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Leavey A, Richards CT, Porro LB. Comparative muscle anatomy of the anuran pelvis and hindlimb in relation to locomotor mode. J Anat 2024. [PMID: 39119773 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2024] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Frogs have a highly conserved body plan, yet they employ a diverse array of locomotor modes, making them ideal organisms for investigating the relationships between morphology and locomotor function, in particular whether anatomical complexity is a prerequisite for functional complexity. We use diffusible iodine contrast-enhanced microCT (diceCT) imaging to digitally dissect the gross muscle anatomy of the pelvis and hindlimbs for 30 species of frogs representing five primary locomotor modes, including the first known detailed dissection for some of the world's smallest frogs, forming the largest digital comparative analysis of musculoskeletal structure in any vertebrate clade to date. By linking musculoskeletal dissections and phylogenetic comparative methods, we then quantify and compare relationships between anatomy and function across over 160 million years of anuran evolution. In summary, we have found that bone lengths and pelvic crest sizes are generally not reliable predictors of muscle sizes, which highlights important implications for future palaeontological studies. Our investigation also presents previously unreported differences in muscle anatomy between frogs specialising in different locomotor modes, including several of the smallest frog hindlimb muscles, which are extremely difficult to extract and measure using traditional approaches. Furthermore, we find evidence of many-to-one and one-to-many mapping of form to function across the phylogeny. Additionally, we perform the first quantitative analysis of how the degree of muscle separation can differ between frogs. We find evidence that phylogenetic history is the key contributing factor to muscle separation in the pelvis and thigh, while the separation of shank muscles is influenced more strongly by locomotor mode. Finally, our anatomical 3D reconstructions are published alongside this manuscript to contribute towards future research and serve as educational materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Leavey
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College-Camden Campus, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, London, UK
| | - Christopher T Richards
- Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College-Camden Campus, Comparative Biomedical Sciences, London, UK
| | - Laura B Porro
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
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Xu M, Wang G, Liu P, He Z, He K, Cheng Z, Wang Z, Chen W, Li Z, Zhang L. Age structure and body size of two Tibetan toad ( Bufo tibetanus) populations from different elevations in China. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11559. [PMID: 38863720 PMCID: PMC11165260 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding how age and body size vary across elevations can provide insights into the evolution of life-history traits in animals. In the present study, we compared the demographic (using skeletochronology) and morphological traits of the Tibetan toad (Bufo tibetanus) between two populations from different elevational habitats (2650 vs. 3930 m). We found that (1) the mean age and body size of females were significantly greater than those of males in both populations; (2) both sexes of toads from the higher elevation tended to be significantly older in age and larger in body size; (3) there was a significant positive relationship between age and body size within each sex of the toad at both elevations; and (4) growth rates varied between the two populations, with the higher rate observed in the lower-elevation population. Our results suggested that factors other than age, such as elevation-associated temperature, influence the observed differences in body size between the two populations. Future research at a broader range of elevations should focus on these factors and evaluate their influence on animal growth patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengshuang Xu
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Gege Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Putong Liu
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Zhuolin He
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Kaiqin He
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Zhiqiang Cheng
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Ziqi Wang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
| | - Wei Chen
- School of Resources and Environmental EngineeringAnhui UniversityHefeiAnhuiChina
| | - Zhibing Li
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
- The Observation and Research Field Station of Taihang Mountain Forest Ecosystems of Henan Province, Puyang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Yellow River Wetland Ecosystem and Research Center for ecological management and protection of the Yellow River BasinHenanChina
| | - Lixia Zhang
- Department of Ecology, College of Life SciencesHenan Normal UniversityXinxiangHenanChina
- The Observation and Research Field Station of Taihang Mountain Forest Ecosystems of Henan Province, Puyang Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Yellow River Wetland Ecosystem and Research Center for ecological management and protection of the Yellow River BasinHenanChina
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3
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Valencia-Aguilar A, Ringler E, Lüpold S, Guayasamin JM, Prado CPA. Evolutionary trade-offs between testes size and parenting in Neotropical glassfrogs. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240054. [PMID: 38351799 PMCID: PMC10865008 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
In males, large testes size signifies high sperm production and is commonly linked to heightened sperm competition levels. It may also evolve as a response to an elevated risk of sperm depletion due to multiple mating or large clutch sizes. Conversely, weapons, mate or clutch guarding may allow individuals to monopolize mating events and preclude sperm competition, thereby reducing the selection of large testes. Herein, we examined how paternal care, sexual size dimorphism (SSD), weaponry and female fecundity are linked to testes size in glassfrogs. We found that paternal care was associated with a reduction in relative testes size, suggesting an evolutionary trade-off between testes size and parenting. Although females were slightly larger than males and species with paternal care tended to have larger clutches, there was no significant relationship between SSD, clutch size and relative testes size. These findings suggest that the evolution of testes size in glassfrogs is influenced by sperm competition risk, rather than sperm depletion risk. We infer that clutch guarding precludes the risk of fertilization by other males and consequently diminishes selective pressure for larger testes. Our study highlights the prominent role of paternal care in the evolution of testes size in species with external fertilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar
- Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Evolução e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Rio Claro, São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Stefan Lüpold
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Juan M. Guayasamin
- Instituto Biósfera USFQ, Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Cynthia P. A. Prado
- Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Evolução e Biodiversidade, Instituto de Biociências, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Rio Claro, São Paulo 13506-900, Brazil
- Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia Animal, FCAV, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Jaboticabal, São Paulo 14884-900, Brazil
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Morinaga G, Wiens JJ, Moen DS. The radiation continuum and the evolution of frog diversity. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7100. [PMID: 37925440 PMCID: PMC10625520 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42745-x] [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: 02/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Most of life's vast diversity of species and phenotypes is often attributed to adaptive radiation. Yet its contribution to species and phenotypic diversity of a major group has not been examined. Two key questions remain unresolved. First, what proportion of clades show macroevolutionary dynamics similar to adaptive radiations? Second, what proportion of overall species richness and phenotypic diversity do these adaptive-radiation-like clades contain? We address these questions with phylogenetic and morphological data for 1226 frog species across 43 families (which represent >99% of all species). Less than half of frog families resembled adaptive radiations (with rapid diversification and morphological evolution). Yet, these adaptive-radiation-like clades encompassed ~75% of both morphological and species diversity, despite rapid rates in other clades (e.g., non-adaptive radiations). Overall, we support the importance of adaptive-radiation-like evolution for explaining diversity patterns and provide a framework for characterizing macroevolutionary dynamics and diversity patterns in other groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gen Morinaga
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - John J Wiens
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Daniel S Moen
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA.
