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Dittrich C, Hoelzl F, Smith S, Fouilloux CA, Parker DJ, O’Connell LA, Knowles LS, Hughes M, Fewings A, Morgan R, Rojas B, Comeault AA. Genome Assembly of the Dyeing Poison Frog Provides Insights into the Dynamics of Transposable Element and Genome-Size Evolution. Genome Biol Evol 2024; 16:evae109. [PMID: 38753031 PMCID: PMC11152451 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evae109] [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] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Genome size varies greatly across the tree of life and transposable elements are an important contributor to this variation. Among vertebrates, amphibians display the greatest variation in genome size, making them ideal models to explore the causes and consequences of genome size variation. However, high-quality genome assemblies for amphibians have, until recently, been rare. Here, we generate a high-quality genome assembly for the dyeing poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius. We compare this assembly to publicly available frog genomes and find evidence for both large-scale conserved synteny and widespread rearrangements between frog lineages. Comparing conserved orthologs annotated in these genomes revealed a strong correlation between genome size and gene size. To explore the cause of gene-size variation, we quantified the location of transposable elements relative to gene features and find that the accumulation of transposable elements in introns has played an important role in the evolution of gene size in D. tinctorius, while estimates of insertion times suggest that many insertion events are recent and species-specific. Finally, we carry out population-scale mobile-element sequencing and show that the diversity and abundance of transposable elements in poison frog genomes can complicate genotyping from repetitive element sequence anchors. Our results show that transposable elements have clearly played an important role in the evolution of large genome size in D. tinctorius. Future studies are needed to fully understand the dynamics of transposable element evolution and to optimize primer or bait design for cost-effective population-level genotyping in species with large, repetitive genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Dittrich
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Franz Hoelzl
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Steve Smith
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Chloe A Fouilloux
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Darren J Parker
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Molecular Ecology & Evolution Group, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | | | - Lucy S Knowles
- NERC Environmental Omics Facility, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Margaret Hughes
- Centre for Genomic Research, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Ade Fewings
- Supercomputing Wales, Digital Services, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Rhys Morgan
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Molecular Ecology & Evolution Group, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Aaron A Comeault
- School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Molecular Ecology & Evolution Group, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
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Surber-Cunningham LL, Jimenez LS, Mobo LW, Westrick SE, Fischer EK. Early development of the glucocorticoid stress response in poison frog tadpoles. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.31.596457. [PMID: 38895357 PMCID: PMC11185533 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.31.596457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
In vertebrates, the glucocorticoid response through the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis controls many essential functions, including behavior, metabolism, and ontogenetic transitions. However, there are tradeoffs associated with high levels of glucocorticoids, including reduced growth rate and lowered immunity. These tradeoffs drive variation in the timing of the development of the HPA axis across taxa. In anurans (frogs and toads), corticosterone has critical roles in development and behavior, and concentrations can fluctuate in response to environmental stressors. Given the role of corticosterone in ontogenetic changes and behaviors, we hypothesized that species with immediate habitat transitions and challenges would develop an HPA axis early in development. To test this hypothesis, we studied tadpoles of the dyeing poison frog ( Dendrobates tinctorius ), a species in which tadpoles hatch terrestrially and are transported to pools of water by their parent. We measured the excretion rate and whole-body concentration of corticosterone and the corticosterone response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). We found no significant differences in excretion rates and whole-body concentration of corticosterone, nor physiological response to ACTH injection across tadpole development. These findings indicate that the glucocorticoid response is developed early in ontogeny. These findings generally differ from those found in other species of tadpoles, which may suggest the unique ecological pressures of D. tinctorius has shaped the development of its HPA axis. More broadly, this study illustrates how life history strategies and tradeoffs of glucocorticoids impact the timing of the development of the HPA axis. Highlights The timing of HPA axis development differs across species. We studied the HPA axis across tadpole development in Dendrobates tinctorius . No difference in corticosterone concentration across development.No difference in corticosterone response to ACTH across development.Results suggest an early developed HPA axis is essential for their life history.
