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García-Hernández S, Machado G. Short- and long-term effects of an extreme case of autotomy: does "tail" loss and subsequent constipation decrease the locomotor performance of male and female scorpions? Integr Zool 2021; 17:672-688. [PMID: 34741423 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In many taxa, individuals voluntarily detach a body part as a form to increase their chances of escaping predation. This defense mechanism, known as autotomy, has several consequences, such as changes in locomotor performance that may affect fitness. Scorpions of the genus Ananteris autotomize the "tail", which in fact corresponds to the last abdominal segments. After autotomy, individuals lose nearly 25% of their body mass and the last portion of the digestive tract, including the anus, which prevents defecation and leads to constipation, because regeneration does not occur. Here, we experimentally investigated the short- and long-term effects of tail loss on the locomotor performance of Ananteris balzani. In a short-term experiment, the maximum running speed (MRS) of males and females did not change after autotomy. Moreover, the relative mass of the lost tail did not affect the change in MRS after autotomy. In a long-term experiment, autotomy had a negative effect on the MRS of males, but not of females. Autotomized over-fed individuals suffered from severe constipation but were not slower than autotomized normally fed individuals. In conclusion, tail loss has no immediate effect on the locomotor performance of scorpions. The long-term decrease in the locomotor performance of autotomized males may impair mate searching. However, because death by constipation takes several months, males have a long time to find mates and reproduce. Thus, the prolonged period between autotomy and death by constipation is crucial for understanding the evolution of one of the most extreme cases of autotomy in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Solimary García-Hernández
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Glauco Machado
- LAGE do Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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FernÁndez-RodrÍguez I, BraÑa F. The movement dynamics of autotomized lizards and their tails reveal functional costs of caudal autotomy. Integr Zool 2020; 15:511-521. [PMID: 32297699 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Autotomy has evolved independently several times in different animal lineages. It frequently involves immediate functional costs, so regeneration evolved in many instances to restore the functionality of that body part. Caudal autotomy is a widespread antipredator strategy in lizards, although it may affect energy storage, locomotion dynamics, or survival in future encounters with predators. Here, we assessed the effect of tail loss on the locomotor performance of wall lizards (Podarcis muralis), as well as the recovery of locomotor functionality of lizards with regenerated tails, and the movement dynamics of shed tails that were either intact or having regenerated portions. Tail loss had no effect on locomotion over unhindered spaces, possibly due to compensation between a negative effect on the stride of front limbs, and a positive effect of losing mass and friction force. We found a clear negative impact of tail loss on locomotion in spaces with interspersed obstacles, in which tailed lizards jumped larger distances when leaving the obstacles. Besides, lizards that used the tail to push off the ground were able to approach the obstacles from further, so that the tail seemed to be useful when used during jumping. Regeneration fully restores lizard's locomotor capacities, but tail antipredator value, as indicated by the intensity of post-autotomic movements, is only partially retrieved. From these results, we propose that, together with the recovery of post-autotomy antipredator capacities, the restoration of the organismal locomotor performance may have been an important, yet frequently neglected factor in the evolution of lizard's regeneration ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene FernÁndez-RodrÍguez
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (Zoology), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO/CSIC/PA), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Spain
| | - Florentino BraÑa
- Department of Organisms and Systems Biology (Zoology), University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.,Research Unit of Biodiversity (UMIB, UO/CSIC/PA), University of Oviedo, Mieres, Spain
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Michelangeli M, Melki-Wegner B, Laskowski K, Wong BB, Chapple DG. Impacts of caudal autotomy on personality. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Barr JI, Boisvert CA, Somaweera R, Trinajstic K, Bateman PW. Re-regeneration to reduce negative effects associated with tail loss in lizards. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18717. [PMID: 31822746 PMCID: PMC6904483 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55231-6] [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: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species of lizard use caudal autotomy, the ability to self-amputate a portion of their tail, regenerated over time, as an effective anti-predation mechanism. The importance of this tactic for survival depends on the degree of predation risk. There are, however, negative trade-offs to losing a tail, such as loss of further autotomy opportunities with the regenerated tail vertebrae being replaced by a continuous cartilaginous rod. The common consensus has been that once a tail has been autotomised and regenerated it can only be autotomised proximal to the last vertebral autotomy point, as the cartilage rod lacks autotomy planes. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that although the regenerated portion of the tail is unable to autotomise, it can re-regenerate following a physical shearing event. We assessed re-regeneration in three populations of the King’s skink (Egernia kingii), a large lizard endemic to south-west Western Australia and surrounding islands. We show that re-regeneration is present at an average of 17.2% across the three populations, and re-regenerated tissue can comprise up to 23.3% of an individual’s total tail length. The ability to re-regenerate may minimise the costs to an individual’s fitness associated with tail loss, efficiently restoring ecological functions of the tail.