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
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5
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Leavey A, Ruta M, Richards CT, Porro LB. Locomotor, ecological and phylogenetic drivers of skeletal proportions in frogs. J Anat 2023; 243:404-420. [PMID: 37203401 PMCID: PMC10439368 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13886] [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: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Frogs exhibit complex anatomical features of the pelvis, limbs and spine, long assumed to represent specialisations for jumping. Yet frogs employ a wide range of locomotor modes, with several taxa featuring primary locomotor modes other than jumping. Using a combination of techniques (CT imaging and 3D visualization, morphometrics, phylogenetic mapping), this study aims to determine the link between skeletal anatomy and locomotor style, habitat type and phylogenetic history, shedding new light on how functional demands impact morphology. Body and limb measurements for 164 taxa from all the recognised anuran families are extracted from digitally segmented CT scans of whole frog skeletons and analysed using various statistical techniques. We find that the expansion of the sacral diapophyses is the most important variable for predicting locomotor mode, which was more closely correlated with frog morphology than either habitat type or phylogenetic relationships. Predictive analyses suggest that skeletal morphology is a useful indicator of jumping but less so for other locomotor modes, suggesting that there is a wide range of anatomical solutions to performing locomotor styles such as swimming, burrowing or walking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Leavey
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Cell and Developmental BiologyUniversity College LondonLondon
- Structure and Motion LaboratoryRoyal Veterinary College ‐ Camden Campus, Comparative Biomedical SciencesLondon
| | - Marcello Ruta
- Department of Life SciencesUniversity of Lincoln, Joseph Banks LaboratoriesLincolnshireUnited Kingdom
| | - Christopher T. Richards
- Structure and Motion LaboratoryRoyal Veterinary College ‐ Camden Campus, Comparative Biomedical SciencesLondon
| | - Laura B. Porro
- Centre for Integrative Anatomy, Cell and Developmental BiologyUniversity College LondonLondon
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Luría-Manzano R, Pinheiro PDP, Kohlsdorf T, Haddad CFB, Martins M. Evolution of territoriality in Hylinae treefrogs: Ecological and morphological correlates and lineage diversification. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:1090-1101. [PMID: 37322612 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Given the diverse nature of traits involved in territorial defence, they may respond to different selective pressures and then exhibit distinct patterns of evolution. These selective pressures also may cause territorial behaviour to be associated with environmental and morphological variables. Such associations, however, have mostly been studied at the intraspecific level, being phylogenetic analyses of territoriality in a broad taxonomic framework rare in the literature. We used the anuran subfamily Hylinae to test (1) whether two territorial-behaviour traits with different levels of aggression-territorial call and physical combat-are evolutionarily more labile than a morphological trait used in physical combat-the spine-shaped prepollex; (2) whether reproduction in lentic waters and phytotelmata, as well as resource scarcity, might favour the occurrence of territoriality; (3) if physical combat is more important than territorial call for the evolution of body size and sexual size dimorphism and (4) the relationships between territorial-behaviour traits and lineage diversification. We mainly used the literature to build two datasets with different levels of certainty. Territorial-behaviour traits exhibited intermediate levels of phylogenetic signal in Hylinae, whereas the phylogenetic signal for the presence of the spine-shaped prepollex was strong. We found support for the hypothesis that reproduction in lentic water favours the occurrence of territorial behaviour, because the expression of territorial-behaviour traits was more associated with reproduction in lentic than in lotic waters. Territorial-behaviour traits were not correlated with annual precipitation nor with habitat complexity. Body size and sexual size dimorphism were not correlated with the presence of territorial call nor with physical combat. We identified negative correlations between diversification rates and physical combat. Relationships of territorial call and physical combat with diversification rates suggest that these territorial behaviours influence evolutionary processes in different ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Luría-Manzano
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Paulo D P Pinheiro
- Laboratório de Anfíbios, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Tiana Kohlsdorf
- Departmento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Célio F B Haddad
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, SP, Brazil
| | - Marcio Martins
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Oswald CB, de Magalhães RF, Garcia PC, Santos FR, Neckel-Oliveira S. Integrative species delimitation helps to find the hidden diversity of the leaf-litter frog Ischnocnema manezinho (Garcia, 1996) (Anura, Brachycephalidae), endemic to the southern Atlantic Forest. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15393. [PMID: 37250715 PMCID: PMC10225124 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The delimitation of cryptic species is a challenge for biodiversity conservation. Anurans show high cryptic diversity levels, and molecular species delimitation methods could help identify putative new species. Additionally, species delimitation approaches can provide important results for cryptic species conservation, with integrative methods adding robustness to results. Ischnocnema manezinho was described from Santa Catarina Island (SCI), southern Brazil. More recently, some inventories indicated continental populations supposedly similar in morphology to it. If these records are confirmed as I. manezinho, it would likely change its endangered status on National Red List, removing the species from conservation agendas. We investigated the threatened frog Ischnocnema manezinho, to evaluate if the continental populations belong to this species or if they form an undescribed species complex. Methods We used coalescent, distance, and allele-sharing-based species delimitation methods and integrative analyses of morphometric and bioacoustics traits to test evolutionary independence between I. manezinho from SCI, Arvoredo Island, and continental populations. Results Ischnocnema manezinho is restricted to Santa Catarina Island, while the five remaining lineages should be further investigated through a taxonomic review. Our results point to a small geographic range of Ischnocnema manezinho. Additionally, the species occurs in isolated fragments of forest in SCI surrounded by expanding urban areas, confirming its status as Endangered. Thus, the protection and monitoring of I. manezinho and the taxonomic description of the continental and Arvoredo Island candidate species should be priorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Batistim Oswald
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Rafael Félix de Magalhães
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, São João del-Rei, Brazil
| | - Paulo C.A. Garcia
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Fabrício R. Santos
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Selvino Neckel-Oliveira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
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8
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Juarez BH, Moen DS, Adams DC. Ecology, sexual dimorphism, and jumping evolution in anurans. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:829-841. [PMID: 37129372 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism (SD) is a common feature of animals, and selection for sexually dimorphic traits may affect both functional morphological traits and organismal performance. Trait evolution through natural selection can also vary across environments. However, whether the evolution of organismal performance is distinct between the sexes is rarely tested in a phylogenetic comparative context. Anurans commonly exhibit sexual size dimorphism, which may affect jumping performance given the effects of body size on locomotion. They also live in a wide variety of microhabitats. Yet the relationships among dimorphism, performance, and ecology remain underexamined in anurans. Here, we explore relationships between microhabitat use, body size, and jumping performance in males and females to determine the drivers of dimorphic patterns in jumping performance. Using methods for predicting jumping performance through anatomical measurements, we describe how fecundity selection and natural selection associated with body size and microhabitat have likely shaped female jumping performance. We found that the magnitude of sexual size dimorphism (where females are about 14% larger than males) was much lower than dimorphism in muscle volume, where females had 42% more muscle than males (after accounting for body size). Despite these sometimes-large averages, phylogenetic t-tests failed to show the statistical significance of SD for any variable, indicating sexually dimorphic species tend to be closely related. While SD of jumping performance did not vary among microhabitats, we found female jumping velocity and energy differed across microhabitats. Overall, our findings indicate that differences in sex-specific reproductive roles, size, jumping-related morphology, and performance are all important determinants in how selection has led to the incredible ecophenotypic diversity of anurans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan H Juarez
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
- Departments of Biology and Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Daniel S Moen
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Dean C Adams
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
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9
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Li H, He W, Wang T, Cui C, Zhang J, Chen X. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed genes involved in the sexual size dimorphisms and expressed sequence tag-Simple Sequence Repeat loci validation in Odorrana graminea. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1159037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is widespread among animals and is characterized by differences in body size between sexes. Previous studies suggested SSD might reflect the adaptations of particular sexes to their specific reproductive or ecological roles. The large green cascade frogs (Odorrana graminea) exhibit obvious SSD that females are nearly twice the body size of males. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying SSD of O. graminea are still unknown. In the present study, we first obtained nearly 5 Gb of the transcriptome data through Illumina sequencing, and the de novo transcriptome assembly produced 189,868 unigenes of O. graminea. A total of 774 significantly sex-differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Of which, 436 DEGs showed significantly higher expression levels in females than those in males, whereas 338 DEGs showed significantly lower expression in females than those in males. We also found 10 sex-differentially expressed genes related to energy metabolism between sexes of O. graminea, and these DEGs were related to the estrogen signaling pathway, oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid biosynthesis, gastric acid secretion, and nitrogen metabolism. We found that the differences in energy metabolism and steroid hormone synthesis might be the main driving force leading to the sexual growth dimorphism of O. graminea. In addition, a total of 63,269 potential EST-SSR loci and 4,669 EST-SSR loci were detected and validated in different populations of O. graminea and other species within Odorrana. The assembled transcriptome will facilitate functional genomic studies of O. graminea and the developed EST-SSR markers will contribute to the population genetics of the species within Odorrana. The sex-differentially expressed genes involved in energy metabolism might provide insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying the SSD of O. graminea.
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Corney RH, Weir LK. Does paternal care influence mate preference? Male and female mating behavior in Threespine Stickleback ecotypes that differ markedly in parental care. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9953. [PMID: 36998604 PMCID: PMC10049857 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Reproductive isolation can occur due to divergence in sexual selection for particular traits. For example, differences in mate preference associated with body size can play an important role in divergence between groups. The importance of mate preference for population divergence may be influenced by other aspects of a mating system, such as the requirement for parental care. In Nova Scotia, Canada, two ecotypes of marine Threespine Stickleback occur sympatrically: a “common” ecotype wherein males provide parental care, and a “white” ecotype that does not exhibit paternal care. The goal of our study was to examine differences in male mate preference between white and common stickleback males to test the prediction that males who invest more in parental care may be more selective about their mates. Because of the link between size and fecundity in this species, we predict that males that invest in parental care should prefer large females, while males that do not provide care will not exhibit preference for larger female size. We found that common male stickleback preferred larger‐bodied females of both ecotypes, while white males showed a preference for larger‐bodied common females. Secondarily, we assessed whether females differed in their willingness to mate with males of different sizes and ecotypes. Common female stickleback had a higher response rate toward smaller white males, which may be associated with their relatively high courtship rates. Counter to previous studies on these ecotypes that suggest that mating is completely assortative, interecotype matings occurred in half of the observed spawning events. This observation, coupled with the results that males may prefer females based mainly on size and females respond to males who court more rigorously regardless of their ecotype, may lend insight into recent genetic evidence for hybridization in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel H. Corney
- Department of BiologySaint Mary's UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
| | - Laura K. Weir
- Department of BiologySaint Mary's UniversityHalifaxNova ScotiaCanada
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de Araujo Pereira G, Haddad CFB, Sturaro MJ. Trophic ecology of the Atlantic Forest endemic tree frog Boana bischoffi (Boulenger, 1887) (Anura, Hylidae). HERPETOZOA 2023. [DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.36.e95863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies of natural history are important to accumulate knowledge about aspects of diet, reproduction, and habitat use, which can assist the conservation biology for endangered groups, such as amphibians. Here we evaluated the trophic ecology and sexual size dimorphism of Boana bischoffi, a widely distributed and endemic tree frog species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We analysed 80 individuals, covering the distribution of the species and combined our data-set with data from the literature. Gastrointestinal items were separated, accounted, and identified to the highest possible taxonomic resolution. Subsequently, the size and mass of prey items were measured. Afterwards, we calculated rates of relative importance for each prey category. The items of greatest relative importance were beetles (Coleoptera), termites (Isoptera), crickets (Orthoptera) but also harvestmen (Opiliones). We did not find a relation between female snout-vent length, mouth width and length with prey length. In males, the mouth length and width are related to prey length. We found a sexual dimorphism in size typical for hylid frogs, with females being larger than males. Our data expand the knowledge about the alimentary biology of B. bischoffi, but further research focusing on other aspects of the natural history such as possible intersexual dietary divergence and food niche overlapping, environmental prey availability and selection is still needed.
