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Landler L. Orientation and emigration of larval and juvenile amphibians: selected topics and hypotheses. AMPHIBIA-REPTILIA 2022; 43:1-11. [PMID: 35440836 PMCID: PMC7612629 DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Most amphibians have a complex life cycle with an aquatic larval and an adult (semi-) terrestrial stage. However, studies concerning spatial behaviour and orientation mainly focus on either the aquatic larvae or the adult animals on land. Consequently, behavioural changes that happen during metamorphosis and the consequences for emigration and population distribution are less understood. This paper aims to summarize the knowledge concerning specific topics of early amphibian life history stages and proposes several testable hypotheses within the following fields of research: larval and juvenile orientation, influences of environmental and genetic factors on juvenile emigration, their habitat choice later in life as well as population biology. I argue that studying larval and juvenile amphibian spatial behaviour is an understudied field of research, however, could considerably improve our understanding of amphibian ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Landler
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Institute of Zoology, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
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2
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Zepeda E, Payne E, Wurth A, Sih A, Gehrt S. Early life experience influences dispersal in coyotes ( Canis latrans). Behav Ecol 2021; 32:728-737. [PMID: 34421364 PMCID: PMC8374878 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2020] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Natal dispersal plays an important role in connecting individual animal behavior with ecological processes at all levels of biological organization. As urban environments are rapidly increasing in extent and intensity, understanding how urbanization influences these long distance movements is critical for predicting the persistence of species and communities. There is considerable variation in the movement responses of individuals within a species, some of which is attributed to behavioral plasticity which interacts with experience to produce interindividual differences in behavior. For natal dispersers, much of this experience occurs in the natal home range. Using data collected from VHF collared coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Chicago Metropolitan Area we explored the relationship between early life experience with urbanization and departure, transience, and settlement behavior. Additionally, we looked at how early life experience with urbanization influenced survival to adulthood and the likelihood of experiencing a vehicle related mortality. We found that coyotes with more developed habitat in their natal home range were more likely to disperse and tended to disperse farther than individuals with more natural habitat in their natal home range. Interestingly, our analysis produced mixed results for the relationship between natal habitat and habitat selection during settlement. Finally, we found no evidence that early life experience with urbanization influenced survival to adulthood or the likelihood of experiencing vehicular mortality. Our study provides evidence that early life exposure influences dispersal behavior; however, it remains unclear how these differences ultimately affect fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Zepeda
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Eric Payne
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Ashley Wurth
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Stanley Gehrt
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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3
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Nuhlíčková S, Svetlík J, Eckenfellner M, Knauer F, Hoi H. Interaction between nestling behaviour and nest-space use. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2020.1858173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Soňa Nuhlíčková
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská Dolina, 842 15 Bratislava 4, Slovakia
| | - Ján Svetlík
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská Dolina, 842 15 Bratislava 4, Slovakia
| | - Manfred Eckenfellner
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Felix Knauer
- Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Conservation Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Herbert Hoi
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstraße 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
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4
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Observations on habitat preference of juvenile eastern hellbender salamanders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis). Acta Ethol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-020-00344-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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5
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Hale R, Blumstein DT, Mac Nally R, Swearer SE. Harnessing knowledge of animal behavior to improve habitat restoration outcomes. Ecosphere 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Robin Hale
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 Australia
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA
| | - Ralph Mac Nally
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 Australia
| | - Stephen E. Swearer
- School of BioSciences The University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria 3010 Australia
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Zhang L, Zhao H, Willard S, Wang Q, Jiang W, Zhang HX, Kouba A. Spatial distribution and seasonal movement patterns of reintroduced Chinese giant salamanders. BMC ZOOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1186/s40850-019-0046-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Very little is known about the temporal or spatial movement patterns of Chinese giant salamanders (Andrias davidianus) due to their rarity, remote habitat and secretive nature. Commercial breeding farms provide a unique opportunity as a source of animals for reintroduction and spatial ecology studies, which will help inform conservation management efforts for this threatened species. We surgically implanted radio transmitters into the body cavity of 31 juvenile giant salamanders, and these salamanders were subsequently released into two small river systems (Donghe and Heihe Rivers) located in the Qinling Mountains of central China and were monitored daily from May 2013 to August 2014.