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Schlippe-Justicia L, Lemaire J, Dittrich C, Mayer M, Bustamante P, Rojas B. Poison in the nursery: Mercury contamination in the tadpole-rearing sites of an Amazonian frog. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169450. [PMID: 38135067 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has become a major threat for Neotropical forests. This technique for obtaining gold is a substantial driver of small-scale deforestation and the largest contributor of Hg emissions to both the atmosphere and freshwater systems globally. Previous studies have demonstrated the impacts of Hg accumulation on various aquatic ecosystems and organisms. However, its consequences in other, more discrete systems such as phytotelmata (water-holding plant structures), and the organisms therein, have so far gone unnoticed. Here, we show high concentrations of Hg (mean ± SD: 1.43 ± 2.19 ppm) in phytotelmata and other small pools, the aquatic microenvironments used by the Neotropical poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius as tadpole-rearing sites. In 17 % of the cases, we detected Hg concentrations above the severe effect level (SEL = 2 ppm) for freshwater sediments. Hg concentrations varied depending on pool characteristics and tended to increase in proximity to known ASGM sites. We did not find an effect of Hg concentration on the number of D. tinctorius tadpoles in a given pool. Tadpoles were found in pools with concentrations of up to 8.68 ppm, suggesting that D. tinctorius fathers do not avoid pools with high Hg levels for tadpole deposition. While further research is needed to determine the potential effects of Hg on tadpole development, we found an intriguing tendency for tadpoles in later developmental stages to have lower body condition when occurring in pools with higher Hg concentrations. Our findings provide evidence of relevant Hg concentrations in the terrestrial water systems used by phytotelm-breeding anurans, and highlight the need of further field and experimental studies investigating the implications of Hg contamination for tadpole development and behaviour and the overall conservation of Amazonian biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lia Schlippe-Justicia
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Jérémy Lemaire
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030 Vienna, Austria
| | - Carolin Dittrich
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria; University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Martin Mayer
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Anne Evenstads Vei 80, 2480 Koppang, Norway; Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Nordre Ringgade 1, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000 La Rochelle, France
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstraße 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria; University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
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Ferro M, Dias PHDS, Kaefer IL, Ferreira AS, Tavares-Pinheiro R, Freitas AP, Costa-Campos CE. Tadpoles of the dyeing poison dart frog Dendrobates tinctorius (Cuvier, 1797) from eastern Amazonia. Zootaxa 2024; 5399:446-450. [PMID: 38221144 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5399.4.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Miquias Ferro
- Museum of Comparative Zoology; Harvard University; Cambridge; Massachusetts; United States of America; Programa de Ps-Graduao em Biodiversidade Animal; Instituto de Cincias Biolgicas; Universidade Federal de Gois; Goinia; Gois; Brazil; Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservao de Rpteis e Anfbios; Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservao da Biodiversidade; Goinia; Gois; Brazil.
| | - Pedro Henrique Dos Santos Dias
- Leibniz Institut zur Analyse des Biodiversittswandels; Zoologisches Museum Hamburg; Martin-Luther-King-Platz; Hamburg; Germany.
| | - Igor L Kaefer
- Instituto de Cincias Biolgicas; Universidade Federal do Amazonas; Manaus; Amazonas; Brazil.
| | - Anthony Santana Ferreira
- Coordenao de Biodiversidade; Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amaznia; Manaus; Amazonas; Brazil.
| | - Rodrigo Tavares-Pinheiro
- Laboratrio de Herpetologia; Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas e da Sade; Universidade Federal do Amap; Macap; Brazil.
| | - Abdiel Pinheiro Freitas
- Laboratrio de Herpetologia; Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas e da Sade; Universidade Federal do Amap; Macap; Brazil.
| | - Carlos Eduardo Costa-Campos
- Laboratrio de Herpetologia; Departamento de Cincias Biolgicas e da Sade; Universidade Federal do Amap; Macap; Brazil.