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Dugo-Cota A, Vilà C, Rodríguez A, Gonzalez-Voyer A. Influence of microhabitat, fecundity, and parental care on the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in Caribbean Eleutherodactylus frogs. Evolution 2022; 76:3041-3053. [PMID: 36210654 PMCID: PMC10091758 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14642] [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: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Rensch's rule suggests that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) increases with species size when males are the larger sex, whereas it decreases when females are the larger sex. However, the process responsible for this pattern remains obscure. SSD can result from sexual selection, such as intrasexual competition for access to mates, or from natural selection, due to resource partitioning or fecundity selection. We studied SSD in Caribbean Eleutherodactylus frogs using phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the influence of microhabitat, fecundity, and parental care. Our results show that in Caribbean Eleutherodactylus females tend to be larger and, contrary to Rensch's rule, dimorphism increases with species size. SSD was not related to microhabitat use. However, SSD was positively correlated with fecundity, mediated by a greater increase in female size. SSD was also influenced by parental care, suggesting that male care promotes larger male size and reduces the female bias in SSD. As suggested for other anurans, female-biased SSD in Caribbean Eleutherodactylus results from fecundity selection, although the magnitude is countered by increased male size in species with paternal care. Our results highlight the importance of considering various selective forces that may act in concert to influence the evolution of SSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Dugo-Cota
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Seville, 41092, Spain
| | - Carles Vilà
- Conservation and Evolutionary Genetics Group, Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Seville, 41092, Spain
| | - Ariel Rodríguez
- Institut für Zoologie, Stiftung Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, DE-30559, Hannover, Germany
| | - Alejandro Gonzalez-Voyer
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, 04510, México
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Acevedo AA, Palma RE, Olalla-Tárraga MÁ. Ecological and evolutionary trends of body size in Pristimantis frogs, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18106. [PMID: 36302809 PMCID: PMC9613995 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22181-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size is a key organismal trait. However, the environmental and evolutionary factors that drive body size patterns at the interspecific level remain unclear. Here, we explored these relationships between phenotype-environment using neotropical frogs of Pristimantis, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus. We analyzed: (a) whether this group follows the Rensch's rule, a trend of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with size when males are the larger sex; (b) whether environmental constraints have influenced body size variation; and (c) how the rates of body size evolution have varied over time. Analyses were based on two information sources, the first one including body sizes of ~ 85% (495 species) of known species in the genus, and a second one incorporating molecular phylogenetic information for 257 species. Our results showed that all Pristimantis species exhibited marked SSD but did not follow Rensch's rule. We found that the models that best explained body size in males, females, and SSD contained environmental variations in temperature, precipitation, and elevation as predictors. In turn, body size has evolved toward an optimum, with a decelerating rate of evolution differentiated between the large Pristimantis clades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldemar A. Acevedo
- grid.7870.80000 0001 2157 0406Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile ,grid.443909.30000 0004 0385 4466Laboratory of Genetics and Evolution, Department of Ecological Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile ,grid.441950.d0000 0001 2107 1033Grupo de Investigación en Ecología y Biogeografía, Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia
| | - R. Eduardo Palma
- grid.7870.80000 0001 2157 0406Laboratory of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Miguel Ángel Olalla-Tárraga
- grid.28479.300000 0001 2206 5938Department of Biology and Geology, Physics & Inorganic Chemistry, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Spain
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14
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Cândido CER, Del-Prette ACH, Brandão RA. Reproductive biology of the phyllomedusid frog Pithecopus oreades (Brandão 2002), a Cerrado endemic species related to altitude streams. STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/01650521.2022.2129336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos E. R. Cândido
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal (UnB/EFL), Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Ana C. H. Del-Prette
- Departamento de Engenharia Florestal (UnB/EFL), Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
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15
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Dittrich C, Tietje M, Rödel MO. Larger is not better: no mate preference by European common frog (Rana temporaria) males. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10169] [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
In explosive breeding frogs, high intrasexual competition between males leads to a sexual coercion ruled mating system, where males presumably evolved preferences for specific female traits. We tested these preferences in the European Common Frog by excluding intrasexual competition. We hypothesized that all males show preferences towards larger female body size, due to higher fecundity. Our results did not show any preference considering female body size, neither in the attempt to amplex a female nor during the formation of pairs. Additionally, we witnessed a high failure rate of male mating attempts, which hints at high mating costs and offers an explanation for the lack of preferences in males. Nonetheless, we observed a non-random mating pattern in successfully formed pairs, where in the absence of size dimorphism females were on average larger than males. This indicates a different mechanism for selection which is independent from male mating preference or scramble competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Dittrich
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin–Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Melanie Tietje
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mark-Oliver Rödel
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin–Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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16
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Yu TL, Wang G, Vasconcellos MM, Li YJ. Evolution of sexual dimorphism in an endemic toad of the Qinghai–Tibet plateau fails to obey Rensch’s rule. J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/jzs.12554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tong Lei Yu
- College of Life Science Xinyang Normal University Xinyang China
| | - Gang Wang
- College of Chemistry and Life Science Chengdu Normal University Chengdu China
| | | | - Yu Jie Li
- College of Life Science China West Normal University Nanchong China
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17
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Leung KW, Yang S, Wang X, Tang K, Hu J. Ecogeographical Adaptation Revisited: Morphological Variations in the Plateau Brown Frog along an Elevation Gradient on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:biology10111081. [PMID: 34827074 PMCID: PMC8614741 DOI: 10.3390/biology10111081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary A number of studies have explored how the body size and extremities of frogs vary in response to the changing environmental conditions across different geographical gradients, but the outcomes remain controversial. Here, we studied the morphological variations of the plateau brown frog (Rana kukunoris) along an elevation gradient (~1800–3500 m) on the eastern margin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau to understand how environmental and biological factors affect them, and to assess whether these variations help to improve thermoregulation. Although we found that male and female frogs showed different variations in body size and extremities along the elevational gradient, both of them showed a significant decrease in the ratio of extremities to body size with increasing elevation. The decreasing ratio implies a gain of thermoregulatory benefits based on the ecogeographical rules. Moreover, the morphological variations were found to be strongly related to both environmental and biological factors. These results suggest that ecogeographical adaptation in frogs may be more complicated than other terrestrial vertebrate species. Most importantly, the adaptation should be viewed as a result of both environmental and biological factors, while it may also appear as an interactive change between body size and extremities. Abstract Several anurans have broad elevational and latitudinal distribution ranges; distinct species and populations may face various environmental and selection stresses. Due to their environmental sensitivity, adaptation is critical for the long-term persistence of anurans. Previous studies have tried to identify the ecogeographical pattern and its mechanism in anurans, suggesting different patterns, but the related explanatory mechanisms are yet to be generally supported and are suggested to be complicated. To explore the elusive mechanisms, we studied the morphological variation of the plateau brown frog (Rana kukunoris) along an elevational gradient on the eastern margin of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. Using body size, extremity length, and the ratio between them (extremities/body size) as testing indicators, we examined potential ecogeographical adaptations and investigated how environmental and biological factors could shape the morphological development in R. kukunoris. We found that males and females showed different variations in body size and extremities along the elevational gradient, whereas both of them showed a decreasing extremities/body size ratio along elevation. Together with the strong correlations between environmental and biological factors and the morphometrics, we identified ecogeographical adaptation and a sexual difference in the selective pressures on the extremities and body size of the plateau brown frog. Our results imply that geographic variations in anuran morphological traits should be understood as an outcome of environmental and biological factors. Furthermore, ecogeographical adaptation in anurans can manifest as an interactive change between body size and extremities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ka Wah Leung
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; (K.W.L.); (S.Y.); (X.W.); (K.T.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shengnan Yang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; (K.W.L.); (S.Y.); (X.W.); (K.T.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaoyi Wang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; (K.W.L.); (S.Y.); (X.W.); (K.T.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ke Tang
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; (K.W.L.); (S.Y.); (X.W.); (K.T.)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junhua Hu
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China; (K.W.L.); (S.Y.); (X.W.); (K.T.)
