Sexual compatibility between two heterochronic morphs in the Alpine newt, Triturus alpestris

Denoël, Mathieu; Poncin, Pascal; Ruwet, Jean-Claude

doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1793

Cited by 41 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…Our results suggest that body size should not be assumed to be the primary fitness determinant in polymorphic salamanders; a reliance on the Wilbur and Collins (1973) optimality model leads to such an assumption. Models of metamorphic timing that consider the relative costs and benefits of aquatic versus terrestrial survival (Werner 1986) and developmental flexibility (Leips and Travis 1994) may be informative to understanding the ecology and evolution of polymorphic life-cycles given that a complex and diverse set of factors, many of which are independent of body size, are important in life-cycle expression; e.g., courtship patterns (Denoël et al 2001), sex-specific payoffs (Whiteman 1997;Winne and Ryan 2001), physiology (Ryan and Hopkins 2000;Boorse and Denver 2002;Currens et al 2002), genetic factors (Semlitsch et al 1990;Voss et al 2003), and spatio-temporal variation in habitat quality (Ryan and Semlitsch 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hatching asynchrony, survival, and the fitness of alternative adult morphs in Ambystoma talpoideum

Ryan

Plague

2004

Oecologia

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The mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum, exhibits both aquatic (gilled) and terrestrial (metamorphosed) adult morphologies. Previous studies have shown the existence of body-size advantages associated with the terrestrial morph in A. talpoideum and other polymorphic salamanders (e.g., A. tigrinum). However, aquatic adult A. talpoideum mature at a younger age and often breed earlier than terrestrial adults. We tested the hypothesis that early maturation and reproduction in aquatic adults increase fitness (irrespective of body size). We reared larval A. talpoideum in mesocosms and varied the timing of hatching, with early-hatching larvae representing the offspring from early-breeding aquatic adults, and late-hatching larvae representing the offspring of later-breeding terrestrial adults. Our results demonstrate significantly higher survival rates among early-hatchlings relative to late-hatching conspecifics, supporting the hypothesis that early reproduction may be an important mechanism mediating the polymorphism in A. talpoideum. We discuss our results within the context of size-based models of the fitness of alternative life-cycles.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hatching asynchrony, survival, and the fitness of alternative adult morphs in Ambystoma talpoideum

Ryan

Plague

2004

Oecologia

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“…After this display phase, the male may deposit a spermatophore on the substratum and the female may pick it up (Denoë l, 1996(Denoë l, , 2000(Denoë l, , 2003bHalliday, 1977). Males also may exhibit alternative mating tactics: they may attract unresponsive females at the time of spermatophore transfer by using luring movements (Denoë l, 2002;Denoë l et al, 2001a), and they may interfere with a courting pair by displaying and inseminating the female (Denoë l, 2003a;Verrell, 1988). In natural conditions, although isolated dyadic male-female encounters are frequent, the typical breeding system of the Alpine newt is male-biased with several males at the vicinity of courting pairs (Denoë l, 1996; M. Denoë l, personal observations).…”

Section: Reproductive Behavior Of Alpine Newtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because newts were caught before their entrance into the pond, they had not yet reproduced that year. All newts that were caught were mature individuals (swollen cloacae in males; grooved cloacae in females: Denoë l et al, 2001b). The specimens were carried directly to the laboratory (20 min drive) after their capture.…”

Section: Sampling and Laboratory Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…As response index of females affects behavior of males (Denoë l, 2002;Denoë l et al, 2001aDenoë l et al, , 2005; this study), this trait was used as covariate in MANCOVA analyses to control it in testing for an effect of OSR. To achieve normality, proportions were transformed by arcsine, other continuous data by log transformation, and counts by square-root þ 0.5 transformation before we calculated the parametric significance tests.…”

Section: Statistical Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It may be expected that newts have developed alternative mating tactics to prevent sexual interference not only when rivals interact, but also when they are in close proximity. In such a situation, remaining close to interfering males or using luring tactics may be risky because the courting males may lose the courted female and his investment in terms of displaying time and spermatophore production (Denoë l et al, 2001a;Denoë l, 2003a). The effect of OSR on pre-contact behavior of female newts also is not known because all previous experiments allowed direct contact between the courting pairs and rivals (Denoë l, 2003a;Verrell, 1984cVerrell, , 1988.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Courtship Behavior in the Alpine Newt Triturus Alpestris at Two Different Densities of Males

Denoël¹,

Hector²,

Poncin³

2005

Herpetologica

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The aim of this laboratory experiment was to examine courtship behavior and reproductive success under two different perceived male densities in the Alpine newt (Triturus alpestris). Male behavioral patterns were similar at unbiased and male-biased operational sex ratios (OSR). Although the exhibition of luring behaviors is risky in the presence of other males, no difference in the frequencies of displays was found at the two male densities. Similarly, the responsiveness of females towards males and the success rate of the encounters (i.e., spermatophore transfer) were not explained by the OSR. Our results show that courting Alpine newts do not change their courtship patterns when other males are present and do not interact directly. However they are not necessarily opposed to those of previous experiments showing sexual interference and female aversion in male-biased OSR with possibility of interactions. These observations suggest that the evolution of courtship behavior may not be driven by the risk of sexual interference with other males prior to potential physical contact and that the benefits of breeding regardless of OSR can overcome the risk of competition at male-biased OSR.

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Trophic specialisations in alternative heterochronic morphs

Denoël

Schabetsberger

Joly

2004

Naturwissenschaften

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Polymorphisms are suspected of reducing competition among conspecifics in heterogeneous environments by allowing differential resource use. However the adaptive significance of alternative morphs has been poorly documented. The aim of this study is to determine food partitioning of two heterochronic morphs of the Alpine newt, Triturus alpestris, in mountain lakes. The morphs differ in the functional morphology of their feeding apparatus. Only paedomorphs are able to expel water during prey suction behind the mouth through gill slits. We observed a substantial trophic differentiation between morphs in all lakes. Paedomorphs preyed mainly on plankton, whereas metamorphs foraged on terrestrial invertebrates that fell upon the water surface. This resource partitioning may facilitate the coexistence of the alternative morphs in lakes devoid of vertebrate competitors. Food diversity may thus favour the evolutionary maintenance of facultative polymorphism in natural populations.

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Sexual compatibility between two heterochronic morphs in the Alpine newt, Triturus alpestris

Cited by 41 publications

References 41 publications

Hatching asynchrony, survival, and the fitness of alternative adult morphs in Ambystoma talpoideum

Hatching asynchrony, survival, and the fitness of alternative adult morphs in Ambystoma talpoideum

Courtship Behavior in the Alpine Newt Triturus Alpestris at Two Different Densities of Males

Trophic specialisations in alternative heterochronic morphs

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