1
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Touchon JC, McMillan WO, Ibáñez R, Lessios HA. Flexible oviposition behavior enabled the evolution of terrestrial reproduction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2312371121. [PMID: 39042675 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312371121] [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: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Among vertebrates, nearly all oviparous animals are considered to have either obligate aquatic or terrestrial oviposition, with eggs that are specialized for developing in those environments. The terrestrial environment has considerably more oxygen but is dry and thus presents both opportunities and challenges for developing embryos, particularly those adapted for aquatic development. Here, we present evidence from field experiments examining egg-laying behavior, egg size, and egg jelly function of 13 species of Central and South American treefrogs in the genus Dendropsophus, which demonstrates that flexible oviposition (individuals laying eggs both in and out of water) and eggs capable of both aquatic and terrestrial development are the likely factors which enable the transition from aquatic to terrestrial reproduction. Nearly half of the species we studied had previously undescribed degrees of flexible oviposition. Species with obligate terrestrial reproduction have larger eggs than species with aquatic reproduction, and species with flexible reproduction have eggs of intermediate sizes. Obligate terrestrial breeding frogs also have egg masses that absorb water more quickly than those with flexible oviposition. We also examined eight populations of a single species, Dendropsophus ebraccatus, and document substantial intraspecific variation in terrestrial oviposition; populations in rainy, stable climates lay fewer eggs in water than those in drier areas. However, no differences in egg size were found, supporting the idea that the behavioral component of oviposition evolves before other adaptations associated with obligate terrestrial reproduction. Collectively, these data demonstrate the key role that behavior can have in facilitating major evolutionary transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Touchon
- Biology Department, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa 0843-03092, Panama
| | - W Owen McMillan
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa 0843-03092, Panama
| | - Roberto Ibáñez
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa 0843-03092, Panama
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2
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Lisondro-Arosemena AK, Salazar-Nicholls MJ, Warkentin KM. Elevated ammonia cues hatching in red-eyed treefrogs: A mechanism for escape from drying eggs. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART B, MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2024; 342:406-411. [PMID: 38708813 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024]
Abstract
Egg dehydration can kill terrestrial frog embryos, and this threat is increasing with climate change and deforestation. In several lineages that independently evolved terrestrial eggs, and retained aquatic tadpoles, embryos accelerate hatching to escape from drying eggs, entering the water earlier and less developed. However, the cues that stimulate drying-induced early hatching are unknown. Ammonia is a toxic, water-soluble metabolic waste that accumulates within eggs as embryos develop and concentrates as eggs dehydrate. Thus, increasing ammonia concentration may be a direct threat to embryos in drying eggs. We hypothesized that it could serve as a cue, stimulating embryos to hatch and escape. The embryos of red-eyed treefrogs, Agalychnis callidryas, hatch early to escape from many threats, including dehydration, and are known to use mechanosensory, hypoxia, and light cues. To test if they also use high ammonia as a cue to hatch, we exposed stage-matched pairs of hatching-competent, well-hydrated sibling embryos to ammonia and control solutions in shallow water baths and recorded their behavior. Control embryos remained unhatched while ammonia-exposed embryos showed a rapid, strong hatching response; 95% hatched, on average in under 15 min. This demonstrates that elevated ammonia can serve as a hatching cue for A. callidryas embryos. This finding is a key step in understanding the mechanisms that enable terrestrial frog embryos to escape from egg drying, opening new possibilities for integrative and comparative studies on this growing threat.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Karen M Warkentin
- Gamboa Laboratory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, Panamá