- Correspondence:
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18
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Abstract
A well-known property of sexual selection combined with a cross-sex genetic correlation (rmf) is that it can facilitate a peak shift on the adaptive landscape. How do these diversifying effects of sexual selection + rmf balance with the constraints imposed by such sexual antagonism, to affect the macroevolution of sexual dimorphism? Here, I extend existing quantitative genetic models of evolution on complex adaptive landscapes. Beyond recovering classical predictions for the conditions promoting a peak shift, I show that when rmf is moderate to strong, relatively weak sexual selection is required to induce a peak shift in males only. Increasing the strength of sexual selection leads to a sexually concordant peak shift, suggesting that macroevolutionary rates of sexual dimorphism may be largely decoupled from the strength of within-population sexual selection. Accounting explicitly for demography further reveals that sex-specific peak shifts may be more likely to be successful than concordant shifts in the face of extinction, especially when natural selection is strong. An overarching conclusion is that macroevolutionary patterns of sexual dimorphism are unlikely to be readily explained by within-population estimates of selection or constraint alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen P De Lisle
- Evolutionary Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37 223 62, Lund, Sweden
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19
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Goyes Vallejos J, Gomez J, Hernández-Figueroa AD, Vera R, Green DM. Fertilization success suggests random pairing in frogs with regard to body size. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03081-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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20
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Juarez BH, Adams DC. Evolutionary allometry of sexual dimorphism of jumping performance in anurans. Evol Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-021-10132-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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21
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Zumel D, Buckley D, Ron SR. The Pristimantis trachyblepharis species group, a clade of miniaturized frogs: description of four new species and insights into the evolution of body size in the genus. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Species richness in the genus Pristimantis is underestimated due to the existence of morphologically cryptic species. This is worsened by the low sampling effort and the lack of studies using genetic markers. Here, we use molecular and morphological data to determine the phylogenetic relationships of a clade of Pristimantis distributed throughout montane tropical forests in the eastern Andes, from central Ecuador to northern Perú. We name this clade the Pristimantis trachyblepharis species group. Our results show that it comprises nine species, of which four are formally described and five are new. Four of these undescribed species are formally described here. The group is composed of miniaturized species, such as Pristimantis nanus sp. nov., currently the smallest known species of the genus and the smallest vertebrate in Ecuador. As a first approach to understanding the evolutionary origin and implications of body-size reduction in Pristimantis, we here study the phylogenetic signal and evolutionary trends of body size within the genus. We also provide the first record of P. aquilonaris in Ecuador and we show, for the first time, the phylogenetic position of P. albujai, P. aquilonaris, P. minimus and P. trachyblepharis, which are also members of the P. trachyblepharis species group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zumel
- Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Aptdo. 17-01-2184, Quito, Ecuador
- Real Jardín Botánico (RJB-CSIC). Plaza de Murillo, 2. 28014 Madrid, Spain
| | - David Buckley
- Departamento de Biología (Genética). Facultad de Ciencias (Ed. Biología), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM)., c/ Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM). Edificio de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid., c/ Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago R Ron
- Museo de Zoología, Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Aptdo. 17-01-2184, Quito, Ecuador
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22
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Ethier JP, Fayard A, Soroye P, Choi D, Mazerolle MJ, Trudeau VL. Life history traits and reproductive ecology of North American chorus frogs of the genus Pseudacris (Hylidae). Front Zool 2021; 18:40. [PMID: 34452622 PMCID: PMC8394169 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00425-w] [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: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Amphibian biodiversity is declining globally, with over 40% of species being considered threatened to become extinct. Crucial to the success of conservation initiatives are a comprehensive understanding of life history and reproductive ecology of target species. Here we provide an overview of the Pseudacris genus, including breeding behaviour, reproduction, development, survival and longevity. We present an updated distribution map of the 18 species found throughout North America. We also summarize the conservation status at the national and subnational (state, provincial, and territorial) levels, in Canada, USA, and Mexico, to evaluate the relationship between life history traits and extinction risk. Results show a high degree of consistency in the life history traits of Pseudacris species considering their relative diversity and wide distribution in North America. However, data are lacking for several species, particularly in the Fat Frog and West Coast clades, causing some uncertainties and discrepancies in the literature. We also found that the most threatened populations of chorus frog were located in the east coast of the USA, potentially as a result of increased levels of anthropogenic disturbance. We suggest that the similarities in life history traits among chorus frog species provides an opportunity for collaboration and united efforts for the conservation of the genus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey P Ethier
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
| | - Aurore Fayard
- Centre d'etude de la Foret, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Peter Soroye
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Daeun Choi
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - Marc J Mazerolle
- Centre d'etude de la Foret, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, Quebec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Vance L Trudeau
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada
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23
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Liang T, Meiri S, Shi L. Sexual size dimorphism in lizards: Rensch's rule, reproductive mode, clutch size, and line fitting method effects. Integr Zool 2021; 17:787-803. [PMID: 34216109 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Rensch's rule relates to a pattern whereby sexual size dimorphism is more female-biased in small-sized species and more male-biased in large-sized ones. We collected literature and museum data on the body size of males and females belonging to 4032 lizard species, as well as data on their reproductive modes and clutch sizes. We used phylogenetic comparative analyses, and general linear mixed models, to test Rensch's rule and examined how reproductive mode and clutch size affect sexual size dimorphism. Sexual size dimorphism was independent of clutch size in lizard species with variable clutch sizes and in oviparous lizards. Large litters were associated with female-biased sexual dimorphism in viviparous and in scincomorph lizards. Inference regarding Rensch's rule depended on the analytical method used to identify it. The widely used, but less conservative, reduced major axis regression usually support Rensch's rule while ordinary least squares regressions mostly show isometric relationships. The rule tended to apply more to oviparous than to viviparous lizards. We infer that Rensch's rule is, at best, a weak pattern in lizards. This is especially true in viviparous lineages where females reproduce infrequently and therefore evolve large sizes to maximise fecundity, resulting in female-biased dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liang
- College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.,College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology & the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lei Shi
- College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
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24
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Reproductive Phenology of Five Species of Terrestrial Frogs (Genus Eleutherodactylus) from Cuba. J HERPETOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1670/20-027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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25
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Swierk L, Langkilde T. Size-assortative mating in explosive breeders: a case study of adaptive male mate choice in anurans. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Exploration of size-assortative mating (SAM) in animals has led to a near consensus that it arises through constraints in choice, such as preference for large females combined with a large male advantage during intrasexual competition. Although such ‘apparent’ SAM is well explored, whether SAM arises because of specific preferences for size-matched mates has been less thoroughly considered. We tested for ‘preference-based’ SAM in an explosively breeding frog (Rana sylvatica), quantifying how male and female sizes affected fertilization and if males preferred size-matched females. We found that size mismatch severely reduced fertilization. Furthermore, males preferred size-matched, not larger, females in mate choice trials. Because males that mated with much larger females fertilized fewer eggs overall than they would have with size-matched females, male preference for size-matched females may be adaptive. Our results expand understanding of the mechanisms underlying SAM, suggesting that multiple mechanisms may simultaneously cause size-assortative mating patterns to emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Swierk
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology, and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology, and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
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26
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Centeno FC, Vivancos A, Andrade DV. Reproductive Biology and Sexual Dimorphism in Bokermannohyla alvarengai (Anura: Hylidae). HERPETOLOGICA 2021. [DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-19-00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda C. Centeno
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), CEP 13506-900, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Aurélien Vivancos
- Unidad de Sistemas Acuáticos, Centro de Ciencias Ambientales EULA, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Denis V. Andrade
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), CEP 13506-900, Rio Claro, Brazil
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27
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Malagoli LR, Pezzuti TL, Bang DL, Faivovich J, Lyra ML, Giovanelli JGR, Garcia PCDA, Sawaya RJ, Haddad CFB. A new reproductive mode in anurans: Natural history of Bokermannohyla astartea (Anura: Hylidae) with the description of its tadpole and vocal repertoire. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246401. [PMID: 33596209 PMCID: PMC7888631 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Anurans have the greatest diversity of reproductive modes among tetrapod vertebrates, with at least 41 being currently recognized. We describe a new reproductive mode for anurans, as exhibited by the Paranapiacaba Treefrog, Bokermannohyla astartea, an endemic and poorly known species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest belonging to the B. circumdata group. We also describe other aspects of its reproductive biology, that are relevant to understanding the new reproductive mode, such as courtship behavior, spawning, and tadpoles. Additionally, we redescribe its advertisement call and extend its vocal repertoire by describing three additional call types: courtship, amplectant, and presumed territorial. The new reproductive mode exhibited by B. astartea consists of: (1) deposition of aquatic eggs in leaf-tanks of terrestrial or epiphytic bromeliads located on or over the banks of temporary or permanent streams; (2) exotrophic tadpoles remain in the leaf-tanks during initial stages of development (until Gosner stage 26), after which they presumably jump or are transported to streams after heavy rains that flood their bromeliad tanks; and (3) tadpole development completes in streams. The tadpoles of B. astartea are similar to those of other species of the B. circumdata group, although with differences in the spiracle, eyes, and oral disc. The vocal repertoire of B. astartea exhibits previously unreported acoustic complexity for the genus. Bokermannohyla astartea is the only bromeligenous species known to date among the 187 known species within the tribe Cophomantini. We further discuss evolutionary hypotheses for the origin of this novel reproductive mode.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Ramos Malagoli