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Affiliation(s)
- James I Barr
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia. .,CSIRO Land and Water, 147 Underwood Avenue, Floreat, WA, 6014, Australia.
| | - Catherine A Boisvert
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Ruchira Somaweera
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, 147 Underwood Avenue, Floreat, WA, 6014, Australia
| | - Kate Trinajstic
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Philip W Bateman
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Kent Street, Bentley, WA, 6102, Australia.
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Emberts Z, Escalante I, Bateman PW. The ecology and evolution of autotomy. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1881-1896. [PMID: 31240822 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Autotomy, the self-induced loss of a body part, occurs throughout Animalia. A lizard dropping its tail to escape predation is an iconic example, however, autotomy occurs in a diversity of other organisms. Octopuses can release their arms, crabs can drop their claws, and bugs can amputate their legs. The diversity of organisms that can autotomize body parts has led to a wealth of research and several taxonomically focused reviews. These reviews have played a crucial role in advancing our understanding of autotomy within their respective groups. However, because of their taxonomic focus, these reviews are constrained in their ability to enhance our understanding of autotomy. Here, we aim to synthesize research on the ecology and evolution of autotomy throughout Animalia, building a unified framework on which future studies can expand. We found that the ability to drop an appendage has evolved multiple times throughout Animalia and that once autotomy has evolved, selection appears to act on the removable appendage to increase the efficacy and/or efficiency of autotomy. This could explain why some autotomizable body parts are so elaborate (e.g. brightly coloured). We also show that there are multiple benefits, and variable costs, associated with autotomy. Given this variation, we generate an economic theory of autotomy (modified from the economic theory of escape) which makes predictions about when an individual should resort to autotomy. Finally, we show that the loss of an autotomizable appendage can have numerous consequences on population and community dynamics. By taking this broad taxonomic approach, we identified patterns of autotomy that transcend specific lineages and highlight clear directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Emberts
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 876 Newell Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
| | - Ignacio Escalante
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, & Management, University of California, 140 Mulford Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Philip W Bateman
- Behavioural Ecology Lab, School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia
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Jagnandan K, Higham TE. How rapid changes in body mass affect the locomotion of terrestrial vertebrates: ecology, evolution and biomechanics of a natural perturbation. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Jagnandan
- Life Sciences Department, San Diego City College, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Timothy E Higham
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
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Sousa HC, Costa BM, Morais CJS, Pantoja DL, Queiroz TA, Vieira CR, Colli GR. Blue tales of a blue‐tailed lizard: ecological correlates of tail autotomy in
Micrablepharus atticolus
(Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in a Neotropical savannah. J Zool (1987) 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- H. C. Sousa
- Departamento de Zoologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brasil
| | - B. M. Costa
- Instituto Federal de Brasília Gama DF Brasil
| | - C. J. S. Morais
- Departamento de Zoologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brasil
| | - D. L. Pantoja
- Departamento de Zoologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brasil
| | - T. A. Queiroz
- Departamento de Zoologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brasil
| | - C. R. Vieira
- Department of Biology Utah State University Logan UT USA
| | - G. R. Colli
- Departamento de Zoologia Universidade de Brasília Brasília DF Brasil
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Kuo C, Irschick DJ, Lailvaux SP. Trait compensation between boldness and the propensity for tail autotomy under different food availabilities in similarly aged brown anole lizards. Funct Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chi‐Yun Kuo
- The Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst Massachusetts 01003 USA
| | - Duncan J. Irschick
- The Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst Massachusetts 01003 USA
- Department of Biology University of Massachusetts Amherst Amherst Massachusetts 01003 USA
| | - Simon P. Lailvaux
- Department of Biological Sciences University of New Orleans New Orleans Louisiana 70148 USA
