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Pirani RM, Tonini JFR, Thomaz AT, Napoli MF, Encarnação LC, Knowles LL, Werneck FP. Deep Genomic Divergence and Phenotypic Admixture of the Treefrog Dendropsophus elegans (Hylidae: Amphibia) Coincide With Riverine Boundaries at the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.765977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Atlantic Forest (AF) domain is one of the Earth’s biodiversity hotspots, known for its high levels of species diversity and endemism. Factors related to palaeoenvironmental dynamics, such as the establishment of vegetational refugia and river basins, have different impacts on biological communities and biodiversity patterns in this domain. Here, we sample genome-wide RADseq data from a widespread treefrog (Dendropsophus elegans), inhabiting natural and human-impacted ecosystems at the Brazilian AF to test the impact of riverine boundaries and climatic refugia on population structure and diversification. We estimate divergence times and migration rate across identified genetic breaks related to the rivers Doce, Paraíba do Sul, Ribeira de Iguape, and Paraguaçu, known to represent barriers to gene flow for other AF endemic species, and test the role of climatic refugia. Finally, we investigate the impact of spatio-temporal population history on morphological variation in this species. We recovered a phylogeographic history supporting three distinct clades separated into two geographically structured populations, corresponding to the north and south of AF. In addition, we identified an admixture zone between north and south populations in the latitude close to the Doce River. Our findings support a pattern of isolation-by-distance and the existence of a secondary contact zone between populations, which might have been promoted by gene flow during population expansion. Further, we found support for models considering migration parameters for all the tested rivers with different population divergence times. Based on the species history and the AF palaeoenvironmental dynamics, we corroborate the role of forest refugia impacting population structure for this species through recent range expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The Doce and Paraíba do Sul Rivers coincide with the main genetic breaks, suggesting they might also have played a role in the diversification processes. Finally, despite finding subtle correlations for phenotypic data among different populations, variation is not strongly detectable and does not seem associated with speciation-level processes that could warrant taxonomic changes. Such results can be explained by phenotypic plasticity of the evaluated traits and by recent divergence times, where there has been insufficient time and weak selective pressures to accumulate enough phenotypic differences.
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Antipredator responses of the morphs of an amphibian species match their differential predation pressures. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03140-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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3
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Contrasting environmental drivers of genetic and phenotypic divergence in an Andean poison frog (Epipedobates anthonyi). Heredity (Edinb) 2022; 128:33-44. [PMID: 34718332 PMCID: PMC8733028 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-021-00481-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2021] [Revised: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Phenotypic and genetic divergence are shaped by the homogenizing effects of gene flow and the differentiating processes of genetic drift and local adaptation. Herein, we examined the mechanisms that underlie phenotypic (size and color) and genetic divergence in 35 populations (535 individuals) of the poison frog Epipedobates anthonyi along four elevational gradients (0-1800 m asl) in the Ecuadorian Andes. We found phenotypic divergence in size and color despite relatively low genetic divergence at neutral microsatellite loci. Genetic and phenotypic divergence were both explained by landscape resistance between sites (isolation-by-resistance, IBR), likely due to a cold and dry mountain ridge between the northern and southern elevational transects that limits dispersal and separates two color morphs. Moreover, environmental differences among sites also explained genetic and phenotypic divergence, suggesting isolation-by-environment (IBE). When northern and southern transects were analyzed separately, genetic divergence was predicted either by distance (isolation-by-distance, IBD; northern) or environmental resistance between sites (IBR; southern). In contrast, phenotypic divergence was primarily explained by environmental differences among sites, supporting the IBE hypothesis. These results indicate that although distance and geographic barriers are important drivers of population divergence, environmental variation has a two-fold effect on population divergence. On the one hand, landscape resistance between sites reduces gene flow (IBR), while on the other hand, environmental differences among sites exert divergent selective pressures on phenotypic traits (IBE). Our work highlights the importance of studying both genetic and phenotypic divergence to better understand the processes of population divergence and speciation along ecological gradients.