- Núcleo São Sebastião, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Fundação para a Conservação e a Produção Florestal do Estado de São Paulo, São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Tiago Leite Pezzuti
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Davi Lee Bang
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Comparada, Departamento de Biologia/FFCLRP, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Julián Faivovich
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mariana Lúcio Lyra
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - João Gabriel Ribeiro Giovanelli
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Christiano de Anchietta Garcia
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Ricardo Jannini Sawaya
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
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28
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Brum AJ, Loebens L, Prado CPA, Cechin SZ. Reproductive cycle, sexual maturity and longevity of
Odontophrynus americanus
(Anura: Odontophrynidae) in South Brazil. ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/azo.12359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J.C. Brum
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
- Laboratório de Herpetologia Departamento de Ecologia e Evolução Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
| | - Luiza Loebens
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
- Laboratório de Herpetologia Departamento de Ecologia e Evolução Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
| | - Cynthia P. A. Prado
- Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia Animal Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Universidade Estadual Paulista São Paulo Brazil
| | - Sonia Z. Cechin
- Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
- Laboratório de Herpetologia Departamento de Ecologia e Evolução Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas Universidade Federal de Santa Maria Santa Maria Brazil
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29
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Silva NR, Berneck BVM, da Silva HR, Haddad CFB, Zamudio KR, Mott T, Nali RC, Prado CPA. Egg-laying site, fecundity and degree of sexual size dimorphism in frogs. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Female fecundity is an important selective force leading to female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in frogs. Because anurans exhibit diverse reproductive modes, we investigated whether variation in SSD and fecundity are related with oviposition site. We asked whether arboreal breeding species show pronounced female-biased SSD and if, paradoxically, females have lower fecundity because of the costs of carrying oocytes and amplectant males. Conversely, we tested whether species that deposit eggs in concealed sites show less pronounced SSD, because females do not carry males and space limitation may reduce female size and fecundity. Our results showed that, in general, males were approximately 20% smaller than females. However, for species with hidden oviposition sites, males and females exhibited more similar body sizes and arboreal hylids showed more pronounced female-biased SSD. Overall, fecundity was higher in aquatic breeders, as expected, but in hylids, fecundity was smaller in arboreal breeders, which suggests that arboreality may impose restrictions on fecundity. By analysing SSD in a broader and more specific lineage (Hylidae), we found that reproductive microhabitat may also influence female size and fecundity, playing an important role in the evolution of SSD in frogs at different evolutionary scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelson Rodrigues Silva
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Biológica e Conservação nos Trópicos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
- Setor de Herpetologia, Museu de História Natural, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Bianca V M Berneck
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Helio R da Silva
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Célio F B Haddad
- Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Kelly R Zamudio
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
| | - Tamí Mott
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Diversidade Biológica e Conservação nos Trópicos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
- Setor de Herpetologia, Museu de História Natural, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Renato C Nali
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Cynthia P A Prado
- Departamento de Morfologia e Fisiologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
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30
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A Morphological Method to Approximate Jumping Performance in Anurans for Macroevolutionary Studies. Evol Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-020-09509-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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31
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Womack MC, Bell RC. Two-hundred million years of anuran body-size evolution in relation to geography, ecology and life history. J Evol Biol 2020; 33:1417-1432. [PMID: 32672849 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Surprisingly, little is known about body-size evolution within the most diverse amphibian order, anurans (frogs and toads), despite known effects of body size on the physiological, ecological and life-history traits of animals more generally. Here, we examined anuran body-size evolution among 2,434 species with over 200 million years of shared evolutionary history. We found clade-specific evolutionary shifts to new body-size optima along with numerous independent transitions to gigantic and miniature body sizes, despite the upper limits of anuran body size remaining quite consistent throughout the fossil record. We found a weak, positive correlation between a species' body size and maximum latitude and elevation, including a dearth of small species at higher elevations and broader latitudinal and elevational ranges in larger anurans. Although we found modest differences in mean anuran body size among microhabitats, there was extensive overlap in the range of body sizes across microhabitats. Finally, we found that larger anurans are more likely to consume vertebrate prey than smaller anurans are and that species with a free-swimming larval phase during development are larger on average than those in which development into a froglet occurs within the egg. Overall, anuran body size does not conform to geographic and ecological patterns observed in other tetrapods but is perhaps more notable for variation in body size within geographic regions, ecologies and life histories. Here, we document this variation and propose target clades for detailed studies aimed at disentangling how and why variation in body size was generated and is maintained in anurans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly C Womack
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
| | - Rayna C Bell
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Herpetology Department, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA
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32
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Portik DM, Blackburn DC, McGuire JA. Macroevolutionary Patterns of Sexual Size Dimorphism Among African Tree Frogs (Family: Hyperoliidae). J Hered 2020; 111:379-391. [DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esaa019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is shaped by multiple selective forces that drive the evolution of sex-specific body size, resulting in male or female-biased SSD. Stronger selection on one sex can result in an allometric body size scaling relationship consistent with Rensch’s rule or its converse. Anurans (frogs and toads) generally display female-biased SSD, but there is variation across clades and the mechanisms driving the evolution of SSD remain poorly understood. We investigated these topics in a diverse family of African treefrogs (Hyperoliidae). Hyperoliids display traits considered rare among amphibians, including sexual dichromatism and protogynous sex change. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, we tested if adult ecology, sexual dichromatism, and sex change were predictors of body size or SSD. We also tested whether hyperoliids displayed allometric interspecific body size scaling relationships. We found a majority of hyperoliid taxa display female-biased SSD, but that adult ecology and sexual dichromatism are poor predictors of sex-specific body size and SSD. Regardless of the groupings analyzed (partitioned by clades or traits), we found support for isometric body size scaling. However, we found that sex change is a significant predictor of SSD variation. Species in the Hyperolius viridiflavus complex, which putatively display this trait, show a significant reduction in SSD and are frequently sexually monomorphic in size. Although protogynous sex change needs to be validated for several of these species, we tentatively propose this trait is a novel mechanism influencing anuran body size evolution. Beyond this association, additional factors that shape the evolution of anuran body size and SSD remain elusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Portik
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
| | - David C Blackburn
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
| | - Jimmy A McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
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33
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Condez TH, Haddad CFB, Zamudio KR. Historical biogeography and multi-trait evolution in miniature toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Evolutionary changes towards a miniaturized body plan may directly affect other important phenotypic traits related to the physiology, behaviour and ecology of organisms. The frog genus Brachycephalus is an outstanding example of a radiation of miniaturized species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We inferred ancestral states and historical changes in body size, body colour and hyperossification to test hypotheses about diversification and selective environmental mechanisms leading to the evolution of these specialized traits. The ancestral distribution was associated with high-elevation regions in the northern Serra do Mar mountain range, and diversification in the genus was coincident with important geological and climatic events during the history of the Atlantic Forest. The dynamic historical changes provided an opportunity for multiple lowland lineages and for speciation via dispersal and vicariance in multiple invasions of the highlands. The ancestral Brachycephalus was reconstructed as miniaturized and dull coloured, without hyperossification in the skin, skull or postcranial skeleton. A parallel evolution of phenotypic traits has occurred in northern and southern Atlantic Forest lineages, beginning in the Miocene. Shifts in body size are not related to elevation range or latitude. However, we found a significant correlation between the evolution of hyperossification and aposematism with increasing body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thais H Condez
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica (INMA), Avenida José Ruschi, Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil
| | - Célio F B Haddad
- Departamento de Zoologia e Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Kelly R Zamudio
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), Cornell University, Corson Hall, Ithaca, New York, United States
