Pub Date : 2022-11-01DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10115
Carlos Caballero-Díaz, G. Sánchez-Montes, Iván Gómez, Ana Díaz-Zúñiga, Í. Martínez‐Solano
Natural breeding sites for amphibians are decreasing in quantity and quality in temperate regions, resulting in local extinctions and increasing population fragmentation. Artificial water bodies (e.g., water tanks or cattle troughs) can represent suitable reproductive habitats for some amphibians, but demographic data are required to assess this assumption. We evaluated the role of artificial water bodies in the persistence of a species of population concern, the common midwife toad, Alytes obstetricans (Laurenti, 1768), at local and regional scales. We surveyed 275 water bodies to characterize the distribution of the species and detected 63 breeding populations of A. obstetricans where we estimated larval abundance. In addition, we monitored two populations for three consecutive breeding seasons using capture-mark-recapture methods based on photo-identification, assessing abundance, breeding success and the use of space of adult individuals captured on multiple occasions. Our results show that artificial sites are preferentially used as breeding sites in the region compared to natural aquatic habitats, providing key habitat for the species and hosting much larger numbers and densities of larvae than natural sites. At local scale, populations of A. obstetricans in artificial sites were abundant and characterized by high male breeding success. However, adults are spatially aggregated around breeding sites, with small home ranges, implying high vulnerability to population fragmentation. Our results suggest artificial breeding sites can sustain viable populations of A. obstetricans, provided measures promoting connectivity among breeding nuclei are considered.
{"title":"Artificialwater bodies as amphibian breeding sites: the case of the common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) in central Spain","authors":"Carlos Caballero-Díaz, G. Sánchez-Montes, Iván Gómez, Ana Díaz-Zúñiga, Í. Martínez‐Solano","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10115","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Natural breeding sites for amphibians are decreasing in quantity and quality in temperate regions, resulting in local extinctions and increasing population fragmentation. Artificial water bodies (e.g., water tanks or cattle troughs) can represent suitable reproductive habitats for some amphibians, but demographic data are required to assess this assumption. We evaluated the role of artificial water bodies in the persistence of a species of population concern, the common midwife toad, Alytes obstetricans (Laurenti, 1768), at local and regional scales. We surveyed 275 water bodies to characterize the distribution of the species and detected 63 breeding populations of A. obstetricans where we estimated larval abundance. In addition, we monitored two populations for three consecutive breeding seasons using capture-mark-recapture methods based on photo-identification, assessing abundance, breeding success and the use of space of adult individuals captured on multiple occasions. Our results show that artificial sites are preferentially used as breeding sites in the region compared to natural aquatic habitats, providing key habitat for the species and hosting much larger numbers and densities of larvae than natural sites. At local scale, populations of A. obstetricans in artificial sites were abundant and characterized by high male breeding success. However, adults are spatially aggregated around breeding sites, with small home ranges, implying high vulnerability to population fragmentation. Our results suggest artificial breeding sites can sustain viable populations of A. obstetricans, provided measures promoting connectivity among breeding nuclei are considered.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42929135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-25DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10111
Viktória Vargová, M. Balogová, M. Figurová, Andrej Bočkay, Natália Pipová, P. Kaňuch, M. Uhrin
Current environment changes and global amphibian decline suggest specific responses assuming urbanisation potential of the species. Amphibians are generally considered to be suitable bio-indicators of environmental health due to their ecological requirements. Therefore, fluctuating asymmetry (FA), a measure of small random deviations from bilateral symmetry is used for assessing morphological disruptions and parallelly the environment health. We measured the snout-vent length and lengths of five skeletal traits of limbs (humerus, radioulna, femur, tibiofibula, calcaneus) among the five European green toad populations from two contrasting habitats (urban and rural). We did not confirm our hypothesis that urban populations would exhibit higher level of FA as an indicator of higher environmental stress comparing to rural populations. However, asymmetry measured on forelimb bones was significantly larger than on hindlimbs. In addition, one urban population had significantly longer limbs comparing to the other sites.