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Anderson NK, Preininger D, Fuxjager MJ. Comment on 'Parasite defensive limb movements enhance acoustic signal attraction in male little torrent frogs'. eLife 2023; 12:e89134. [PMID: 37812202 PMCID: PMC10561974 DOI: 10.7554/elife.89134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Zhao et al. recently reported results which, they claim, suggest that sexual selection produces the multimodal displays seen in little torrent frogs (Amolops torrentis) by co-opting limb movements that originally evolved to support parasite defense (Zhao et al., 2022). Here, we explain why we believe this conclusion to be premature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nigel K Anderson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown UniversityProvidenceUnited States
| | - Doris Preininger
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Vienna ZooViennaAustria
| | - Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown UniversityProvidenceUnited States
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Pašukonis A, Serrano-Rojas SJ, Fischer MT, Loretto MC, Shaykevich DA, Rojas B, Ringler M, Roland AB, Marcillo-Lara A, Ringler E, Rodríguez C, Coloma LA, O'Connell LA. Contrasting parental roles shape sex differences in poison frog space use but not navigational performance. eLife 2022; 11:e80483. [PMID: 36377473 PMCID: PMC9665844 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex differences in vertebrate spatial abilities are typically interpreted under the adaptive specialization hypothesis, which posits that male reproductive success is linked to larger home ranges and better navigational skills. The androgen spillover hypothesis counters that enhanced male spatial performance may be a byproduct of higher androgen levels. Animal groups that include species where females are expected to outperform males based on life-history traits are key for disentangling these hypotheses. We investigated the association between sex differences in reproductive strategies, spatial behavior, and androgen levels in three species of poison frogs. We tracked individuals in natural environments to show that contrasting parental sex roles shape sex differences in space use, where the sex performing parental duties shows wider-ranging movements. We then translocated frogs from their home areas to test their navigational performance and found that the caring sex outperformed the non-caring sex only in one out of three species. In addition, males across species displayed more explorative behavior than females and androgen levels correlated with explorative behavior and homing accuracy. Overall, we reveal that poison frog reproductive strategies shape movement patterns but not necessarily navigational performance. Together this work suggests that prevailing adaptive hypotheses provide an incomplete explanation of sex differences in spatial abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrius Pašukonis
- Institute of Biosciences, Vilnius University Life Sciences CenterVilniusLithuania
- CEFE, Univ MontpellierMontpellierFrance
- Department of Biology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Shirley Jennifer Serrano-Rojas
- Department of Biology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del CuscoCuscoPeru
| | | | - Matthias-Claudio Loretto
- Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management, Hans-Carl-von-Carlowitz-PlatzFreisingGermany
- Berchtesgaden National Park, DoktorbergBerchtesgadenGermany
| | | | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
| | - Max Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
- Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts GrazGrazAustria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Alexandre B Roland
- Research Center on Animal Cognition, Center for Integrative Biology, CNRS - Paul Sabatier UniversityToulouseFrance
| | - Alejandro Marcillo-Lara
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State UniversityStillwaterUnited States
- Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de AnfibiosQuitoEcuador
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of BernHinterkappelenSwitzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Camilo Rodríguez
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Luis A Coloma
- Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de AnfibiosQuitoEcuador
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Betancourth-Cundar M, Palacios-Rodriguez P. Reproductive behaviors promote ecological and phenotypic sexual differentiation in the critically endangered Lehmann’s poison frog. Evol Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-022-10207-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractTerritoriality and parental care are complex reproductive behaviors found in many taxa from insects to mammals. Parental care can be carried out by the female, the male, or both, depending on the species. Territoriality, in contrast, is predominantly displayed by males. Different selective pressures imposed on individuals from the sex performing territorial or parental care behaviors may also lead to sexual differentiation in other life-history traits. Due to their territorial behavior and their diversity of parental care behaviors, Neotropical poison frogs are an excellent study system to investigate whether behavioral traits can influence sexual differentiation in intrinsic or extrinsic traits of individuals. Here, we evaluate whether territorial and parental care behaviors mediate sexual differentiation in ecological (habitat use) and phenotypic (coloration, morphology) traits in the critically endangered Lehmann’s poison frog (Oophaga lehmanni), a species in which males defend territories while females provide parental care. We found sex differences in habitat use and morphological traits, but not in coloration. Males use trunks and green leaves as perches more frequently and are found on higher substrates, than females. We found no sex differences in body size, but females have longer arms than males, which is probably associated with their parental duties (climbing trees to feed the tadpoles). Altogether, our results provide evidence that selection pressures act differently on male and female traits, and that territoriality and parental care may promote the evolution of sexual differentiation in dendrobatids. Long-term wildlife observations are essential to identify important life-history traits and to evaluate hypotheses about the behavioral ecology and conservation of this and other vertebrate species.
