Sexual size dimorphism is not associated with the evolution of parental care in frogs

Monroe, Melanie J.; Alonzo, Suzanne H.

doi:10.1002/ece3.1263

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…Moreover, trophic egg feeding is also associated with reduced egg size (electronic supplementary material, table S6), implying that mothers may reduce the cost of egg production using this type of nourishment. Finally, the evolutionary relationship between male care and size dimorphism has been debated [32][33][34], and our results using fine-scaled care variables, multi-predictor models and more extensive taxonomic coverage than previous studies, confirm that male care is associated with SSD [44]. We suggest two mutually non-exclusive explanations for the increased male size (relative to female size) with the extent of male care.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Parental care and the evolution of terrestriality in frogs

et al. 2019

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Frogs and toads (Anura) exhibit some of the most diverse parental strategies in vertebrates. Identifying the evolutionary origins of parenting is fundamental to understanding the relationships between sexual selection, social evolution and parental care systems of contemporary Anura. Moreover, parenting has been hypothesized to allow the invasion of terrestrial habitats by the ancestors of terrestrial vertebrates. Using comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of frogs and toads based on data from over 1000 species that represent 46 out of 55 Anura families, we test whether parental care is associated with terrestrial reproduction and several life-history traits. Here, we show that both the duration of care and offspring protection by males and females have coevolved with terrestrial reproduction. Sexual size dimorphism is also related to care, because the large male size relative to female size is associated with increased paternal care. Furthermore, increased egg size and reduced clutch volume are associated with increased care in bivariate but not in multivariate analyses, suggesting that the relationships between care, egg size and clutch volume are mediated by terrestrial reproduction. Taken together, our results suggest that parenting by males and females has coevolved, and complex parenting traits have evolved several times independently in Anura in response to breeding in terrestrial environments.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Parental care and the evolution of terrestriality in frogs

et al. 2019

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“…Differences between the sexes may arise as a result of sexual selection (Hedrick and Temeles, 1989) and result in differences in body size (Woolbright, 1983) and other morphological traits (Desjardins and Fernald, 2009). As the energetic cost of gamete production strongly differs between the sexes, this often results in differences in body size and life-history traits (Monroe and Alonzo, 2014). Moreover, exploration behavior may also be different in males and females because of the association between male exploration and territorial aggressiveness, as has been shown in birds and fish (Carere et al, 2005;Brown et al, 2007;Dzieweczynski and Crovo, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual differences in exploration behavior inXenopus tropicalis?

Videlier¹,

Cornette²,

Bonneaud

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The two sexes of a species often differ in many ways. How sexes differ depends on the selective context, with females often investing more in reproductive output and males in territory defense and resource acquisition. This also implies that behavioral strategies may differ between the two sexes, allowing them to optimize their fitness in a given ecological context. Here, we investigated whether males and females differ in their exploration behavior in an aquatic frog (Xenopus tropicalis). Moreover, we explored whether females show different behavioral strategies in the exploration of a novel environment as has been demonstrated previously for males of the same species. Our results show significant sex differences, with males exploring their environment more than females. Yet, similar to males, female exploratory behavior varied significantly among individuals and broadly fell into three categories: shy, intermediate and bold. Moreover, like in males, behavioral strategies are decoupled from morphology and performance. Our results suggest that females are more sedentary than males, with males engaging in greater risk taking by exploring novel environments more. Male and female behaviors could, however, be classified into similar groups, with some individuals being bolder than others and displaying more exploration behavior. The decoupling of morphology and performance from behavior appears to be a general feature in the species and may allow selection to act on both types of traits independently.

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“…Differences between sexes may arise as a result of sexual selection (Hedrick & Temeles, 1989) and result in differences in body size (Woolbright, 1983) and other morphological traits (Desjardins & Fernald, 2009). As the energetic cost of gamete production differs between the sexes, this often results in differences in body size and life-history traits (Monroe & Alonzo, 2014). Changes in exploratory trait values and aggressiveness have been shown to occur in the male sex in birds and fish, as well as in male (and less often female) fruit flies (Chen, Lee, Bowens, Huber, & Kravitz, 2002;Sturtevant, 1915).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ontogeny of personality traits in the desert funnel‐web spider, Agelenopsis lisa (Araneae: Agelenidae)

2017

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Trait consistency over time is one of the cornerstones of animal personality. Behavioral syndromes are the result of correlations between behaviors. While repeatability in behavior is not a requirement for behavioral syndromes, the two concepts studied together provide a more comprehensive understanding of how behavior can change over ontogeny. The roles of ontogenetic processes in the emergence of personality and behavioral syndromes have received much individual attention. However, the characterization of both individual trait consistency and behavioral syndromes across both sexes, as in our study, has been relatively rare. Ontogeny refers to changes that occur from conception to maturation, and juveniles might be expected to undergo different selection pressures than sexually mature individuals and also will experience profound changes in hormones, morphology, and environment during this period. In this study, we test for behavioral trait consistency and behavioral syndromes across six time points during ontogenetic development in the desert funnel‐web spider (Agelenopsis lisa). Our results indicate behavioral traits generally lack consistency (repeatability) within life stages and across ontogeny. However, penultimate males and mature females do exhibit noticeable mean‐level changes, with greater aggressive responses toward prey, shorter latencies to explore their environment and in the exhibition of risk‐averse responses to predatory cues. These traits also show high repeatability. Some trait correlations do exist as well. In particular, a strong correlation between aggressiveness toward prey and exploration factors is observed in mature males. However, because correlations among these factors are unstable across ontogeny and vary in strength over time, we conclude that behavioral syndromes do not exist in this species. Nevertheless, our results indicate that increased consistency, increasing average trait values, and varying correlations between traits may coincide with developmentally important changes associated with sexual maturation, albeit at different time points in males and females. This period of the life cycle merits systematic examination across taxa.

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Sexual size dimorphism is not associated with the evolution of parental care in frogs

Cited by 8 publications

References 42 publications

Parental care and the evolution of terrestriality in frogs

Parental care and the evolution of terrestriality in frogs

Sexual differences in exploration behavior inXenopus tropicalis?

The ontogeny of personality traits in the desert funnel‐web spider, Agelenopsis lisa (Araneae: Agelenidae)

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