{"title":"Skeletal morphology and fluctuating asymmetry of the European green toad, Bufotes viridis, in contrasting habitats","authors":"Viktória Vargová, M. Balogová, M. Figurová, Andrej Bočkay, Natália Pipová, P. Kaňuch, M. Uhrin","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10111","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10111","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Current environment changes and global amphibian decline suggest specific responses assuming urbanisation potential of the species. Amphibians are generally considered to be suitable bio-indicators of environmental health due to their ecological requirements. Therefore, fluctuating asymmetry (FA), a measure of small random deviations from bilateral symmetry is used for assessing morphological disruptions and parallelly the environment health. We measured the snout-vent length and lengths of five skeletal traits of limbs (humerus, radioulna, femur, tibiofibula, calcaneus) among the five European green toad populations from two contrasting habitats (urban and rural). We did not confirm our hypothesis that urban populations would exhibit higher level of FA as an indicator of higher environmental stress comparing to rural populations. However, asymmetry measured on forelimb bones was significantly larger than on hindlimbs. In addition, one urban population had significantly longer limbs comparing to the other sites.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49652738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-12DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10108
L. Schulte, Julia Jendras, Evan Twomey, A. Ramírez‐Bautista, F. Bossuyt
Many amphibian species possess male-specific secretory breeding glands. In anurans, such specialized glands are often present as nuptial pads at the first digit of the hand, which are pressed against the female during amplexus. However, the role of nuptial pad secretions remains largely unknown. Here, we investigate the inner morphology as well as the RNA expression patterns of the nuptial pads of several Central American Lithobates species (Ranidae). As shown for the breeding glands of other amphibian species, the Lithobates nuptial pads are composed of large specialized mucus glands, excreting proteinaceous content to the surface. Whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed that for one of the species the most highly expressed transcripts encoding secretory proteins in the nuptial pads are sodefrin precursor-like factor (SPF) proteins, known to have a pheromone function in multiple amphibian species. The other two species, however, lack high expression of SPF transcripts but express other secretory proteins, whose roles in amphibian breeding glands remain unknown. Several of these proteins are highly expressed in all samples, suggesting a direct role during courtship or for the maintenance/development of the glands.
{"title":"Gene expression of secretory proteins in the nuptial pads of three Lithobates species (Anura: Ranidae)","authors":"L. Schulte, Julia Jendras, Evan Twomey, A. Ramírez‐Bautista, F. Bossuyt","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10108","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Many amphibian species possess male-specific secretory breeding glands. In anurans, such specialized glands are often present as nuptial pads at the first digit of the hand, which are pressed against the female during amplexus. However, the role of nuptial pad secretions remains largely unknown. Here, we investigate the inner morphology as well as the RNA expression patterns of the nuptial pads of several Central American Lithobates species (Ranidae). As shown for the breeding glands of other amphibian species, the Lithobates nuptial pads are composed of large specialized mucus glands, excreting proteinaceous content to the surface. Whole-transcriptome sequencing revealed that for one of the species the most highly expressed transcripts encoding secretory proteins in the nuptial pads are sodefrin precursor-like factor (SPF) proteins, known to have a pheromone function in multiple amphibian species. The other two species, however, lack high expression of SPF transcripts but express other secretory proteins, whose roles in amphibian breeding glands remain unknown. Several of these proteins are highly expressed in all samples, suggesting a direct role during courtship or for the maintenance/development of the glands.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45814022","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-12DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10110
S. A. Balaguera-Reina, F. Mazzotti
The interpretation of morphometric data is relevant to understanding biological phenomena. Currently, little is known about the effect of body position on morphometric measurements in crocodylians as well as the extent to which these data are interchangeable. We investigated the effect of body position on snout-vent-length (SVL) and total-length (TL) measured ventrally (belly up) and dorsally (belly down) on 725 Crocodylus acutus (mean TL ventral and dorsal 68.49 cm and 69.82 cm, range = 33.1-185.4 cm and 33.8-185.4 cm) across South Florida, United States. We found evidence that body posture significantly influences SVL and TL measurements. However, regardless of body position, the variation found in SVL was less than 1 mm, and for TL was on average only 3 mm. We concluded that even though there is a difference when measuring American crocodiles belly up and belly down, there is a minimal effect on the outcome (less than half centimeter), which falls within the normal measurement instrument error (i.e., measurement tape) even more so under field conditions. If researchers concur that this is an acceptable error, then SVL and TL measurements taken belly up or belly down can be used interchangeably.