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Yang Y, Prémel V, Richards‐Zawacki CL. Prior residence effect determines success of male–male territorial competition in a color polymorphic poison frog. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yusan Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
| | | | - Corinne L. Richards‐Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh PA USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Balboa, Ancon Panamá
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5
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Calling amplitude flexibility and acoustic spacing in the territorial frog Allobates femoralis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02857-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Most male frogs produce calls to attract females and repel rivals. The transmission of these calls can be affected by many acoustic and environmental characteristics, which can influence the detection and decoding of the signal by the receiver. Calling-perch height has a strong influence on sound propagation and acoustic spacing with neighboring males, but how frogs optimize their calling behavior in this context is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated if and how frogs can adjust the calling energy in the context of acoustic spacing. Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between calling-perch height, nearest-neighbor distance, and sound-pressure level in the brilliant-thighed poison frog Allobates femoralis. We found that frogs flexibly adjust the calling amplitude according to the calling-perch height without affecting the effectiveness signal propagation. Accompanying signal propagation experiments demonstrated that calls produced with lower amplitude from higher perches propagate similar to louder calls from the ground. Our results suggest an adjustment to the hypothesis of a general positive effect of calling-perch height on signal effectiveness, where highly territorial frogs adjust their calling behavior to reduce energy expenditure and optimize acoustic communication with conspecifics.
Significance statement
In acoustically communicating species, sound propagates better when broadcasted from elevated positions. However, callers may adjust their calling behavior to optimize the sound transmission under ecological constraints. By using a correlative and manipulative approach, we show in a poison frog model that males can adjust their calling amplitude according to the calling-perch height. We then discuss that this calling adjustment optimizes the acoustic spacing between conspecific males and reduces energy consumption.
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Dowdy NJ, Conner WE. Nonchalant Flight in Tiger Moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae) Is Correlated With Unpalatability. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Preferences for and use of light microhabitats differ among and within populations of a polytypic poison frog. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Anti-predator strategies can influence trade-offs governing other activities important to fitness. Crypsis, for example, might make conspicuous sexual display especially costly, whereas aposematism might reduce or remove such costs. We tested for correlates of anti-predator strategy in Oophaga pumilio, a polytypic poison frog with morphs spanning the crypsis–aposematism continuum. In the wild, males of visually conspicuous morphs display from conspicuous perches and behave as if they perceive predation risk to be low. We thus predicted that, given a choice of ambient light microhabitats, these males would use high ambient light conditions the most and be most likely to perch in high-light conditions. We found no evidence that differently colored male O. pumilio preferentially used bright microhabitats or that ambient light influenced perching in a morph-specific manner. Independent of light conditions, males from the most conspicuous population perched the least, but the most conspicuous individuals from a polymorphic population perched the most. These patterns suggest that preferences do not necessarily underlie among-morph differences observed in the wild. This could be explained, and remain consistent with theory, if risk aversion is shaped, in part, by experience.
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Sanchez E, Rodríguez A, Grau JH, Lötters S, Künzel S, Saporito RA, Ringler E, Schulz S, Wollenberg Valero KC, Vences M. Transcriptomic Signatures of Experimental Alkaloid Consumption in a Poison Frog. Genes (Basel) 2019; 10:genes10100733. [PMID: 31546679 PMCID: PMC6827147 DOI: 10.3390/genes10100733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
In the anuran family Dendrobatidae, aposematic species obtain their toxic or unpalatable alkaloids from dietary sources, a process known as sequestering. To understand how toxicity evolved in this family, it is paramount to elucidate the pathways of alkaloid processing (absorption, metabolism, and sequestering). Here, we used an exploratory skin gene expression experiment in which captive-bred dendrobatids were fed alkaloids. Most of these experiments were performed with Dendrobates tinctorius, but some trials were performed with D. auratus, D. leucomelas and Allobates femoralis to explore whether other dendrobatids would show similar patterns of gene expression. We found a consistent pattern of up-regulation of genes related to muscle and mitochondrial processes, probably due to the lack of mutations related to alkaloid resistance in these species. Considering conserved pathways of drug metabolism in vertebrates, we hypothesize alkaloid degradation is a physiological mechanism of resistance, which was evidenced by a strong upregulation of the immune system in D. tinctorius, and of complement C2 across the four species sampled. Probably related to this strong immune response, we found several skin keratins downregulated, which might be linked to a reduction of the cornified layer of the epidermis. Although not conclusive, our results offer candidate genes and testable hypotheses to elucidate alkaloid processing in poison frogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Sanchez
- Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Ariel Rodríguez
- Institut fur Zoologie, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, 30559 Hannover, Germany.