Results
Only two salamanders survived through the end of the project at the Heihe River compared with 12 at the Donghe River, thus movement data for salamanders released at the Heihe river are described individually. The overall sedentariness (ratio of no movement to all observations) for the two salamanders at the Heihe River was 0.29 and 0.28 compared to the average sedentariness of 0.26 ± 0.01 for the 12 salamanders at the Donghe River. Mean daily movement was 15.4 m ± 0.7 at the Heihe River compared to 9.3 m ± 0.3 at the Donghe River. Overall linear home range (LHR) was 246 m and 392 m for the two salamanders at the Heihe River, compared with a mean LHR of 227.2 m ± 70.5 at the Donghe River. The Donghe salamanders exhibited different movement patterns across seasons, having higher sedentariness, shorter daily movement, and smaller LHR in winter than in summer. Up-stream dispersal and fidelity to release site were recorded at both rivers. The mean dispersal distance for the Donghe River salamanders was 145.3 m ± 61.9, while the two surviving salamanders at the Heihe River had a dispersal distance of 211 m and 205 m.
Conclusions
This project provides important insights on the movement ecology of a large aquatic salamander species, and in particular, our results may assist with reintroduction efforts by developing best management practices on when and where to release animals as a conservation strategy.
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Hale R, Colombo V, Hoak M, Pettigrove V, Swearer SE. The influence of potential stressors on oviposition site selection and subsequent growth, survival and emergence of the non-biting midge ( Chironomus tepperi). Ecol Evol 2019; 9:5512-5522. [PMID: 31110699 PMCID: PMC6509373 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that animals should prefer habitats where their fitness is maximized but some mistakenly select habitats where their fitness is compromised, that is, ecological traps. Understanding why this happens requires knowledge of the habitat selection cues animals use, the habitats they prefer and why, and the fitness costs of habitat selection decisions. We conducted experiments with a freshwater insect, the non-biting midge Chironomus tepperi to ask: (a) whether females respond to potential oviposition cues, (b) to explore whether oviposition is adaptive in relation to metal pollution and conductivity, and (c) whether individuals raised in poor quality sites are more likely to breed in similarly poor locations. We found the following: (a) females responded to some cues, especially conductivity and conspecifics, (b) females preferred sites with higher concentrations of bioavailable metals but suffered no consequences to egg/larval survival, (c) females showed some avoidance of high conductivities, but they still laid eggs resulting in reduced egg hatching, larval survival, and adult emergence, and (d) preferences were independent of natal environment. Our results show that C. tepperi is susceptible to ecological traps, depending on life stage and the relative differences in conductivities among potential oviposition sites. Our results highlight that (a) the fitness outcomes of habitat selection need to be assessed across the life cycle and (b) the relative differences in preference/suitability of habitats need to be considered in ecological trap research. This information can help determine why habitat preferences and their fitness consequences differ among species, which is critical for determining which species are susceptible to ecological traps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Hale
- School of BioSciencesUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and ManagementParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Valentina Colombo
- School of BioSciencesUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and ManagementParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Molly Hoak
- School of BioSciencesUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and ManagementParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Vin Pettigrove
- School of BioSciencesUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and ManagementParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
| | - Stephen E. Swearer
- School of BioSciencesUniversity of MelbourneParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
- Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and ManagementParkvilleVictoriaAustralia
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Kristensen NP, Johansson J, Chisholm RA, Smith HG, Kokko H. Carryover effects from natal habitat type upon competitive ability lead to trait divergence or source-sink dynamics. Ecol Lett 2018; 21:1341-1352. [PMID: 29938889 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Local adaptation to rare habitats is difficult due to gene flow, but can occur if the habitat has higher productivity. Differences in offspring phenotypes have attracted little attention in this context. We model a scenario where the rarer habitat improves offspring's later competitive ability - a carryover effect that operates on top of local adaptation to one or the other habitat type. Assuming localised dispersal, so the offspring tend to settle in similar habitat to the natal type, the superior competitive ability of offspring remaining in the rarer habitat hampers immigration from the majority habitat. This initiates a positive feedback between local adaptation and trait divergence, which can thereafter be reinforced by coevolution with dispersal traits that match ecotype to habitat type. Rarity strengthens selection on dispersal traits and promotes linkage disequilibrium between locally adapted traits and ecotype-habitat matching dispersal. We propose that carryover effects may initiate isolation by ecology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ryan A Chisholm