{"title":"Belly up or belly down: Effect of body position on snout vent length and total length measurements in American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus)","authors":"S. A. Balaguera-Reina, F. Mazzotti","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10110","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The interpretation of morphometric data is relevant to understanding biological phenomena. Currently, little is known about the effect of body position on morphometric measurements in crocodylians as well as the extent to which these data are interchangeable. We investigated the effect of body position on snout-vent-length (SVL) and total-length (TL) measured ventrally (belly up) and dorsally (belly down) on 725 Crocodylus acutus (mean TL ventral and dorsal 68.49 cm and 69.82 cm, range = 33.1-185.4 cm and 33.8-185.4 cm) across South Florida, United States. We found evidence that body posture significantly influences SVL and TL measurements. However, regardless of body position, the variation found in SVL was less than 1 mm, and for TL was on average only 3 mm. We concluded that even though there is a difference when measuring American crocodiles belly up and belly down, there is a minimal effect on the outcome (less than half centimeter), which falls within the normal measurement instrument error (i.e., measurement tape) even more so under field conditions. If researchers concur that this is an acceptable error, then SVL and TL measurements taken belly up or belly down can be used interchangeably.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47572825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-12DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10107
Léa Lorrain‐Soligon, J. Secondi
Aquatic anuran species are difficult to detect and observe and this is a major limit to the study of their behaviour and ecology. This habit limits the direct monitoring of sexual and foraging activity, and the investigation of how environmental factors influence their expression as well as how individuals allocate time between competing activities. We investigated this issue in Xenopus laevis, a mostly aquatic frog that forages and emits calls underwater. This model species in biology has been extensively studied in the lab but its behaviour in nature remains poorly described. We carried out a study in a pond during the breeding season in the French invasive range. We recorded underwater vocal activity as a proxy for sexual activity using a hydrophone, set food-baited traps to quantify foraging activity, and recorded environmental conditions (moonlight intensity, temperature and rainfall) over two lunar cycles. We found that individuals engage in these two activities during the breeding season. At the peak of the breeding period, vocal activity was expressed during the day. The investment in reproduction (calling activity) may reduce the time allocated to foraging on a circadian scale. The two activities seem to be partitioned depending on moonlight intensity, with a stronger effect on males. Foraging activity decreased and vocal activity increased when moonlight intensity increased. We also observed a negative effect of temperature and a positive effect of rainfall on vocal activity only. Our method is promising to monitor the activity of other aquatic anurans.
{"title":"Quantification of underwater calling and foraging activities in the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis","authors":"Léa Lorrain‐Soligon, J. Secondi","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10107","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Aquatic anuran species are difficult to detect and observe and this is a major limit to the study of their behaviour and ecology. This habit limits the direct monitoring of sexual and foraging activity, and the investigation of how environmental factors influence their expression as well as how individuals allocate time between competing activities. We investigated this issue in Xenopus laevis, a mostly aquatic frog that forages and emits calls underwater. This model species in biology has been extensively studied in the lab but its behaviour in nature remains poorly described. We carried out a study in a pond during the breeding season in the French invasive range. We recorded underwater vocal activity as a proxy for sexual activity using a hydrophone, set food-baited traps to quantify foraging activity, and recorded environmental conditions (moonlight intensity, temperature and rainfall) over two lunar cycles. We found that individuals engage in these two activities during the breeding season. At the peak of the breeding period, vocal activity was expressed during the day. The investment in reproduction (calling activity) may reduce the time allocated to foraging on a circadian scale. The two activities seem to be partitioned depending on moonlight intensity, with a stronger effect on males. Foraging activity decreased and vocal activity increased when moonlight intensity increased. We also observed a negative effect of temperature and a positive effect of rainfall on vocal activity only. Our method is promising to monitor the activity of other aquatic anurans.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43753149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-10-12DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10109
Pablo Recio, Gonzalo Rodríguez-Ruiz, P. López, José Martín
Melanin is a fundamental pigment in animal coloration as it is involved in many different adaptive functions such as signaling or thermoregulation. Two forms of melanin are known to produce different colors (eumelanin: black; pheomelanin: yellow or brown). Here, we explored whether there were intersexual differences and/or size-related changes in melanization of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni, a fossorial species with a characteristic black and yellow color pattern of scales. We found a clear effect of body length, but not of sex, on the levels of melanization, which was also dependent on the body region; the proportion of melanin-dependent blackish coloration increased with body length in the dorsum, but decreased with body length in the ventral belly area. We also studied the chemical basis of this coloration using Raman spectroscopy and found that eumelanin was present in both black and yellow scales, but pheomelanin was not found in yellow scales, suggesting that this yellow coloration is caused by the reduction of eumelanin or dispersion of melanosomes and/or perhaps by other pigments.
