Communal Oviposition and Lack of Parental Care in Batrachoseps nigriventris (Caudata: Plethodontidae) with a Discussion of the Evolution of Breeding Behavior in Plethodontid Salamanders

Jockusch, Elizabeth L.; Mahoney, Meredith J.

doi:10.2307/1447288

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Clusters took an average of 40.7-44.9 days to hatch at 17.5°C (compared to 48.4 days for eggs laid in the lab), indicating that they were collected early in development. These clusters contained 25-120 eggs and were estimated to represent a total of 35 clutches (Jockusch and Mahoney 1997). Additional data came from 18 clutches obtained in the lab.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF NUMBER OF TRUNK VERTEBRAE IN SLENDER SALAMANDERS, BATRACHOSEPS (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE)

Jockusch

1997

Evolution

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To understand the evolutionary significance of geographic variation, one must identify the factors that generate phenotypic differences among populations. I examined the causes of geographic variation in and evolutionary history of number of trunk vertebrae in slender salamanders, Batrachoseps (Caudata: Plethodontidae). Number of trunk vertebrae varies at many taxonomic levels within Batrachoseps. Parallel clines in number occur along an environmental gradient in three lineages in the Coast Ranges of California. These parallel clines may signal either adaptation or a shared phenotypically plastic response to the environmental gradient. By raising eggs from 10 populations representing four species of Batrachoseps, I demonstrated that number of trunk vertebrae can be altered by the developmental temperature; however, the degree of plasticity is insufficient to account for geographic variation. Thus, the geographic variation results largely from genetic variation. Number of trunk vertebrae covaries with body size and shape in diverse vertebrate taxa, including Batrachoseps. I hypothesize that selection for different degrees of elongation, possibly related to fossoriality, has led to the extensive evolution of number of trunk vertebrae in Batrachoseps. Analysis of intrapopulational variation revealed sexual dimorphism in both body shape and number of trunk vertebrae, but no correlation between these variables in either sex. Females are more elongate than males, a pattern that has been attributed to fecundity selection in other taxa. Patterns of covariation among different classes of vertebrae suggest that some intrapopulational variation in number results from changes in vertebral identity rather than changes in segmentation.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF NUMBER OF TRUNK VERTEBRAE IN SLENDER SALAMANDERS, BATRACHOSEPS (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE)

Jockusch

1997

Evolution

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“…They are secretive organisms, and all are at least subfossorial. Communal oviposition is documented in B. gregarius , and may also occur in other species (Jockusch & Mahoney, 1997). Although Batrachoseps occurs in highly diverse habitats (from rainforests to deserts), it is dependent on moisture and it is restricted to favourable microhabitats or to seasonally limited surface activity, especially in arid regions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Falling apart and merging: diversification of slender salamanders (Plethodontidae: Batrachoseps) in the American West

2002

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The plethodontid genus Batrachoseps, the slender salamanders, is the most diverse clade of salamanders in western North America, but it has posed taxonomic difficulties because it contains many morphologically cryptic species. A segment of the mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome b was studied for 278 individuals densely sampled from throughout the range of all 18 described species and several undescribed species. Phylogenetic analyses of the mtDNA data identify six major clades, one corresponding to the subgenus Plethopsis and five within a monophyletic subgenus Batrachoseps. All major clades and most species within these clades display strong phylogeographic structuring. Comparisons of mtDNA and allozyme data show that several allozymically cohesive groups are not monophyletic with respect to mtDNA. We suggest that this phenomenon results from fragmentation of populations, divergence in allopatry, and then recontact and gradual merging of units caused predominantly by male‐mediated gene flow. The mtDNA offers evidence that populations were once more isolated than they are now, while the patterns of allozyme variation reflect recent and current interactions among populations. The complex patterns of morphological, allozymic and mtDNA variation associated with the constantly changing geological landscape give insight into the nature of processes responsible for species formation in Batrachoseps. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2002, 76, 361–391.

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“…However, some studies of insects have shown that group living can reduce the eVects of disease by allogrooming (Rosengaus et al 1998), enhanced production of antibiotic compounds that beneWt the organisms which produce them and others (Hughes et al 2002) and individuals receiving an immunizing dosage of the pathogen from other members of the group (Traniello et al 2002). Communal or joint nesting is a type of group living that is deWned as two or more females of the same species contributing eggs to the same nest, and is found in insects (Tallamy 1985;Eggert and Müller 1992), Wsh (Côté and Gross 1993), birds (Koenig and Mumme 1987;Koford et al 1990) and amphibians (Harris and Gill 1980;Harris et al 1995;Jockusch and Mahoney 1997). In one species of sunWsh, Lepomis macrochirus, communal nesting can reduce the intensity of fungal infection of embryos (Côté and Gross 1993), suggesting that communal nesting is selected for to minimize the negative eVects of pathogens on oVspring.…”

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Antifungal skin bacteria, embryonic survival, and communal nesting in four-toed salamanders, Hemidactylium scutatum

et al. 2008

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We examined a novel hypothesis for the maintenance of communal nesting in the salamander, Hemidactylium scutatum, namely that communal nests are more likely than solitary nests to be associated with cutaneous antifungal bacteria, which can inhibit fungal infections of embryos. A communal nest contains eggs of two or more females of the same species. The nesting behavior of H. scutatum females and survival of embryos were determined by frequent nest surveys at three ponds. For communal nests, embryonic survival tended to be higher and catastrophic nest failure was lower. Pure bacterial cultures of resident species were obtained from the salamanders' skins by swabbing and tested against a fungal pathogen of embryos (Mariannaea sp.) in laboratory assays. We found that 27% of females had skin bacteria inhibitory to Mariannaea sp. Communal nests were more likely to have at least one female with antifungal bacteria than were solitary nests. Using a culture-independent assay (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rRNA gene fragments), we found that bacterial species on females and embryos were more similar to each other than they were to bacterial species found in soil within the nest, suggesting that females transmitted skin bacteria to embryos. The presence of anti-Mariannaea skin bacteria identified from the laboratory assays did not prevent fungal presence in field nests. However, once a nest was visibly infected with fungi, presence of anti-Mariannaea bacteria was positively correlated with survival of embryos. Microbe transmission is usually thought to be a cost of group living, but communal nesting in H. scutatum may facilitate the transmission of antifungal bacteria to embryos.

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Communal Oviposition and Lack of Parental Care in Batrachoseps nigriventris (Caudata: Plethodontidae) with a Discussion of the Evolution of Breeding Behavior in Plethodontid Salamanders

Cited by 14 publications

References 21 publications

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF NUMBER OF TRUNK VERTEBRAE IN SLENDER SALAMANDERS, BATRACHOSEPS (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE)

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION AND PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY OF NUMBER OF TRUNK VERTEBRAE IN SLENDER SALAMANDERS, BATRACHOSEPS (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE)

Falling apart and merging: diversification of slender salamanders (Plethodontidae: Batrachoseps) in the American West

Antifungal skin bacteria, embryonic survival, and communal nesting in four-toed salamanders, Hemidactylium scutatum

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