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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Güell BA, McDaniel JG, Warkentin KM. Egg-Clutch Biomechanics Affect Escape-Hatching Behavior and Performance. Integr Org Biol 2024; 6:obae006. [PMID: 38585155 PMCID: PMC10995723 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obae006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Arboreal embryos of phyllomedusine treefrogs hatch prematurely to escape snake predation, cued by vibrations in their egg clutches during attacks. However, escape success varies between species, from ∼77% in Agalychnis callidryas to just ∼9% in A. spurrelli at 1 day premature. Both species begin responding to snake attacks at similar developmental stages, when vestibular mechanosensory function begins, suggesting that sensory ability does not limit the hatching response in A. spurrelli. Agalychnis callidryas clutches are thick and gelatinous, while A. spurrelli clutches are thinner and stiffer. We hypothesized that this structural difference alters the egg motion excited by attacks. Since vibrations excited by snakes must propagate through clutches to reach embryos, we hypothesized that the species difference in attack-induced hatching may reflect effects of clutch biomechanics on the cues available to embryos. Mechanics predicts that thinner, stiffer structures have higher free vibration frequencies, greater spatial attenuation, and faster vibration damping than thicker, more flexible structures. We assessed clutch biomechanics by embedding small accelerometers in clutches of both species and recording vibrations during standardized excitation tests at two distances from the accelerometer. Analyses of recorded vibrations showed that A. spurrelli clutches have higher free vibration frequencies and greater vibration damping than A. callidryas clutches. Higher frequencies elicit less hatching in A. callidryas, and greater damping could reduce the amount of vibration embryos can perceive. To directly test if clutch structure affects escape success in snake attacks, we transplanted A. spurrelli eggs into A. callidryas clutches and compared their escape rates with untransplanted, age-matched conspecific controls. We also performed reciprocal transplantation of eggs between pairs of A. callidryas clutches as a method control. Transplanting A. spurrelli embryos into A. callidryas clutches nearly tripled their escape success (44%) compared to conspecific controls (15%), whereas transplanting A. callidryas embryos into different A. callidryas clutches only increased escape success by 10%. At hatching competence, A. callidryas eggs are no longer jelly-encapsulated, while A. spurrelli eggs retain their jelly coat. Therefore, we compared the hatching response and latency of A. spurrelli in de-jellied eggs and their control, jelly-encapsulated siblings using manual egg-jiggling to simulate predation cues. Embryos in de-jellied eggs were more likely to hatch and hatched faster than control siblings. Together, our results suggest that the properties of parentally produced egg-clutch structures, including their vibration biomechanics, constrain the information available to A. spurrelli embryos and contribute to interspecific differences in hatching responses to predator attacks.
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Affiliation(s)
- B A Güell
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - J G McDaniel
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - K M Warkentin
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Gamboa Laboratory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado Postal 0843-03092, Panamá, República de Panamá
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4
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Schlippe Justicia L, Fouilloux CA, Rojas B. Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges. Acta Ethol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-022-00400-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe current and cascading effects of global change challenges the interactions both between animal individuals (i.e. social and sexual behaviour) and the environment they inhabit. Amphibians are an ecologically diverse class with a wide range of social and sexual behaviours, making them a compelling model to understand the potential adaptations of animals faced with the effects of human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC). Poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) are a particularly interesting system, as they display diverse social behaviours that are shaped by conspecific and environmental interactions, thus offering a tractable system to investigate how closely related species may respond to the impacts of HIREC. Here, we discuss the potential impacts of global change on poison frog behaviour, and the future challenges this group may face in response to such change. We pay special attention to parental care and territoriality, which are emblematic of this clade, and consider how different species may flexibly respond and adapt to increasingly frequent and diverse anthropogenic stress. More specifically, we hypothesise that some parents may increase care (i.e. clutch attendance and distance travelled for tadpole transport) in HIREC scenarios and that species with more generalist oviposition and tadpole deposition behaviours may fare more positively than their less flexible counterparts; we predict that the latter may either face increased competition for resources limited by HIREC or will be forced to adapt and expand their natural preferences. Likewise, we hypothesise that human-driven habitat alteration will disrupt the acoustic and visual communication systems due to increased noise pollution and/or changes in the surrounding light environment. We highlight the need for more empirical research combining behavioural ecology and conservation to better predict species’ vulnerability to global change and efficiently focus conservation efforts.