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34
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Portik DM, Bell RC, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM, Barratt CD, Branch WR, Burger M, Channing A, Colston TJ, Conradie W, Dehling JM, Drewes RC, Ernst R, Greenbaum E, Gvoždík V, Harvey J, Hillers A, Hirschfeld M, Jongsma GFM, Kielgast J, Kouete MT, Lawson LP, Leaché AD, Loader SP, Lötters S, Meijden AVD, Menegon M, Müller S, Nagy ZT, Ofori-Boateng C, Ohler A, Papenfuss TJ, Rößler D, Sinsch U, Rödel MO, Veith M, Vindum J, Zassi-Boulou AG, McGuire JA. Sexual Dichromatism Drives Diversification within a Major Radiation of African Amphibians. Syst Biol 2020; 68:859-875. [PMID: 31140573 DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Theory predicts that sexually dimorphic traits under strong sexual selection, particularly those involved with intersexual signaling, can accelerate speciation and produce bursts of diversification. Sexual dichromatism (sexual dimorphism in color) is widely used as a proxy for sexual selection and is associated with rapid diversification in several animal groups, yet studies using phylogenetic comparative methods to explicitly test for an association between sexual dichromatism and diversification have produced conflicting results. Sexual dichromatism is rare in frogs, but it is both striking and prevalent in African reed frogs, a major component of the diverse frog radiation termed Afrobatrachia. In contrast to most other vertebrates, reed frogs display female-biased dichromatism in which females undergo color transformation, often resulting in more ornate coloration in females than in males. We produce a robust phylogeny of Afrobatrachia to investigate the evolutionary origins of sexual dichromatism in this radiation and examine whether the presence of dichromatism is associated with increased rates of net diversification. We find that sexual dichromatism evolved once within hyperoliids and was followed by numerous independent reversals to monochromatism. We detect significant diversification rate heterogeneity in Afrobatrachia and find that sexually dichromatic lineages have double the average net diversification rate of monochromatic lineages. By conducting trait simulations on our empirical phylogeny, we demonstrate that our inference of trait-dependent diversification is robust. Although sexual dichromatism in hyperoliid frogs is linked to their rapid diversification and supports macroevolutionary predictions of speciation by sexual selection, the function of dichromatism in reed frogs remains unclear. We propose that reed frogs are a compelling system for studying the roles of natural and sexual selection on the evolution of sexual dichromatism across micro- and macroevolutionary timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Portik
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Rayna C Bell
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.,Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0162, USA
| | - David C Blackburn
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Aaron M Bauer
- Department of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, PA 19085, USA
| | - Christopher D Barratt
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel 4056, Switzerland.,German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig 0413, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 0413, Germany
| | - William R Branch
- Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O. Box 11347, Humewood 6013, South Africa.,Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, P.O. Box 77000, Port Elizabeth 6031, South Africa
| | - Marius Burger
- African Amphibian Conservation Research Group, Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.,Flora Fauna & Man, Ecological Services Ltd. Tortola, British Virgin, Island
| | - Alan Channing
- Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa
| | - Timothy J Colston
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.,Zoological Natural History Museum, Addis Ababa University, Arat Kilo, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Werner Conradie
- Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O. Box 11347, Humewood 6013, South Africa.,School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela University, George Campus, George 6530, South Africa
| | - J Maximilian Dehling
- Department of Biology, Institute of Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany
| | - Robert C Drewes
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Raffael Ernst
- Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, Dresden 01109, Germany.,Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Rothenburgstr. 12, Berlin 12165, Germany
| | - Eli Greenbaum
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA
| | - Václav Gvoždík
- The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Brno, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Annika Hillers
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany.,Across the River - A Transboundary Peace Park for Sierra Leone and Liberia, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 164 Dama Road, Kenema, Sierra Leone
| | - Mareike Hirschfeld
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Gregory F M Jongsma
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Jos Kielgast
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, Copenhagen 2100, Denmark
| | - Marcel T Kouete
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Lucinda P Lawson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, OH 45220, USA.,Life Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
| | - Adam D Leaché
- Department of Biology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Simon P Loader
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Stefan Lötters
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Arie Van Der Meijden
- CIBIO Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, InBIO, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrario de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, No. 7, 4485-661 Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal
| | - Michele Menegon
- Tropical Biodiversity Section, Science Museum of Trento, Corso del lavoro e della Scienza 3, Trento 38122, Italy
| | - Susanne Müller
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Zoltán T Nagy
- Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, OD Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
| | | | - Annemarie Ohler
- Département Origines et Evolution, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, UMR 7205 ISYEB, 25 rue Cuvier, Paris 75005, France
| | | | - Daniela Rößler
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Ulrich Sinsch
- Department of Biology, Institute of Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Universitätsstr. 1, D-56070 Koblenz, Germany
| | - Mark-Oliver Rödel
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Biodiversity Dynamics, Invalidenstr. 43, Berlin 10115, Germany
| | - Michael Veith
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, Trier 54296, Germany
| | - Jens Vindum
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA
| | - Ange-Ghislain Zassi-Boulou
- Institut National de Recherche en Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Brazzaville BP 2400, République du Congo
| | - Jimmy A McGuire
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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de Sá FP, Haddad CFB, Gray MM, Verdade VK, Thomé MTC, Rodrigues MT, Zamudio KR. Male-male competition and repeated evolution of terrestrial breeding in Atlantic Coastal Forest frogs. Evolution 2019; 74:459-475. [PMID: 31710098 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 10/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Terrestrial breeding is a derived condition in frogs, with multiple transitions from an aquatic ancestor. Shifts in reproductive mode often involve changes in habitat use, and these are typically associated with diversification in body plans, with repeated transitions imposing similar selective pressures. We examine the diversification of reproductive modes, male and female body sizes, and sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in the Neotropical frog genera Cycloramphus and Zachaenus, both endemic to the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. Species in this clade either breed in rocky streams (saxicolous) or in terrestrial environments, allowing us to investigate reproductive habitat shifts. We constructed a multilocus molecular phylogeny and inferred evolutionary histories of reproductive habitats, body sizes, and SSD. The common ancestor was small, saxicolous, and had low SSD. Terrestrial breeding evolved independently three times and we found a significant association between reproductive habitat and SSD, with shifts to terrestrial breeding evolving in correlation with decreases in male body size, but not female body size. Terrestrial breeding increases the availability of breeding sites and results in concealment of amplexus, egg-laying, and parental care, therefore reducing male-male competition at all stages of reproduction. We conclude that correlated evolution of terrestrial reproduction and small males is due to release from intense male-male competition that is typical of exposed saxicolous breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio P de Sá
- Departamento de Zoologia and Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, 13506-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Célio F B Haddad
- Departamento de Zoologia and Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, 13506-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Miranda M Gray
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
| | - Vanessa K Verdade
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas, UFABC - Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo André, 09210-580, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Maria Tereza C Thomé
- Departamento de Zoologia and Centro de Aquicultura (CAUNESP), Instituto de Biociências, UNESP - Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, 13506-900, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Miguel T Rodrigues
- Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, USP - Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-090, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Kelly R Zamudio
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 14853
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36
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Camp CD, Soelter TM, Wooten JA. Sexual selection and male-biased size dimorphism in a lineage of lungless salamander (Ampibia: Plethodontidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Evolutionary biologists have long focused on the patterns and causes of sexual size dimorphism (SSD). While female-biased SSD is common among ectotherms, a few lineages predominately exhibit male-biased SSD. One example is the clade of desmognathans, a monophyletic group of two genera within the Plethodontinae of the lungless salamander family Plethodontidae. Members of these two genera have a unique pattern of SSD: males mature earlier and at smaller sizes than females but reach greater maximum sizes. We used comparative phylogenetic methods to test whether SSD in these salamanders is the result of sexual selection on males. Spatial evolutionary and ecological vicariance analysis indicated a significant divergence in SSD associated with the phylogenetic origin of the desmognathans. Phylogenetic least-squares regression across the two most speciose genera of the subfamily determined a significant relationship between SSD and adult sex ratio. While male desmognathans are not sexually dimorphic in head size, they have a unique head morphology that causes their heads to grow more rapidly as their body size increases as compared with the heads of other salamanders. This pattern of allometric growth combines with a powerful bite force and enlarged premaxillary teeth to create formidable weaponry that probably is more responsive to sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos D Camp
- Department of Biology, Piedmont College, Demorest, GA, USA
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37
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Caldart VM, Loebens L, Brum AJC, Bataioli L, Cechin SZ. Reproductive Cycle, Size and Age at Sexual Maturity, and Sexual Dimorphism in the Stream-Breeding Frog Crossodactylus schmidti (Hylodidae). SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.2994/sajh-d-17-00060.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vinícius Matheus Caldart
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n°321, Cidade Universitária, 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Luiza Loebens