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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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Peignier M, Araya-Ajoy YG, Bégué L, Chaloupka S, Dellefont K, Leeb C, Walsh P, Ringler M, Ringler E. Exploring links between personality traits and their social and non-social environments in wild poison frogs. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022; 76:93. [PMID: 38989132 PMCID: PMC7616156 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03202-9] [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: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
An animal's behavioral phenotype comprises several traits, which are hierarchically structured in functional units. This is manifested in measured behaviors often being correlated, partly reflecting the need of a coordinated functional response. Unfortunately, we still have limited understanding whether consistent differences in animal behaviors are due to underlying physiological constraints or a result of plastic adaptation to their current environment. Therefore, characterizing the spatial distribution of behaviors can provide important insights into causes and consequences of behavioral variation. In the present study, we quantified behaviors in a wild, free-ranging population of the Neotropical frog Allobates femoralis. We investigated how these behaviors were linked to the frogs' natural and social environment and quantified the extent to which these behaviors consistently differed among individuals (i.e., animal personality). We assessed levels of aggressiveness, exploration, and boldness by measuring several underlying behaviors expressed in a set of experimental assays, and found evidence for consistent among-individual differences along these axes. Contrary to our expectation, there was no relationship between individual behaviors and their natural environment, but we found a plastic response of males to changes in female density, which might reflect how individuals cope with their socio-ecological environment. Significance statement How are behavioral phenotypes distributed across space? Here, we studied an entire free-ranging population of poison frogs, and investigated if the personality traits aggressiveness, exploration, and boldness are linked to the frogs' natural or social environment. We found that behavioral traits were non-randomly distributed across the population, suggesting that the spatial arrangement of behavioral traits reflects how individuals cope with their complex natural and social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Peignier
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, CH-3032Hinterkappelen, Bern, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yimen G. Araya-Ajoy
- Department of Biology, Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Lauriane Bégué
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Biology and Ecology, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - Sarah Chaloupka
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Katharina Dellefont
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christoph Leeb
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Mainz, Germany
- Central Research Laboratories, Natural History Museum Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patrick Walsh
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Max Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, CH-3032Hinterkappelen, Bern, Switzerland
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, CH-3032Hinterkappelen, Bern, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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10
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Cavalcanti IRDS, Luna MC, Faivovich J, Grant T. Structure and evolution of the sexually dimorphic integumentary swelling on the hands of dendrobatid poison frogs and their relatives (Amphibia: Anura: Dendrobatoidea). J Anat 2021; 240:447-465. [PMID: 34755350 PMCID: PMC8819055 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The hands of adult males of many dendrobatid poison frogs and their relatives possess swelling formed by glandular tissue hypothesized to secrete courtship pheromones delivered to the female during cephalic amplexus. Variation in the occurrence and external morphology of the swelling of finger IV has provided important evidence for dendrobatoid systematics for decades, but its underlying structure has not been investigated. We undertook a detailed comparative analysis of the integument of the hand, including both external morphology and histology, of 36 species representing the diversity of dendrobatoid frogs and several close relatives. The swelling is caused by four densely packed, hypertrophic, morpho-histochemical types of specialized mucous glands (SMGs). We observed type I SMGs on fingers II-V and the wrist, including areas that are not swollen, types II and IV exclusively on finger IV, and type III on finger IV and the wrist. Type I SMGs occur either in isolation or together with types II, III, or IV; types II, III, and IV never occur together or without type I. We delimited 15 characters to account for the variation in external morphology and the occurrence of SMGs. Our data suggest that type I SMGs are a new synapomorphy for Dendrobatoidea and that type II SMGs originated in either the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of Dendrobatidae or independently in the MRCAs of Aromobatidae and Colostethinae, respectively, while types III and IV are restricted to Anomaloglossus. The discovery of these SMGs adds a new dimension to studies of poison frog reproductive biology, which have investigated acoustic, visual, and tactile cues in courtship, mating, and parental care across the diversity of Dendrobatoidea for decades but have almost entirely overlooked the possible role of chemical cues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - María Celeste Luna