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5
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Méndez‐Narváez J, Warkentin KM. Reproductive colonization of land by frogs: Embryos and larvae excrete urea to avoid ammonia toxicity. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8570. [PMID: 35222954 PMCID: PMC8843769 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 12/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate colonization of land has occurred multiple times, including over 50 origins of terrestrial eggs in frogs. Some environmental factors and phenotypic responses that facilitated these transitions are known, but responses to water constraints and risk of ammonia toxicity during early development are poorly understood. We tested if ammonia accumulation and dehydration risk induce a shift from ammonia to urea excretion during early stages of four anurans, from three origins of terrestrial development. We quantified ammonia and urea concentrations during early development on land, under well‐hydrated and dry conditions. Where we found urea excretion, we tested for a plastic increase under dry conditions and with ammonia accumulation in developmental environments. We assessed the potential adaptive role of urea excretion by comparing ammonia tolerance measured in 96h‐LC50 tests with ammonia levels in developmental environments. Ammonia accumulated in foam nests and perivitelline fluid, increasing over development and reaching higher concentrations under dry conditions. All four species showed high ammonia tolerance, compared to fishes and aquatic‐breeding frogs. Both nest‐dwelling larvae of Leptodactylus fragilis and late embryos of Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni excreted urea, showing a plastic increase under dry conditions. These two species can develop the longest on land and urea excretion appears adaptive, preventing their exposure to potentially lethal levels of ammonia. Neither late embryos of Agalychnis callidryas nor nest‐dwelling larvae of Engystomops pustulosus experienced toxic ammonia levels under dry conditions, and neither excreted urea. Our results suggest that an early onset of urea excretion, its increase under dry conditions, and elevated ammonia tolerance can all help prevent ammonia toxicity during terrestrial development. High ammonia represents a general risk for development which may be exacerbated as climate change increases dehydration risk for terrestrial‐breeding frogs. It may also be a cue that elicits adaptive physiological responses during early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Méndez‐Narváez
- Department of Biology Boston University Boston Massachusetts USA
- Calima Fundación para la Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Conservación en el Trópico Cali Colombia
| | - Karen M. Warkentin
- Department of Biology Boston University Boston Massachusetts USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama Republic of Panama
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6
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Ichioka Y, Hijii N. Spawning sites of the Japanese Forest Green Tree Frog (Zhangixalus arboreus: Rhacophoridae) in Central Japan. CURRENT HERPETOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.5358/hsj.40.151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yukio Ichioka
- Laboratory of Forest Protection, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464–8601, JAPAN
| | - Naoki Hijii
- Laboratory of Forest Protection, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Furocho, Chikusa, Nagoya, Aichi 464–8601, JAPAN
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7
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Schwartz NB, Lintner BR, Feng X, Powers JS. Beyond MAP: A guide to dimensions of rainfall variability for tropical ecology. Biotropica 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Naomi B. Schwartz
- Department of Geography The University of British Columbia Vancouver BC Canada
| | - Benjamin R. Lintner
- Department of Environmental Sciences Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick NJ USA
| | - Xue Feng
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo‐engineering University of Minnesota Minneapolis MN USA
| | - Jennifer S. Powers
- Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and Plant and Microbial Biology University of Minnesota Saint Paul MN USA
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8
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Delia J, Bravo‐Valencia L, Warkentin KM. The evolution of extended parental care in glassfrogs: Do egg‐clutch phenotypes mediate coevolution between the sexes? ECOL MONOGR 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jesse Delia
- Department of Biology Boston University Boston 02214 Massachusetts USA
| | - Laura Bravo‐Valencia
- Profesional equipo de fauna silvestre Corantioquia Santa Fe de Antioquia Colombia
| | - Karen M. Warkentin
- Department of Biology Boston University Boston 02214 Massachusetts USA
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panamá 0843-03092 República de Panamá
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9
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Estrada A, Hughey MC, Medina D, Rebollar EA, Walke JB, Harris RN, Belden LK. Skin bacterial communities of neotropical treefrogs vary with local environmental conditions at the time of sampling. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7044. [PMID: 31275740 PMCID: PMC6590418 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2018] [Accepted: 04/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The amphibian skin microbiome has been the focus of recent studies aiming to better understand the role of these microbial symbionts in host defense against disease. However, host-associated microbial communities are complex and dynamic, and changes in their composition and structure can influence their function. Understanding temporal variation of bacterial communities on amphibian skin is critical for establishing baselines from which to improve the development of mitigation techniques based on probiotic therapy and provides long-term host protection in a changing environment. Here, we investigated whether microbial communities on amphibian skin change over time at a single site. To examine this, we collected skin swabs from two pond-breeding species of treefrogs, Agalychnis