Trophic specialisations in alternative heterochronic morphs

Denoël, Mathieu; Schabetsberger, Robert; Joly, Pierre

doi:10.1007/s00114-003-0492-6

Cited by 28 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In fact, Denoel [11] showed that paedomorphic Alpine newts were more successful in capturing three out of four elusive prey types [11]. Next to different capabilities for capturing elusive prey, also different prey preferences were found between morphs [11, 15]. Furthermore, it has been shown that paedomorphic and metamorphic Alpine newts from the same population partition their trophic habitats [14, 45].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Same but different: aquatic prey capture in paedomorphic and metamorphic Alpine newts

Heiss

Grell

2019

Zoological Lett

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Paedomorphosis describes the retention of larval characters in adult stages and is widespread amongst salamanders. Salamandrid newts exhibit facultative paedomorphosis, where paedomorphic and metamorphic adult forms coexist in the same population. Previous studies have shown that prey capture kinematics do not differ between paedomorphic and metamorphosed ambystomatid salamanders, despite diverging morphology and prey capture performance. It remained unclear, however, whether the stereotypy of prey capture kinematics across morphotypes is restricted to ambystomatids, or can be found in other salamander groups too. Here, we performed biplanar high-speed-recordings of the prey capture behavior in paedomorphic and metamorphic salamandrid newts and only found minor kinematic differences across morphotypes, suggesting that stereotypy across morphotypes is a more general feature within salamanders. We then compared anatomy of skull and hyobranchial skeleton, along with the physiological cross sectional area (PCSA) of the rectus cervicis muscle, the main muscle empowering suction feeding. Besides the overall morphological differences of the feeding apparatus, the PCSA of the rectus cervicis also differs significantly between morphotypes, being twice as large in paedomorphs. Accordingly, paedomorphs can exert more powerful suction strikes, which in turn may be one of the key factors why paedomorphs are more efficient in capturing elusive prey compared to metamorphs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If so, we would also expect higher flow rates in paedomorphs, resulting in higher peak velocities induced to the prey. Higher flow velocities induced by suction in paedomorphic Alpine newts could finally explain why they are more efficient in capturing elusive prey [11, 15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same but different: aquatic prey capture in paedomorphic and metamorphic Alpine newts

Heiss

Grell

2019

Zoological Lett

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“…This finding is not very surprising because the growth and life-history of newts (age at maturity, paedomorphosis vs. metamorphosis) rely on environmental factors that will vary across populations, such as temperature [18], drying risk [37], and food availability [38,39]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual size dimorphism in the evolutionary context of facultative paedomorphosis: insights from European newts

et al. 2009

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BackgroundSexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a key evolutionary feature that has been studied in many organisms. In a wide range of species, this pattern is more complex because of polymorphism within each sex. However, it is not known whether the magnitude and direction of SSD could be affected by alternative developmental trajectories within sexes. Our aim was to test whether an intrasexual polymorphism, facultative paedomorphosis (a process in which the development of somatic and gonadal tissues differs in alternative morphs), could affect SSD variation patterns in European newts.ResultsWe report here the first evidence that SSD varies depending on the paedomorphic or metamorphic ontogenetic pathway. In species with a consistent female-biased SSD, paedomorphosis decreased the SSD level, but did not affect its direction. In species with moderate female-biased SSD or variable SSD patterns, paedomorphosis changed the magnitude, or both the magnitude and the direction, of SSD.ConclusionOur study highlights the importance of developmental processes for shaping SSD patterns in populations in which contrasting life-history pathways evolved. European newts express different SSD patterns depending on their developmental pathway (i.e., metamorphosis versus paedomorphosis), as well as their species and population. These findings emphasize the importance of studying alternative morphotypes, which are found in a wide range of animal groups, to understand the evolution of SSD.

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“…low habitat heterogeneity; Skulason & Smith 1995). Indeed, the ability to exploit underused resources can lessen intraspecific competition and ultimately allow higher reproductive success, therefore accounting for the adaptiveness and long-term persistence of trophic polyphenisms in the same habitat (Bolnick, 2001;Denoël, Schabetsberger, & Joly, 2004;Schmidt, Bertness, & Rand, 2000). But such stable trophic polyphenisms are expected to be advantageous in conditions of high habitat heterogeneity (higher potential for niche availability and discordance; Skulason & Smith 1995;Wellborn & Langerhans 2015), as is the case with teleost and amphibian polyphenisms along the littoral-pelagic axis in lakes (Lejeune et al, 2018;Nosil & Reimchen, 2005;Recknagel et al, 2017;Smith & Skúlason, 1996;Wimberger, 1994).…”

Section: Progenesis As An Intrinsic Factor Of Ecological Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…low habitat heterogeneity; Skulason & Smith, 1995). Indeed, the ability to exploit underused resources can lessen intraspecific competition and ultimately allow higher reproductive success, therefore accounting for the adaptiveness and long-term persistence of trophic polyphenisms in the same habitat (Bolnick, 2001;Denoël et al, 2004;Schmidt et al, 2000).…”

Section: Progenesis As An Intrinsic Factor Of Ecological Opportunitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Progenesis as an intrinsic factor of ecological opportunity in a polyphenic amphibian

et al. 2020

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Paedomorphosis, a developmental heterochrony involving the retention of larval traits at the adult stage, is considered a major evolutionary process because it can generate phenotypic variation without requiring genetic modifications. Two main processes underlie paedomorphosis: neoteny, a slowdown of somatic development, and progenesis, a precocious maturation associated with body size reduction. Being essentially a truncation of ontogeny, progenesis has often been deemed an evolutionary dead end with advantages attributed to precocious reproduction or small body size required in specific environmental contexts (e.g. parasitism, interstitial life), but there is a lack of studies on the immediate ecological consequences of progenesis. Because body size is a key factor determining trophic ecology in animals, we hypothesized that progenesis might intrinsically promote ecological opportunity via body size reduction (i.e. ‘the trophic advantage of progenesis’ hypothesis). We tested this hypothesis in facultatively progenetic palmate newts Lissotriton helveticus using stable isotope niche modelling and diet reconstruction in conjunction with traditional stomach content analyses and body condition (BC) assessment. We show that not only did progenetic individuals occupy a different trophic niche than metamorphic individuals in all populations, but the smaller they were compared to metamorphs due to progenesis, the more different they were in terms of trophic ecology, with no negative effect on their BC. Altogether, the results suggest that via body size reduction, progenesis may generally act as an intrinsic factor of ecological opportunity, allowing the use of existing but previously unavailable resources, even in habitats where seemingly little opportunity exists. We argue that beyond the classically recognized fitness advantages of progenetic development, this process may also generally bring an immediate trophic advantage via body size reduction, which would have important implications to understand the evolution and adaptiveness of this process in many different taxa, from marine meiofauna to primates. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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Trophic specialisations in alternative heterochronic morphs

Cited by 28 publications

References 20 publications

Same but different: aquatic prey capture in paedomorphic and metamorphic Alpine newts

Same but different: aquatic prey capture in paedomorphic and metamorphic Alpine newts

Sexual size dimorphism in the evolutionary context of facultative paedomorphosis: insights from European newts

Progenesis as an intrinsic factor of ecological opportunity in a polyphenic amphibian

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