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Julián Faivovich
- División Herpetología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia' - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Taran Grant
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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11
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Carvajal-Castro JD, Vargas-Salinas F, Casas-Cardona S, Rojas B, Santos JC. Aposematism facilitates the diversification of parental care strategies in poison frogs. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19047. [PMID: 34561489 PMCID: PMC8463664 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97206-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many organisms have evolved adaptations to increase the odds of survival of their offspring. Parental care has evolved several times in animals including ectotherms. In amphibians, ~ 10% of species exhibit parental care. Among these, poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well-known for their extensive care, which includes egg guarding, larval transport, and specialized tadpole provisioning with trophic eggs. At least one third of dendrobatids displaying aposematism by exhibiting warning coloration that informs potential predators about the presence of defensive skin toxins. Aposematism has a central role in poison frog diversification, including diet specialization, and visual and acoustic communication; and it is thought to have impacted their reproductive biology as well. We tested the latter association using multivariate phylogenetic methods at the family level. Our results show complex relationships between aposematism and certain aspects of the reproductive biology in dendrobatids. In particular, aposematic species tend to use more specialized tadpole-deposition sites, such as phytotelmata, and ferry fewer tadpoles than non-aposematic species. We propose that aposematism may have facilitated the diversification of microhabitat use in dendrobatids in the context of reproduction. Furthermore, the use of resource-limited tadpole-deposition environments may have evolved in tandem with an optimal reproductive strategy characterized by few offspring, biparental care, and female provisioning of food in the form of unfertilized eggs. We also found that in phytotelm-breeders, the rate of transition from cryptic to aposematic phenotype is 17 to 19 times higher than vice versa. Therefore, we infer that the aposematism in dendrobatids might serve as an umbrella trait for the evolution and maintenance of their complex offspring-caring activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D Carvajal-Castro
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Jamaica-Queens, NY, USA.
- Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia.
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Santiago Casas-Cardona
- Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Juan C Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Jamaica-Queens, NY, USA
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12
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Fouilloux CA, Serrano Rojas SJ, Carvajal‐Castro JD, Valkonen JK, Gaucher P, Fischer M, Pašukonis A, Rojas B. Pool choice in a vertical landscape: Tadpole-rearing site flexibility in phytotelm-breeding frogs. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:9021-9038. [PMID: 34257942 PMCID: PMC8258215 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species: Osteocephalus oophagus, an arboreal frog that periodically feeds eggs to its tadpoles; Dendrobates tinctorius, a tadpole-transporting poison frog with cannibalistic tadpoles; and Allobates femoralis, a terrestrial tadpole-transporting poison frog with omnivorous tadpoles. We found that D. tinctorius occupies pools across the chemical and vertical gradient, whereas A. femoralis and O. oophagus appear to have narrower deposition options that are restricted primarily by pool height, water capacity, alkalinity, and salinity. Dendrobates tinctorius tadpoles are particularly flexible and can survive in a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological conditions, whereas O. oophagus seems to prefer small, clear pools and A. femoralis occupies medium-sized pools with abundant leaf litter and low salinity. Together, these results show the possible niche partitioning of phytotelmata among frogs and provide insight into stressors and resilience of phytotelm breeders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe A. Fouilloux
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
| | | | - Juan David Carvajal‐Castro
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von HumboldtBogotáColombia
- Department of Biological SciencesSt. John’s UniversityQueensNYUSA
| | - Janne K. Valkonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
| | - Philippe Gaucher
- USR LEEISA—Laboratoire EcologieEvolution, Interactions des Systèmes AmazoniensCNRS‐GuyaneCayenneFrench Guiana
| | | | - Andrius Pašukonis
- Department of BiologyStanford UniversityStanfordCAUSA
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et EvolutiveCNRSMontpellier Cedex 5France
