aggressive behavior in a territorial context in amphibians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Chaloupka
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mélissa Peignier
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Division of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Susanne Stückler
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yimen Araya-Ajoy
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Patrick Walsh
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Max Ringler
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Division of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Division of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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4
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O'Hea Miller SB, Davis AR, Wong MYL. Does habitat complexity and prior residency influence aggression between invasive and native freshwater crayfish? Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah B. O'Hea Miller
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions and School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia
| | - Andrew R. Davis
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions and School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia
| | - Marian Y. L. Wong
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions and School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia
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5
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6
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Contrasting environmental drivers of genetic and phenotypic divergence in an Andean poison frog (Epipedobates anthonyi). Heredity (Edinb) 2022; 128:33-44. [PMID: 34718332 PMCID: PMC8733028 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00481-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic and genetic divergence are shaped by the homogenizing effects of gene flow and the differentiating processes of genetic drift and local adaptation. Herein, we examined the mechanisms that underlie phenotypic (size and color) and genetic divergence in 35 populations (535 individuals) of the poison frog Epipedobates anthonyi along four elevational gradients (0-1800 m asl) in the Ecuadorian Andes. We found phenotypic divergence in size and color despite relatively low genetic divergence at neutral microsatellite loci. Genetic and phenotypic divergence were both explained by landscape resistance between sites (isolation-by-resistance, IBR), likely due to a cold and dry mountain ridge between the northern and southern elevational transects that limits dispersal and separates two color morphs. Moreover, environmental differences among sites also explained genetic and phenotypic divergence, suggesting isolation-by-environment (IBE). When northern and southern transects were analyzed separately, genetic divergence was predicted either by distance (isolation-by-distance, IBD; northern) or environmental resistance between sites (IBR; southern). In contrast, phenotypic divergence was primarily explained by environmental differences among sites, supporting the IBE hypothesis. These results indicate that although distance and geographic barriers are important drivers of population divergence, environmental variation has a two-fold effect on population divergence. On the one hand, landscape resistance between sites reduces gene flow (IBR), while on the other hand, environmental differences among sites exert divergent selective pressures on phenotypic traits (IBE). Our work highlights the importance of studying both genetic and phenotypic divergence to better understand the processes of population divergence and speciation along ecological gradients.
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Yeager J, Barnett JB. The influence of ultraviolet reflectance differs between conspicuous aposematic signals in neotropical butterflies and poison frogs. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13633-13640. [PMID: 34707805 PMCID: PMC8525173 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning signals are often characterized by highly contrasting, distinctive, and memorable colors. Greater chromatic (hue) and achromatic (brightness) contrast have both been found to contribute to greater signal efficacy, making longwave colored signals (e.g., red and yellow), that are perceived by both chromatic and achromatic visual pathways, particularly common. Conversely, shortwave colors (e.g., blue and ultraviolet) do not contribute to luminance perception yet are also commonly found in warning signals. Our understanding of the role of UV in aposematic signals is currently incomplete as UV perception is not universal, and evidence for its utility is at best mixed. We used visual modeling to quantify how UV affects signal contrast in aposematic heliconiian butterflies and poison frogs both of which reflect UV wavelengths, occupy similar habitats, and share similar classes of predators. Previous work on butterflies has found that UV reflectance does not affect predation risk but is involved in mate choice. As the butterflies, but not the frogs, have UV-sensitive vision, the function of UV reflectance in poison frogs is currently unknown. We found that despite showing up strongly in UV photographs, UV reflectance only appreciably affected visual contrast in the butterflies. As such, these results support the notion that although UV reflectance is associated with intraspecific communication in butterflies, it appears to be nonfunctional in frogs. Consequently, our data highlight that we should be careful when assigning a selection-based benefit to the presence of UV reflectance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Yeager
- Biodiversidad Medio Ambiente y Salud Universidad de Las Américas Quito Ecuador
| | - James B Barnett
- Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour McMaster University Hamilton ON Canada