callidryas and Dendropsophus ebraccatus, over 4 years at a single lowland tropical pond in Panamá. Relative abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was used to determine bacterial community diversity on the skin of both treefrog species. We found significant variation in bacterial community structure across long and short-term time scales. Skin bacterial communities differed across years on both species and between seasons and sampling days only in D. ebraccatus. Importantly, bacterial community structures across days were as variable as year level comparisons. The differences in bacterial community were driven primarily by differences in relative abundance of key OTUs and explained by rainfall at the time of sampling. These findings suggest that skin-associated microbiomes are highly variable across time, and that for tropical lowland sites, rainfall is a good predictor of variability. However, more research is necessary to elucidate the significance of temporal variation in bacterial skin communities and their maintenance for amphibian conservation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angie Estrada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Myra C Hughey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Daniel Medina
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Eria A Rebollar
- Centro de Ciencias Genómicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Jenifer B Walke
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Reid N Harris
- Department of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, USA
| | - Lisa K Belden
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá, Panamá
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10
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He Q, Silliman BR, van de Koppel J, Cui B. Weather fluctuations affect the impact of consumers on vegetation recovery following a catastrophic die-off. Ecology 2018; 100:e02559. [PMID: 30411780 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2018] [Revised: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Prolonged droughts exacerbated by climate change have been widely documented to interact with consumers to decimate vegetation in many ecosystems. Although climate change is increasing within-year variation in precipitation and temperature, how weather fluctuations affect the impact of consumers on vegetation processes remains poorly understood. In a salt marsh that has recently experienced drought-associated vegetation die-off, we investigated how top-down control of plant recovery by a prominent salt marsh grazer varies with weather. Our results showed that grazing-driven plant mortality varied strongly with weather in spring, with intense grazing occurring during cool, wet days immediately following rain. Intense grazing on cool, wet days across the generally dry spring season had a strong impact that eliminated plant seedlings that could otherwise have become tolerant of grazing in the following summer, thereby restricting vegetation recovery and contributing to the persistence of an unvegetated salt barren state. Thus, weather fluctuations can modulate the impact of consumers on vegetation recovery, a fundamental process underlying the fate of ecosystems after disturbances. A multi-timescale perspective on top-down control that combines the impact of short-term fluctuations in weather and that of long-term variation in mean climate can not only help understand ecosystem dynamics in an increasingly variable climate, but may also inform conservation strategies or recovery plans for ecosystems that are already lost to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang He
- Coastal Ecology Lab, MOE Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 2005 Songhu Road, Shanghai, 200438, China.,Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, North Carolina, 28516, USA
| | - Brian R Silliman
- Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, 135 Duke Marine Lab Road, Beaufort, North Carolina, 28516, USA
| | - Johan van de Koppel
- Spatial Ecology Department, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), 4401NT 7, Yerseke, The Netherlands.,Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Baoshan Cui
- School of Environment, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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11
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Basto-Riascos MC, López-Caro J, Vargas-Salinas F. Reproductive ecology of the glass frog Espadarana prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae) in an urban forest of the Central Andes of Colombia. J NAT HIST 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2017.1371805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- María Camila Basto-Riascos
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación EECO, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnologías, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Jhulyana López-Caro
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación EECO, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnologías, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación EECO, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnologías, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
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12
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Salica MJ, Vonesh JR, Warkentin KM. Egg clutch dehydration induces early hatching in red-eyed treefrogs, Agalychnis callidryas. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3549. [PMID: 28717595 PMCID: PMC5511700 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3549] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 06/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Terrestrial eggs have evolved repeatedly in tropical anurans exposing embryos to the new threat of dehydration. Red-eyed treefrogs, Agalychnis callidryas, lay eggs on plants over water. Maternally provided water allows shaded eggs in humid sites to develop to hatching without rainfall, but unshaded eggs and those in less humid sites can die from dehydration. Hatching responses of amphibian eggs to dry conditions are known from two lineages with independent origins of terrestrial eggs. Here, we experimentally tested for dehydration-induced early hatching in another lineage (Agalychnis callidryas, Phyllomedusidae), representing a third independent origin of terrestrial eggs. We also investigated how dehydration affected egg and clutch structure, and egg mortality. We collected clutches from a pond in Gamboa, Panama, and randomly allocated them to wet or dry treatments at age 1 day. Embryos hatched earlier from dry clutches than from wet clutches, accelerating hatching by ∼11%. Clutch thickness and egg diameter were affected by dehydration, diverging between treatments over time. Meanwhile, mortality in dry clutches was six-fold higher than in control clutches. With this study, early hatching responses to escape mortality from egg dehydration are now known from three anuran lineages with independent origins of terrestrial eggs, suggesting they may be widespread. Further studies are needed to understand how terrestrial amphibian eggs can respond to, or will be affected by, rapid changes in climate over the next decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- María José Salica