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Av. Roraima 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Amanda Jamile Carvalho Brum
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Av. Roraima 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Lívia Bataioli
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Av. Roraima 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
| | - Sonia Zanini Cechin
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Av. Roraima 1000, Camobi, 97105-900, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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38
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Interspecific size- and sex-related variation in the cranium of European brown frogs (Genus Rana). ZOOMORPHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00435-019-00441-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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39
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Cryptic diversity in Brazilian endemic monkey frogs (Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae, Pithecopus) revealed by multispecies coalescent and integrative approaches. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019; 132:105-116. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Revised: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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40
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Ding GH, Tang Y, Lin ZH, Fan XL, Wei L. Mating pattern, female reproduction and sexual size dimorphism in a narrow-mouthed frog (Microhyla fissipes). ANIM BIOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1163/15707563-17000067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The difference in body size and/or shape between males and females, called sexual size dimorphism, is widely accepted as the evolutionary consequence of the difference between reproductive roles. To study the mating pattern, female reproduction and sexual size dimorphism in a population of Microhyla fissipes, amplexus pairs were collected, and the snout-vent length of males and females, female reproductive traits and fertilization rate were measured. If the body size of amplexed females is larger than that of amplectant males, this is referred to as a female-larger pair, a phenomenon that was often observed for M. fissipes in this study. Interestingly, snout-vent length of males in male-larger pairs was greater than that in female-larger pairs, however the post-spawning body mass, clutch size, egg dry mass and clutch dry mass did not differ between both types of pairs. Snout-vent length of males was positively related to that of females in each amplexus pair. After accounting for the snout-vent lengths of females, we showed that snout-vent lengths of males in male-larger pairs were greater than those of females in female-larger pairs. The snout-vent length ratio of males and females was not related to fertilization rate in each amplexus pair. The mean fertilization rate was not different between both amplexus pairs. These results suggest that (1) M. fissipes displays female-biased sexual size dimorphism and has two amplexus types with size-assortative mating; (2) the snout-vent length ratio of males and females in each amplexus type was consistent with the inverse of Rensch’s rule, and was driven by the combined effect of sexual selection and fecundity selection; (3) females with a larger body size were preferred by males due to their higher fecundity, while the body size of males was not important for fertilization success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guo-Hua Ding
- College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yun Tang
- College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhi-Hua Lin
- College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiao-Li Fan
- College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Wei
- College of Ecology, Lishui University, Lishui 323000, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
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Hernández-Salinas U, Ramírez-Bautista A, Stephenson BP, Cruz-Elizalde R, Berriozabal-Islas C, Jesús Balderas-Valdivia C. Amphibian life history in a temperate environment of the Mexican Plateau: dimorphism, phenology and trophic ecology of a hylid frog, Hyla eximia (= Dryophytes eximius). PeerJ 2018; 6:e5897. [PMID: 30473932 PMCID: PMC6234908 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of demographic and life history aspects of an organism provides valuable information for its conservation. Here, we analyze the phenology of the Mountain Treefrog Hyla eximia (= Dryophytes eximius) in a temperate environment of the Mexican Plateau. Females were larger in snout-vent length and body mass than males. The peak period of activity occurred in the rainy season (May–September), with amplexus and egg deposition occurring between June and July, and larval development from July to August. A logistic model best explained observed male growth patterns, while the Von Bertalanffy model better described female growth. Notably, males grew faster than females, although females reached a larger overall body size. The diet of this species is made up of 10 prey categories. The index of diet importance indicated that males feed mainly on Coleoptera and Diptera, while females feed on Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, and Aranea. Both females and males showed a significant abundance of plant material in their stomachs, suggesting that H. eximia might exhibit highly specialized feeding behavior. Reproduction was seasonal, and both female and male reproductive cycles are synchronized with the rainy season. These natural history characteristics provide information to better understand their responses to environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Uriel Hernández-Salinas
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR) Unidad Durango, Durango, Durango, Mexico
| | - Aurelio Ramírez-Bautista
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | | | - Raciel Cruz-Elizalde
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Christian Berriozabal-Islas
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Poblaciones, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Instituto de Ciencias Básicas e Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
| | - Carlos Jesús Balderas-Valdivia
- Dirección General de Divulgación de la Ciencia, Zona Cultural de Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Magalhães RFD, Lacerda JVA, Reis LDP, Garcia PCA, Pinheiro PDP. Sexual Dimorphism in Bokermannohyla martinsi (Bokermann, 1964) (Anura, Hylidae) with a Report of Male–Male Combat. SOUTH AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.2994/sajh-d-17-00039.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Félix de Magalhães
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEP 31270901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - João Victor A. Lacerda
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEP 31270901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Luísa de Paula Reis
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEP 31270901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Paulo Christiano A. Garcia
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, CEP 31270901, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Paulo Durães P. Pinheiro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas — Zoologia, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista, CEP 13506900, Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil
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Dittrich C, Rodríguez A, Segev O, Drakulić S, Feldhaar H, Vences M, Rödel MO. Temporal migration patterns and mating tactics influence size-assortative mating in Rana temporaria. Behav Ecol 2018; 29:418-428. [PMID: 29622935 PMCID: PMC5873255 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Assortative mating is a common pattern in sexually reproducing species, but the mechanisms leading to assortment remain poorly understood. By using the European common frog (Rana temporaria) as a model, we aim to understand the mechanisms leading to size-assortative mating in amphibians. With data from natural populations collected over several years, we first show a consistent pattern of size-assortative mating across our 2 study populations. We subsequently ask if assortative mating may be explained by mate availability due to temporal segregation of migrating individuals with specific sizes. With additional experiments, we finally assess whether size-assortative mating is adaptive, i.e. influenced by mating competition among males, or by reduced fertilization in size-mismatched pairs. We find that size-assortative mating is in accordance with differences in mate availability during migration, where larger individuals of both sexes reach breeding ponds earlier than smaller individuals. We observe an indiscriminate mate choice behavior of small males and an advantage of larger males pairing with females during scramble competition. The tactic of small males, to be faster and less discriminative than large males, may increase their chances to get access to females. Experimental tests indicate that the fertilization success is not affected by size assortment. However, since female fecundity is highly correlated with body size, males preferring larger females should maximize their number of offspring. Therefore, we conclude that in this frog species mate choice is more complex than formerly believed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Dittrich
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ariel Rodríguez
- TU Braunschweig, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Braunschweig, Germany
- University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Institute of Zoology, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ori Segev
- University of Haifa, Faculty of Science, Institute of Evolution, Community Ecology Lab, Haifa, Israel
| | - Sanja Drakulić
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
| | - Heike Feldhaar
- University of Bayreuth, Animal Population Ecology, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Miguel Vences
- TU Braunschweig, Zoologisches Institut, Evolutionsbiologie, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Mark-Oliver Rödel
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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Wang T, Jia L, Zhai X, Cui J, Wang J. Atypical assortative mating based on body size in an explosive-breeding toad from a tropical island of southern China. Behav Processes 2018; 151:1-5. [PMID: 29481845 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.02.018] [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: 11/01/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Mating patterns exhibit considerable intra- and interspecific variation. Sexual selection can lead to the occurrence of random and assortative mating in different populations of the same species. Thus, understanding variation in mating decisions is crucial to understanding variation in the direction of sexual selection. We investigated natural mating patterns in Black-spectacled toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus), an explosive-breeding species that breeds throughout the year. We captured amplectant pairs (137) and non-amplectant males (212) during breeding seasons from November 2016 to April 2017 in tropical-island population of southern China. Our study found no significant difference in snout-vent length (SVL) between amplectant and non-amplectant males. Female and male SVL were positively correlated with each other. Small females were paired more frequently with small males, less frequently with large males, but had no preference for or against medium males. Medium females exhibited no preference. Large females showed no preference for large males, but were paired less frequently with small males. These data suggested that successful amplectant males had body sizes representative of the entire population. Both random and size-assortative mating were present simultaneously in the same population and within the same breeding season. Female choice was important in shaping the mating behavior of Black-spectacled toads, promoting genotype-frequency stabilization and body-size diversity in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongliang Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Lele Jia
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Xiaofei Zhai
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
| | - Jianguo Cui
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
| | - Jichao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China.