| | - Jose H Grau
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Stefan Lötters
- Biogeography Department, Trier University, 54296 Trier, Germany.
| | - Sven Künzel
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, 24306 Plön, Germany.
| | - Ralph A Saporito
- Department of Biology, John Carroll University, University Heights, OH 44118, USA.
| | - Eva Ringler
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, and University of Vienna, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
- Department of Integrative Zoology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Stefan Schulz
- Institute of Organic Chemistry, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
| | | | - Miguel Vences
- Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
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Yang Y, Blomenkamp S, Dugas MB, Richards-Zawacki CL, Pröhl H. Mate Choice versus Mate Preference: Inferences about Color-Assortative Mating Differ between Field and Lab Assays of Poison Frog Behavior. Am Nat 2019; 193:598-607. [PMID: 30912970 DOI: 10.1086/702249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Codivergence of mating traits and mate preferences can lead to behavioral isolation among lineages in early stages of speciation. However, mate preferences limit gene flow only when expressed as mate choice, and numerous factors might be more important than preferences in nature. In the extremely color polytypic strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio), female mate preferences have codiverged with color in most allopatric populations tested. Whether these lab-assayed preferences predict mating (gene flow) in the wild remains unclear. We observed courting pairs in a natural contact zone between red and blue lineages until oviposition or courtship termination. We found color-assortative mating in a disturbed habitat with high population density but not in a secondary forest with lower density. Our results suggest color-assortative O. pumilio mate choice in the wild but also mating patterns that do not match those predicted by lab-assayed preferences.
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10
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Rößler DC, Lötters S, Mappes J, Valkonen JK, Menin M, Lima AP, Pröhl H. Sole coloration as an unusual aposematic signal in a Neotropical toad. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1128. [PMID: 30718568 PMCID: PMC6362010 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-37705-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals have evolved remarkable strategies to avoid predation. In diurnal, toxic harlequin toads (Atelopus) from the Amazon basin, we find a unique colour signal. Some Atelopus populations have striking red soles of the hands and feet, visible only when walking. When stationary, the toads are hard to detect despite their yellow-black dorsal coloration. Consequently, they switch between high and low conspicuousness. Interestingly, some populations lack the extra colour display of the soles. We found comprehensive support that the red coloration can act as an aposematic signal directed towards potential predators: red soles are significantly more conspicuous than soles lacking red coloration to avian predators and the presence of the red signal significantly increases detection. Further, toads with red soles show bolder behaviour by using higher sites in the vegetation than those lacking this signal. Field experiments hint at a lower attack risk for clay models with red soles than for those lacking the signal, in a population where the red soles naturally occur. We suggest that the absence of the signal may be explained by a higher overall attack risk or potential differences of predator community structure between populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela C Rößler
- Department of Biogeography, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, 54296, Trier, Germany.