- CONICET, Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas (INECOA), Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina
| | - James R. Vonesh
- Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, United States of America
| | - Karen M. Warkentin
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States of America
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, República de Panamá
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13
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Pintar MR, Resetarits WJ. Relative predation risk and risk of desiccation co-determine oviposition preferences in Cope's gray treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. Oecologia 2017; 184:423-430. [PMID: 28470466 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-017-3875-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2016] [Accepted: 04/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Habitat permanence and threat of predation are primary drivers of community assembly and composition in lentic freshwater systems. Pond-breeding amphibians select oviposition sites to maximize fitness and minimize risks of predation and desiccation of their offspring, typically facing a trade-off between the two as predation risk often increases as desiccation risk decreases. To experimentally determine if Hyla chrysoscelis partition oviposition along gradients of relative desiccation risk and predation risk, we tested oviposition site preference in a natural population of treefrogs colonizing experimental ponds that varied in water depth and contained predatory larvae of two Ambystoma salamander species. Hyla chrysoscelis selected habitats with both lower predation risk, avoiding A. talpoideum over A. maculatum, and lower desiccation risk, selecting ponds with three times greater depth. We demonstrate that adult oviposition site choices simultaneously minimize relative predation risk and desiccation risk and that closely related salamander species produce functionally different responses among colonizing animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Pintar
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA.
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14
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Delia J, Bravo-Valencia L, Warkentin KM. Patterns of parental care in Neotropical glassfrogs: fieldwork alters hypotheses of sex-role evolution. J Evol Biol 2017; 30:898-914. [PMID: 28241390 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Revised: 02/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Many animals provide parental care to offspring. Parental sex-roles vary extensively across taxa, and such patterns are considered well documented. However, information on amphibians is lacking relative to other vertebrate groups. We combine natural history observations with functional and historical analyses to examine the evolution of egg care in glassfrogs (Centrolenidae). Parental care was considered rare and predominately provided by males. Our field observations of 40 species revealed that care occurs throughout the family, and the caregiving sex changes across lineages. We discovered that a brief period of maternal care is widespread and occurs in species previously thought to lack care. Using a combination of female-removal experiments, prey-choice tests with egg-eating katydids, and parental disturbance-tolerance assays, we confirm the adaptive benefits of short-term maternal care in wild Cochranella granulosa and Teratohyla pulverata. To examine historical transitions between caregiving sexes, we assembled a molecular phylogeny and estimated ancestral care states using our data and the literature. We assessed patterns indicative of sex-specific constraints by testing whether transitions between the sexes are associated with changes in care levels. Our analyses support that male-only care evolved 2-3 times from female-only care, and this change is associated with substantial increases in care levels - a pattern supporting the hypothesis that male-only care evolved via constraints on maternal expenditure. Many groups of amphibians remain poorly studied, with emerging evidence indicating that care patterns are more diverse than currently appreciated. Natural history remains fundamental to uncovering this diversity and generating testable hypotheses of sex-role evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Delia
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - L Bravo-Valencia
- Profesional Universitaria, Equipo Fauna, Corantioquia, Santa Fe de Antioquia, Colombia
| | - K M Warkentin
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá, República de Panamá
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15
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Gaitonde N, Giri V, Kunte K. ‘On the rocks’: reproductive biology of the endemic toad Xanthophryne (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Western Ghats, India. J NAT HIST 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2016.1200686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikhil Gaitonde
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary road, Bengaluru, India
- Manipal University, Manipal, India
| | - Varad Giri
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary road, Bengaluru, India
| | - Krushnamegh Kunte
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, GKVK Campus, Bellary road, Bengaluru, India
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16