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Székely D, Székely P, Denoël M, Cogălniceanu D. Random size-assortative mating despite size-dependent fecundity in a Neotropical amphibian with explosive reproduction. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Diana Székely
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Ovidius University Constanța; Constanța Romania
- Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology; Behavioural Biology Unit; Freshwater and Oceanic Science Unit of Research (FOCUS); University of Liège; Liège Belgium
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas; EcoSs Lab; Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Loja Ecuador
| | - Paul Székely
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas; EcoSs Lab; Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Loja Ecuador
- Asociatia Chelonia; București Romania
| | - Mathieu Denoël
- Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology; Behavioural Biology Unit; Freshwater and Oceanic Science Unit of Research (FOCUS); University of Liège; Liège Belgium
| | - Dan Cogălniceanu
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Ovidius University Constanța; Constanța Romania
- CITIAB; Universidad Nacional de Loja; Loja Ecuador
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Neumann R, Ruppel N, Schneider JM. Fitness implications of sex-specific catch-up growth in Nephila senegalensis, a spider with extreme reversed SSD. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4050. [PMID: 29158981 PMCID: PMC5694211 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/26/2017] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal growth is often constrained by unfavourable conditions and divergences from optimal body size can be detrimental to an individual's fitness, particularly in species with determinate growth and a narrow time-frame for life-time reproduction. Growth restriction in early juvenile stages can later be compensated by means of plastic developmental responses, such as adaptive catch-up growth (the compensation of growth deficits through delayed development). Although sex differences regarding the mode and degree of growth compensation have been coherently predicted from sex-specific fitness payoffs, inconsistent results imply a need for further research. We used the African Nephila senegalensis, representing an extreme case of female-biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD), to study fitness implications of sex-specific growth compensation. We predicted effective catch-up growth in early food-restricted females to result in full compensation of growth deficits and a life-time fecundity (LTF) equivalent to unrestricted females. Based on a stronger trade-off between size-related benefits and costs of a delayed maturation, we expected less effective catch-up growth in males. METHODS We tracked the development of over one thousand spiders in different feeding treatments, e.g., comprising a fixed period of early low feeding conditions followed by unrestricted feeding conditions, permanent unrestricted feeding conditions, or permanent low feeding conditions as a control. In a second experimental section, we assessed female fitness by measuring LTF in a subset of females. In addition, we tested whether compensatory development affected the reproductive lifespan in both sexes and analysed genotype-by-treatment interactions as a potential cause of variation in life-history traits. RESULTS Both sexes delayed maturation to counteract early growth restriction, but only females achieved full compensation of adult body size. Female catch-up growth resulted in equivalent LTF compared to unrestricted females. We found significant interactions between experimental treatments and sex as well as between treatments and family lineage, suggesting that family-specific responses contribute to the unusually large variation of life-history traits in Nephila spiders. Our feeding treatments had no effect on the reproductive lifespan in either sex. DISCUSSION Our findings are in line with predictions of life-history theory and corroborate strong fecundity selection to result in full female growth compensation. Males showed incomplete growth compensation despite a delayed development, indicating relaxed selection on large size and a stronger trade-off between late maturation and size-related benefits. We suggest that moderate catch-up growth in males is still adaptive as a 'bet-hedging' strategy to disperse unavoidable costs between life-history traits affected by early growth restriction (the duration of development and adult size).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rainer Neumann
- Zoologisches Institut, Biozentrum Grindel, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Ruppel
- Zoologisches Institut, Biozentrum Grindel, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Jutta M. Schneider
- Zoologisches Institut, Biozentrum Grindel, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Chelini MC, Hebets E. Field evidence challenges the often-presumed relationship between early male maturation and female-biased sexual size dimorphism. Ecol Evol 2017; 7:9592-9601. [PMID: 29187992 PMCID: PMC5696407 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Female‐biased sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is often considered an epiphenomenon of selection for the increased mating opportunities provided by early male maturation (i.e., protandry). Empirical evidence of the adaptive significance of protandry remains nonetheless fairly scarce. We use field data collected throughout the reproductive season of an SSD crab spider, Mecaphesa celer, to test two hypotheses: Protandry provides fitness benefits to males, leading to female‐biased SSD, or protandry is an indirect consequence of selection for small male size/large female size. Using field‐collected data, we modeled the probability of mating success for females and males according to their timing of maturation. We found that males matured earlier than females and the proportion of virgin females decreased abruptly early in the season, but unexpectedly increased afterward. Timing of female maturation was not related to clutch size, but large females tended to have more offspring than small females. Timing of female and male maturation was inversely related to size at adulthood, as early‐maturing individuals were larger than late‐maturing ones, suggesting that both sexes exhibit some plasticity in their developmental trajectories. Such plasticity indicates that protandry could co‐occur with any degree and direction of SSD. Our calculation of the probability of mating success along the season shows multiple male maturation time points with similar predicted mating success. This suggests that males follow multiple strategies with equal success, trading‐off access to virgin females with intensity of male–male competition. Our results challenge classic hypotheses linking protandry and female‐biased SSD, and emphasize the importance of directly testing the often‐assumed relationships between co‐occurring animal traits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eileen Hebets
- School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska - Lincoln Lincoln NE USA
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48
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Goutte S, Mason MJ, Christensen-Dalsgaard J, Montealegre-Z F, Chivers BD, Sarria-S FA, Antoniazzi MM, Jared C, Almeida Sato L, Felipe Toledo L. Evidence of auditory insensitivity to vocalization frequencies in two frogs. Sci Rep 2017; 7:12121. [PMID: 28935936 PMCID: PMC5608807 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12145-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence and maintenance of animal communication systems requires the co-evolution of signal and receiver. Frogs and toads rely heavily on acoustic communication for coordinating reproduction and typically have ears tuned to the dominant frequency of their vocalizations, allowing discrimination from background noise and heterospecific calls. However, we present here evidence that two anurans, Brachycephalus ephippium and B. pitanga, are insensitive to the sound of their own calls. Both species produce advertisement calls outside their hearing sensitivity range and their inner ears are partly undeveloped, which accounts for their lack of high-frequency sensitivity. If unheard by the intended receivers, calls are not beneficial to the emitter and should be selected against because of the costs associated with signal production. We suggest that protection against predators conferred by their high toxicity might help to explain why calling has not yet disappeared, and that visual communication may have replaced auditory in these colourful, diurnal frogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Goutte
- 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.
| | - Matthew J Mason
- Department of Physiology, Development & Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EG, United Kingdom
| | | | - Fernando Montealegre-Z
- Bioacoustics and Sensory Biology Lab, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, United Kingdom
| | - Benedict D Chivers
- Bioacoustics and Sensory Biology Lab, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio A Sarria-S
- Bioacoustics and Sensory Biology Lab, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, University of Lincoln, Green Lane, Lincoln, LN6 7DL, United Kingdom
| | - Marta M Antoniazzi
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, 05503-900, Brazil
| | - Carlos Jared
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, 05503-900, Brazil
| | | | - Luís Felipe Toledo
- 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
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Oliveira BF, São-Pedro VA, Santos-Barrera G, Penone C, Costa GC. AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Sci Data 2017; 4:170123. [PMID: 28872632 PMCID: PMC5584397 DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2017.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Current ecological and evolutionary research are increasingly moving from species- to trait-based approaches because traits provide a stronger link to organism's function and fitness. Trait databases covering a large number of species are becoming available, but such data remains scarce for certain groups. Amphibians are among the most diverse vertebrate groups on Earth, and constitute an abundant component of major terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. They are also facing rapid population declines worldwide, which is likely to affect trait composition in local communities, thereby impacting ecosystem processes and services. In this context, we introduce AmphiBIO, a comprehensive database of natural history traits for amphibians worldwide. The database releases information on 17 traits related to ecology, morphology and reproduction features of amphibians. We compiled data from more than 1,500 literature sources, and for more than 6,500 species of all orders (Anura, Caudata and Gymnophiona), 61 families and 531 genera. This database has the potential to allow unprecedented large-scale analyses in ecology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brunno Freire Oliveira
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN 59072-970, Brazil
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0430, USA
| | - Vinícius Avelar São-Pedro
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN 59072-970, Brazil
| | - Georgina Santos-Barrera
- Departamento de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito Exterior S/N, Ciudad Universitaria 04510, México
| | - Caterina Penone
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN 59072-970, Brazil
| | - Gabriel C. Costa
- Department of Biology, Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, AL 36117, USA
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Lofeu L, Brandt R, Kohlsdorf T. Phenotypic integration mediated by hormones: associations among digit ratios, body size and testosterone during tadpole development. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:175. [PMID: 28768472 PMCID: PMC5541650 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-1021-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Developmental associations often explain phenotypic integration. The intersected hormonal regulation of ontogenetic processes fosters predictions of steroid-mediated phenotypic integration among sexually dimorphic traits, a statement defied by associations between classical dimorphism predictors (e.g. body size) and traits that apparently lack sex-specific functions (e.g. ratios between the lengths of Digits II and IV - 2D:4D). Developmental bases of female-biased 2D:4D have been identified, but these remain unclear for taxa presenting male-biased 2D:4D (e.g. anura). Here we propose two alternative hypotheses to investigate evolution of male-biased 2D:4D associated with sexually dimorphic body size using Leptodactylus frogs: I)'hypothesis of sex-specific digit responses' - Digit IV would be reactive to testosterone but exhibit responses in the opposite direction of those observed in female-biased 2D:4D lineages, so that Digit IV turns shorter in males; II) 'hypothesis of identity of the dimorphic digit'- Digit II would be the dimorphic digit. RESULTS We compiled the following databases using Leptodactylus frogs: 1) adults of two species from natural populations and 2) testosterone-treated L. fuscus at post-metamorphic stage. Studied traits seem monomorphic in L. fuscus; L. podicipinus exhibits male-biased 2D:4D. When present, 2D:4D dimorphism was male-biased and associated with dimorphic body size; sex differences resided on Digit II instead of IV, corroborating our 'hypothesis of identity of the dimorphic digit'. Developmental steroid roles were validated: testosterone-treated L. fuscus frogs were smaller and exhibited masculinized 2D:4D, and Digit II was the digit that responded to testosterone. CONCLUSION We propose a model where evolution of sexual dimorphism in 2D:4D first originates from the advent, in a given digit, of increased tissue sensitivity to steroids. Phenotypic integration with other sexually dimorphic traits would then occur through multi-trait hormonal effects during development. Such process of phenotypic integration seems fitness-independent in its origin and might explain several cases of steroid-mediated integration among sexually dimorphic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Lofeu
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Renata Brandt
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil
| | - Tiana Kohlsdorf
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, 14040-901, Brazil.
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