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Russell AP, Lai EK, Lawrence Powell G, Higham TE. Density and distribution of cutaneous sensilla on tails of leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) in relation to caudal autotomy. J Morphol 2014; 275:961-79. [PMID: 24643900 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2013] [Revised: 02/06/2014] [Accepted: 02/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
The lizard tail is well known for its ability to autotomize and regenerate. Physical contact of the tail by a predator may induce autotomy at the location at which the tail is grasped, and upon detachment the tail may undergo violent, rapid, and unpredictable movements that appear to be, to some degree, regulated by contact with the physical environment. Neither the mechanism by which tail breakage at a particular location is determined, nor that by which environmental feedback to the tail is received, are known. It has been suggested that mechanoreceptors (sensilla) are the means of mediation of such activities, and reports indicate that the density of sensilla on the tail is high. To determine the feasibility that mechanoreceptors are involved in such phenomena, we mapped scale form and the size, density, distribution, and spacing of sensilla on the head, body, limbs, and tail of the leopard gecko. This species has a full complement of autotomy planes along the length of the tail, and the postautotomic behavior of its tail has been documented. We found that the density of sensilla is highest on the tail relative to all other body regions examined; a dorsoventral gradient of caudal sensilla density is evident on the tail; sensilla are more closely spaced on the dorsal and lateral regions of the tail than elsewhere and are carried on relatively small scales; and that the whorls of scales on the tail bear a one to one relationship with the autotomy planes. Our results are consistent with the hypotheses of sensilla being involved in determining the site at which autotomy will occur, and with them being involved in the mediation of tail behavior following autotomy. These findings open the way for experimental neurological investigations of how autotomy is induced and how the detached tail responds to external environmental input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony P Russell
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4
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McElroy EJ, Bergmann PJ. Tail Autotomy, Tail Size, and Locomotor Performance in Lizards. Physiol Biochem Zool 2013; 86:669-79. [DOI: 10.1086/673890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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CROMIE GILLIANL, CHAPPLE DAVIDG. Is partial tail loss the key to a complete understanding of caudal autotomy? AUSTRAL ECOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2012.02429.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Cromie GL, Chapple DG. Impact of tail loss on the behaviour and locomotor performance of two sympatric Lampropholis skink species. PLoS One 2012; 7:e34732. [PMID: 22523555 PMCID: PMC3327716 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2012] [Accepted: 03/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Caudal autotomy is an anti-predator behaviour that is used by many lizard species. Although there is an immediate survival benefit, the subsequent absence of the tail may inhibit locomotor performance, alter activity and habitat use, and increase the individuals' susceptibility to future predation attempts. We used laboratory experiments to examine the impact of tail autotomy on locomotor performance, activity and basking site selection in two lizard species, the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata) and garden skink (L. guichenoti), that occur sympatrically throughout southeastern Australia and are exposed to an identical suite of potential predators. Post-autotomy tail movement did not differ between the two Lampropholis species, although a positive relationship between the shed tail length and distance moved, but not the duration of movement, was observed. Tail autotomy resulted in a substantial decrease in sprint speed in both species (28-39%), although this impact was limited to the optimal performance temperature (30°C). Although L. delicata was more active than L. guichenoti, tail autotomy resulted in decreased activity in both species. Sheltered basking sites were preferred over open sites by both Lampropholis species, although this preference was stronger in L. delicata. Caudal autotomy did not alter the basking site preferences of either species. Thus, both Lampropholis species had similar behavioural responses to autotomy. Our study also indicates that the impact of tail loss on locomotor performance may be temperature-dependent and highlights that future studies should be conducted over a broad thermal range.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gillian L. Cromie
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - David G. Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
- * E-mail:
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