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Barnett JB, Varela BJ, Jennings BJ, Lesbarrères D, Pruitt JN, Green DM. Habitat disturbance alters color contrast and the detectability of cryptic and aposematic frogs. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Animals use color both to conceal and signal their presence, with patterns that match the background, disrupt shape recognition, or highlight features important for communication. The forms that these color patterns take are responses to the visual systems that observe them and the environments within which they are viewed. Increasingly, however, these environments are being affected by human activity. We studied how pattern characteristics and habitat change may affect the detectability of three frog color patterns from the Bocas del Toro archipelago in Panama: Beige-Striped Brown Allobates talamancae and two spotted morphs of Oophaga pumilio, Black-Spotted Green and Black-Spotted Red. To assess detectability, we used visual modeling of conspecifics and potential predators, along with a computer-based detection experiment with human participants. Although we found no evidence for disruptive camouflage, we did find clear evidence that A. talamancae stripes are inherently more cryptic than O. pumilio spots regardless of color. We found no evidence that color pattern polytypism in O. pumilio is related to differences in the forest floor between natural sites. We did, however, find strong evidence that human disturbance affects the visual environment and modifies absolute and rank order frog detectability. Human-induced environmental change reduces the effectiveness of camouflage in A. talamancae, reduces detectability of Black-Spotted Green O. pumilio, and increases chromatic contrast, but not detectability, in Black-Spotted Red O. pumilio. Insofar as predators may learn about prey defenses and make foraging decisions based on relative prey availability and suitability, such changes may have wider implications for predator–prey dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- James B Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | - Ben J Jennings
- The College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, UK
| | | | - Jonathan N Pruitt
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - David M Green
- Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Yang Y, Prémel V, Richards‐Zawacki CL. Prior residence effect determines success of male–male territorial competition in a color polymorphic poison frog. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | | | - Corinne L. Richards‐Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Ancon Panamá
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10
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Zamora-Camacho FJ, Comas M. Beyond Sexual Dimorphism and Habitat Boundaries: Coloration Correlates with Morphology, Age, and Locomotor Performance in a Toad. Evol Biol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-018-9466-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Yang Y, Dugas MB, Sudekum HJ, Murphy SN, Richards-Zawacki CL. Male-male aggression is unlikely to stabilize a poison frog polymorphism. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:457-468. [PMID: 29345026 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic polymorphism is common in animals, and the maintenance of multiple phenotypes in a population requires forces that act against homogenizing drift and selection. Male-male competition can contribute to the stability of a polymorphism when males compete primarily with males of the same phenotype. In and around a contact zone between red and blue lineages of the poison frog Oophaga pumilio, we used simulated territorial intrusions to test the nonexclusive predictions that males would direct more aggression towards males of (i) their own phenotype and/or (ii) the phenotype that is most common in their population. Males in the monomorphic red and blue populations that flank the contact zone were more aggressive towards simulated intruders that matched the local coloration. However, males in the two polymorphic populations biased aggression towards neither their own colour nor the colour most common in their population. In sympatry, the rarer colour morph gains no advantage via reduced male-male aggression from territorial males in these O. pumilio populations, and so male aggression seems unlikely to stabilize colour polymorphism on its own. More broadly, these results suggest that the potential for divergent male aggression biases to maintain phenotypic diversity depends on the mechanism(s) that generate the biases and the degree to which these mechanisms persist in sympatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - M B Dugas
- Watershed Studies Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA
| | - H J Sudekum
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - S N Murphy
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, República de Panamá
| | - C L Richards-Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, República de Panamá
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12
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Posso-Terranova A, Andrés JÁ. Diversification and convergence of aposematic phenotypes: truncated receptors and cellular arrangements mediate rapid evolution of coloration in harlequin poison frogs. Evolution 2017; 71:2677-2692. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.13335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 07/28/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrés Posso-Terranova
- Department of Biology; University of Saskatchewan; 112 Science Pl Saskatoon SK Canada
- Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Sede de Palmira A.A. 237 Palmira Colombia
| | - José Á. Andrés
- Department of Biology; University of Saskatchewan; 112 Science Pl Saskatoon SK Canada
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