| | - Stefan Lötters
- Department of Biogeography, Trier University, Universitätsring 15, 54296, Trier, Germany
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Janne K Valkonen
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Marcelo Menin
- Department of Biology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Amazonas Federal University, Av. General Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos 3000, 69077-000, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Albertina P Lima
- Coordenação de Pesquisas em Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Av. André Araujo 2936, 69011-970, Manaus, Brazil
| | - Heike Pröhl
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany
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11
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An Empirical Test Indicates Only Qualitatively Honest Aposematic Signaling Within a Population of Vertebrates. J HERPETOL 2018. [DOI: 10.1670/17-047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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12
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Yang Y, Dugas MB, Sudekum HJ, Murphy SN, Richards-Zawacki CL. Male-male aggression is unlikely to stabilize a poison frog polymorphism. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:457-468. [PMID: 29345026 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypic polymorphism is common in animals, and the maintenance of multiple phenotypes in a population requires forces that act against homogenizing drift and selection. Male-male competition can contribute to the stability of a polymorphism when males compete primarily with males of the same phenotype. In and around a contact zone between red and blue lineages of the poison frog Oophaga pumilio, we used simulated territorial intrusions to test the nonexclusive predictions that males would direct more aggression towards males of (i) their own phenotype and/or (ii) the phenotype that is most common in their population. Males in the monomorphic red and blue populations that flank the contact zone were more aggressive towards simulated intruders that matched the local coloration. However, males in the two polymorphic populations biased aggression towards neither their own colour nor the colour most common in their population. In sympatry, the rarer colour morph gains no advantage via reduced male-male aggression from territorial males in these O. pumilio populations, and so male aggression seems unlikely to stabilize colour polymorphism on its own. More broadly, these results suggest that the potential for divergent male aggression biases to maintain phenotypic diversity depends on the mechanism(s) that generate the biases and the degree to which these mechanisms persist in sympatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - M B Dugas
- Watershed Studies Institute and Department of Biological Sciences, Murray State University, Murray, KY, USA
| | - H J Sudekum
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA
| | - S N Murphy
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, República de Panamá
| | - C L Richards-Zawacki
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, República de Panamá
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- P. A. Lagos
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University North Ryde Sydney NSW Australia
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14
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Escape behaviour of aposematic (Oophaga pumilio) and cryptic (Craugastor sp.) frogs in response to simulated predator approach. JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1017/s0266467417000037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract:Crypsis and aposematism are common antipredator strategies that can each be coupled with behaviours that maximize predator deterrence or avoidance. Cryptic animals employ camouflage to conceal themselves within their environment and generally rely on immobility to avoid detection by predators. Alternatively, aposematic animals tend to rely on an association between conspicuous colouration and secondary defence to deter potential predators, and tend to exhibit slow movements in response to predators. The goal of the present study was to determine how cryptic Craugastor sp. and aposematic Oophaga pumilio respond to simulated human and bird model predators. Oophaga pumilio responded more often with movement to both the human (17/22) and bird (9/25) predators than Craugastor sp. (human: 2/21; bird: 0/21). The increased movement resulted in a greater average flight initiation distance, latency to move, and distance fled in O. pumilio. These findings suggest that cryptic Craugastor sp. rely on immobility to avoid detection, whereas aposematic O. pumilio utilize movement, possibly as a mechanism to increase the visibility of their warning signals to potential predators. Furthermore, O. pumilio exhibited greater movement in response to humans, suggesting that they actively avoid trampling by large threats, rather than considering them predators.
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15
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Yang Y, Richards-Zawacki CL, Devar A, Dugas MB. Poison frog color morphs express assortative mate preferences in allopatry but not sympatry. Evolution 2016; 70:2778-2788. [PMID: 27704539 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2016] [Revised: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The concurrent divergence of mating traits and preferences is necessary for the evolution of reproductive isolation via sexual selection, and such coevolution has been demonstrated in diverse lineages. However, the extent to which assortative mate preferences are sufficient to drive reproductive isolation in nature is less clear. Natural contact zones between lineages divergent in traits and preferences provide exceptional opportunities for testing the predicted evolutionary consequences of such divergence. The strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) displays extreme color polymorphism in and around the young Bocas del Toro archipelago. In a transition zone between red and blue allopatric lineages, we asked whether female preferences diverged along with coloration, and whether any divergent preferences persist in a zone of sympatry. When choosing among red, blue and phenotypically intermediate males, females from monomorphic red and monomorphic blue populations both expressed assortative preferences. However, red, blue, and intermediate females from the contact zone all preferred red males, suggesting that divergent preferences may be insufficient to effect behavioral isolation. Our results highlight the complexity of behavioral isolation, and the need for studies that can reveal the circumstances under which divergent preferences do and do not contribute to speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yusan Yang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, 70118.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260.,Current Address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 2429 Fifth Ave, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260
| | - Corinne L Richards-Zawacki
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, 70118.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15260.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancon, Republica de Panama
| | - Anisha Devar
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, 70118
| | - Matthew B Dugas
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, 44106
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16
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Roland AB, O’Connell LA. Poison frogs as a model system for studying the neurobiology of parental care. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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17
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Coloration in the polymorphic frog Oophaga pumilio associates with level of aggressiveness in intraspecific and interspecific behavioral interactions. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-2027-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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