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskyläFinland
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13
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Fouilloux CA, Garcia-Costoya G, Rojas B. Visible implant elastomer (VIE) success in early larval stages of a tropical amphibian species. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9630. [PMID: 32864207 PMCID: PMC7425637 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9630] [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: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, and being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (banding, collars, PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with complex life cycles are notoriously hard to mark because of the distortion or loss of the tag across metamorphosis. In amphibians, few studies have attempted larval tagging and none have been conducted on a tropical species. Here, we present the first successful account of VIE tagging in early larval stages (Gosner stage 25) of the dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) coupled with a novel anesthetic (2-PHE) application for tadpoles that does not require buffering. Mean weight of individuals at time of tagging was 0.12 g, which is the smallest and developmentally youngest anuran larvae tagged to date. We report 81% tag detection over the first month of development, as well as the persistence of tags across metamorphosis in this species. Cumulative tag retention vs tag observation differed by approximately 15% across larval development demonstrating that "lost" tags can be found later in development. Tagging had no effect on tadpole growth rate or survival. Successful application of VIE tags on D. tinctorius tadpoles introduces a new method that can be applied to better understand early life development and dispersal in various tropical species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe A Fouilloux
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | | | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
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14
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Schulte LM, Ringler E, Rojas B, Stynoski JL. Developments in Amphibian Parental Care Research: History, Present Advances, and Future Perspectives. HERPETOLOGICAL MONOGRAPH 2020; 34:71-97. [PMID: 38989507 PMCID: PMC7616153 DOI: 10.1655/herpmonographs-d-19-00002.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Despite rising interest among scientists for over two centuries, parental care behavior has not been as thoroughly studied in amphibians as it has in other taxa. The first reports of amphibian parental care date from the early 18th century, when Maria Sibylla Merian went on a field expedition in Suriname and reported frog metamorphs emerging from their mother's dorsal skin. Reports of this and other parental behaviors in amphibians remained descriptive for decades, often as side notes during expeditions with another purpose. However, since the 1980s, experimental approaches have proliferated, providing detailed knowledge about the adaptive value of observed behaviors. Today, we recognize more than 30 types of parental care in amphibians, but most studies focus on just a few families and have favored anurans over urodeles and caecilians. Here, we provide a synthesis of the last three centuries of parental care research in the three orders comprising the amphibians. We draw attention to the progress from the very first descriptions to the most recent experimental studies, and highlight the importance of natural history observations as a source of new hypotheses and necessary context to interpret experimental findings. We encourage amphibian parental care researchers to diversify their study systems to allow for a more comprehensive perspective of the behaviors that amphibians exhibit. Finally, we uncover knowledge gaps and suggest new avenues of research using a variety of disciplines and approaches that will allow us to better understand the function and evolution of parental care behaviors in this diverse group of animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa M. Schulte
- Goethe University Frankfurt, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 13, 60438Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Eva Ringler
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, Veterinaerplatz 1, A-1210Vienna, Austria
- University of Vienna, Department of Integrative Zoology, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090Vienna, Austria
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, P.O. Box 35, 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Jennifer L. Stynoski
- Colorado State University, Department of Biology, 200 W. Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO, 48823USA
- Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Universidad de Costa Rica, Dulce Nombre de Coronado, San José, Costa Rica
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15