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Touchon JC, Worley JL. Oviposition site choice under conflicting risks demonstrates that aquatic predators drive terrestrial egg-laying. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 282:20150376. [PMID: 25948689 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Laying eggs out of water was crucial to the transition to land and has evolved repeatedly in multiple animal phyla. However, testing hypotheses about this transition has been difficult because extant species only breed in one environment. The pantless treefrog, Dendropsophus ebraccatus, makes such tests possible because they lay both aquatic and arboreal eggs. Here, we test the oviposition site choices of D. ebraccatus under conflicting risks of arboreal egg desiccation and aquatic egg predation, thereby estimating the relative importance of each selective agent on reproduction. We also measured discrimination between habitats with and without predators and development of naturally laid aquatic and arboreal eggs. Aquatic embryos in nature developed faster than arboreal embryos, implying no cost to aquatic egg laying. In choice tests, D. ebraccatus avoided habitats with fish, showing that they can detect aquatic egg predators. Most importantly, D. ebraccatus laid most eggs in the water when faced with only desiccation risk, but switched to laying eggs arboreally when desiccation risk and aquatic predators were both present. This provides the first experimental evidence to our knowledge that aquatic predation risk influences non-aquatic oviposition and strongly supports the hypothesis that it was a driver of the evolution of terrestrial reproduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin C Touchon
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, 124 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12604, USA Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Julie L Worley
- Biology Department, Portland State University, 1719 SW 10th Avenue, Portland, OR 97201, USA
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Almeida-Gomes M, Rocha CFD, Vieira MV. Local and Landscape Factors Driving the Structure of Tropical Anuran Communities: Do Ephemeral Ponds have a Nested Pattern? Biotropica 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Almeida-Gomes
- Departamento de Ecologia; Laboratório de Vertebrados; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 Cidade Universitária CEP 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - Carlos F. D. Rocha
- Departamento de Ecologia; Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro; Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524 CEP 20550-900 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
| | - Marcus V. Vieira
- Departamento de Ecologia; Laboratório de Vertebrados; Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373 Cidade Universitária CEP 21941-902 Rio de Janeiro RJ Brazil
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Reproductive and Spatial Ecology ofLeptodactylus insularum(Anura, Leptodactylidae) in Panama. J HERPETOL 2015. [DOI: 10.1670/13-214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Martin KL, Carter AL. Brave New Propagules: Terrestrial Embryos in Anamniotic Eggs. Integr Comp Biol 2013; 53:233-47. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/ict018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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Parents adjust care in response to weather conditions and egg dehydration in a Neotropical glassfrog. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-013-1475-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Touchon JC. A treefrog with reproductive mode plasticity reveals a changing balance of selection for nonaquatic egg laying. Am Nat 2012; 180:733-43. [PMID: 23149398 DOI: 10.1086/668079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Nonaquatic reproduction has evolved repeatedly, but the factors that select for laying eggs on land are not well understood. The treefrog Dendropsophus ebraccatus has plasticity in its reproductive mode, laying eggs that successfully develop in or out of water. This permits the first experimental comparison of the selective agents that shape adult oviposition behavior and embryo developmental capacity. I quantified the sources and strengths of arboreal and aquatic egg mortality and how mortality varies with weather patterns, and I assessed 39 years of daily rainfall patterns to infer historic levels of egg mortality and effects of climate change on the selective balance between aquatic and nonaquatic egg deposition. Aquatic predators and desiccation were the strongest selective agents in water and air, respectively. Egg mortality varied with weather such that aquatic oviposition was advantageous when rainfall was low but laying eggs out of water increased survival when rainfall was high. Additionally, I found that since 1972 there have been significant changes in the rainfall patterns in central Panama, and this has altered the selective landscape acting on egg-laying behavior. This work provides insight into the evolution and maintenance of adaptive phenotypic plasticity as well as historic and current selection on reproduction.
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Gonzalez SC, Touchon JC, Vonesh JR. Interactions Between Competition and Predation Shape Early Growth and Survival of Two Neotropical Hylid Tadpoles. Biotropica 2011. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2010.00748.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Touchon JC, Urbina J, Warkentin KM. Habitat-specific constraints on induced hatching in a treefrog with reproductive mode plasticity. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Touchon JC, Warkentin KM. Thermally contingent plasticity: temperature alters expression of predator-induced colour and morphology in a Neotropical treefrog tadpole. J Anim Ecol 2010; 80:79-88. [PMID: 20964684 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2010.01765.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Touchon JC, Warkentin KM. Short- and long-term effects of the abiotic egg environment on viability, development and vulnerability to predators of a Neotropical anuran. Funct Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01650.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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