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Henrik G Smith
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.,Centre of Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Hanna Kokko
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Groff LA, Calhoun AJ, Loftin CS. Amphibian terrestrial habitat selection and movement patterns vary with annual life-history period. CAN J ZOOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2016-0148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Identification of essential habitat is a fundamental component of amphibian conservation; however, species with complex life histories frequently move among habitats. To better understand dynamic habitat use, we evaluated Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus (LeConte, 1825)) habitat selection and movement patterns during the spring migration and foraging periods and described the spatiotemporal variability of habitats used during all annual life-history periods. We radio-tracked 71 frogs in Maine during 2011–2013 and evaluated spring migration, foraging activity center (FAC), and within-FAC habitat selection. Telemetered frogs spent the greatest percentage of each field season in hibernacula (≥54.4%), followed by FACs (≥25.5%), migration habitat (≥16.9%), and breeding sites (≥4.5%). FACs ranged 49 – 1 335 m2 (568.0 ± 493.4 m2) and annual home ranges spanned 1 413 – 32 165 m2 (11 780.6 ± 12 506.1 m2). During spring migration, Wood Frogs exhibited different movement patterns (e.g., turn angles), selected different habitat features, and selected habitat features less consistently than while occupying FACs, indicating that the migration and foraging periods are ecologically distinct. Habitat-use studies that do not discriminate among annual life-history periods may obscure true ecological relationships and fail to identify essential habitat necessary for sustaining amphibian populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke A. Groff
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Aram J.K. Calhoun
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA
| | - Cynthia S. Loftin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 5755 Nutting Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA
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Agonistic Behavior and Resource Defense among Sympatric Juvenile Pond-Breeding Salamanders. J HERPETOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1670/15-160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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11
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Is host selection influenced by natal and adult experience in the parasitoid Necremnus tutae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)? Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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12
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Ousterhout BH, Semlitsch RD. Non-additive response of larval ringed salamanders to intraspecific density. Oecologia 2015; 180:1137-45. [PMID: 26683834 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-015-3516-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2014] [Accepted: 11/18/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Conditions experienced in early developmental stages can have long-term consequences for individual fitness. High intraspecific density during the natal period can affect juvenile and eventually adult growth rates, metabolism, immune function, survival, and fecundity. Despite the important ecological and evolutionary effects of early developmental density, the form of the relationship between natal density and resulting juvenile phenotype is poorly understood. To test competing hypotheses explaining responses to intraspecific density, we experimentally manipulated the initial larval density of ringed salamanders (Ambystoma annulatum), a pond-breeding amphibian, over 11 densities. We modeled the functional form of the relationship between natal density and juvenile traits, and compared the relative support for the various hypotheses based on their goodness of fit. These functional form models were then used to parameterize a simple simulation model of population growth. Our data support non-additive density dependence and presents an alternate hypothesis to additive density dependence, self-thinning and Allee effects in larval amphibians. We posit that ringed salamander larvae may be under selective pressure for tolerance to high density and increased efficiency in resource utilization. Additionally, we demonstrate that models of population dynamics are sensitive to assumptions of the functional form of density dependence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany H Ousterhout
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 110 Tucker Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
| | - Raymond D Semlitsch
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, 110 Tucker Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
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