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Fischer EK, O'Connell LA. Hormonal and neural correlates of care in active versus observing poison frog parents. Horm Behav 2020; 120:104696. [PMID: 31987899 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The occasional reversal of sex-typical behavior suggests that many of the neural circuits underlying behavior are conserved between males and females and can be activated in response to the appropriate social condition or stimulus. Most poison frog species (Family Dendrobatidae) exhibit male uniparental care, but flexible compensation has been observed in some species, where females will take over parental care duties when males disappear. We investigated hormonal and neural correlates of sex-typical and sex-reversed parental care in a typically male uniparental species, the Dyeing Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius). We first characterized hormone levels and whole brain gene expression across parental care stages during sex-typical care. Surprisingly, hormonal changes and brain gene expression differences associated with active parental behavior in males were mirrored in their non-caregiving female partners. To further explore the disconnect between neuroendocrine patterns and behavior, we characterized hormone levels and neural activity patterns in females performing sex-reversed parental care. In contrast to hormone and gene expression patterns, we found that patterns of neural activity were linked to the active performance of parental behavior, with sex-reversed tadpole transporting females exhibiting neural activity patterns more similar to those of transporting males than non-caregiving females. We suggest that parallels in hormones and brain gene expression in active and observing parents are related to females' ability to flexibly take over parental care in the absence of their male partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva K Fischer
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
| | - Lauren A O'Connell
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America.
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16
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Carvajal-Castro JD, López-Aguirre Y, Ospina-L AM, Santos JC, Rojas B, Vargas-Salinas F. Much more than a clasp: evolutionary patterns of amplexus diversity in anurans. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe evolution and diversification of animal reproductive modes have been pivotal questions in behavioural ecology. Amphibians present the highest diversity of reproductive modes among vertebrates, involving various behavioural, physiological and morphological traits. One such feature is the amplexus, which is the clasp or embrace of males on females during reproduction and is found almost universally in anurans. Hypotheses about the origin of amplexus are limited and have not been tested thoroughly, nor have they taken into account evolutionary relationships in most comparative studies. However, these considerations are crucial to an understanding of the evolution of reproductive modes. Here, using an evolutionary framework, we reconstruct the ancestral state of amplexus in 685 anuran species. We investigate whether the type of amplexus has a strong phylogenetic signal and test whether sexual size dimorphism could have influenced amplexus type or male performance while clasping females. Overall, we found evidence of ≥34 evolutionary transitions in amplexus type across anurans. We found that amplexus type exhibits a high phylogenetic signal and that amplexus type does not evolve in association with sexual size dimorphism. We discuss the implications of our findings for the diversity of amplexus types across anurans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan D Carvajal-Castro
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva and Bogotá DC, Colombia
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Yelenny López-Aguirre
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Ana María Ospina-L
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva and Bogotá DC, Colombia
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
| | - Juan C Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John’s University, Queens, NY, USA
| | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- Grupo de Investigación en Evolución, Ecología y Conservación (EECO), Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia
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Pašukonis A, Loretto MC, Rojas B. How far do tadpoles travel in the rainforest? Parent-assisted dispersal in poison frogs. Evol Ecol 2019; 33:613-623. [PMID: 31404198 PMCID: PMC6647546 DOI: 10.1007/s10682-019-09994-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Parents can influence offspring dispersal through breeding site selection, competition, or by directly moving their offspring during parental care. Many animals move their young, but the potential role of this behavior in dispersal has rarely been investigated. Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are well known for shuttling their tadpoles from land to water, but the associated movements have rarely been quantified and the potential function of tadpole transport in dispersal has not been addressed. We used miniature radio-transmitters to track the movements of two poison frog species during tadpole transport, and surveyed pool availability in the study area. We found that parental males move farther than expected by the distance to the nearest pool and spread their offspring across multiple pools. We argue that these movement patterns cannot be fully explained by pool quality and availability, and suggest that adaptive benefits related to offspring dispersal also shape the spatial behavior of parental frogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrius Pašukonis
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Bibiana Rojas
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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