{"title":"Size-related changes and chemical basis of melanin-based body coloration in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni","authors":"Pablo Recio, Gonzalo Rodríguez-Ruiz, P. López, José Martín","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10109","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Melanin is a fundamental pigment in animal coloration as it is involved in many different adaptive functions such as signaling or thermoregulation. Two forms of melanin are known to produce different colors (eumelanin: black; pheomelanin: yellow or brown). Here, we explored whether there were intersexual differences and/or size-related changes in melanization of the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni, a fossorial species with a characteristic black and yellow color pattern of scales. We found a clear effect of body length, but not of sex, on the levels of melanization, which was also dependent on the body region; the proportion of melanin-dependent blackish coloration increased with body length in the dorsum, but decreased with body length in the ventral belly area. We also studied the chemical basis of this coloration using Raman spectroscopy and found that eumelanin was present in both black and yellow scales, but pheomelanin was not found in yellow scales, suggesting that this yellow coloration is caused by the reduction of eumelanin or dispersion of melanosomes and/or perhaps by other pigments.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43410040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-26DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10104
Z. Campos, F. Muniz, G. Mourão, W. Magnusson, I. Farias, T. Hrbek
Colour variation in crocodilians is associated with size, environment and genetic structure, but little is known about colour variation in the genus Paleosuchus (Alligatoridae). Different genetic lineages of Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Dwarf caiman) occupy different environments throughout the species extensive distribution, and all are cryptically coloured. We captured 187 P. palpebrosus and recorded their head colour from four genetically distinct geographic clades between 2008 and 2019. Additionally, we determined the jaw and belly spot pattern of a subsample of 95 individuals (22–109 cm snout-vent length). PERMANCOVA was used to investigate the relationships between head colour and spot patterns, to the caiman size, sex, and geographic lineage, as well as ambient temperature. Variation in head colour, and jaw and belly spot patterns, were related to genetic lineage, snout-vent length and temperature, but the model explained only ∼45.4% of the variance in the data. Sex was not significantly related to the head colour, or jaw and belly spot patterns. Dwarf caimans inhabiting cooler climates tend to be darker than individuals from warmer areas, and individuals from the “Cerrado-Pantanal” and “Bolivia” lineages generally darker than the “Amazon” and “Madeira” lineages. However, individuals of a given size in different lineages overlap greatly in colour patterns and colour alone could not be used to distinguish lineages. The Natterer’s hypothesis of head-colour as diagnose from “Cerrado-Pantanal” lineage, cannot be completely accepted according our quantitative analysis, although there are a variation in the geographic distribution of these phenotypic traits, and the “Cerrado-Pantanal” lineage had been the most distinct among the lineages.
{"title":"Geographic variation in colour and spot patterns in Dwarf Caiman, Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Cuvier, 1807) in Brazil","authors":"Z. Campos, F. Muniz, G. Mourão, W. Magnusson, I. Farias, T. Hrbek","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10104","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Colour variation in crocodilians is associated with size, environment and genetic structure, but little is known about colour variation in the genus Paleosuchus (Alligatoridae). Different genetic lineages of Paleosuchus palpebrosus (Dwarf caiman) occupy different environments throughout the species extensive distribution, and all are cryptically coloured. We captured 187 P. palpebrosus and recorded their head colour from four genetically distinct geographic clades between 2008 and 2019. Additionally, we determined the jaw and belly spot pattern of a subsample of 95 individuals (22–109 cm snout-vent length). PERMANCOVA was used to investigate the relationships between head colour and spot patterns, to the caiman size, sex, and geographic lineage, as well as ambient temperature. Variation in head colour, and jaw and belly spot patterns, were related to genetic lineage, snout-vent length and temperature, but the model explained only ∼45.4% of the variance in the data. Sex was not significantly related to the head colour, or jaw and belly spot patterns. Dwarf caimans inhabiting cooler climates tend to be darker than individuals from warmer areas, and individuals from the “Cerrado-Pantanal” and “Bolivia” lineages generally darker than the “Amazon” and “Madeira” lineages. However, individuals of a given size in different lineages overlap greatly in colour patterns and colour alone could not be used to distinguish lineages. The Natterer’s hypothesis of head-colour as diagnose from “Cerrado-Pantanal” lineage, cannot be completely accepted according our quantitative analysis, although there are a variation in the geographic distribution of these phenotypic traits, and the “Cerrado-Pantanal” lineage had been the most distinct among the lineages.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44596959","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-26DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10105
C. Klaver
Consulting the Reptile Database disclosed the absence of an etymology of three enigmatic reptilian (sub-) specific names. An elucidation on behalf of especially non-German-speaking colleagues is provided.
查阅爬行动物数据库发现，三个神秘的爬行动物（亚）特有名称缺乏词源。代表特别是非德语同事作了说明。
{"title":"The etymology of three enigmatic (sub-)specific names clarified","authors":"C. Klaver","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10105","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10105","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Consulting the Reptile Database disclosed the absence of an etymology of three enigmatic reptilian (sub-) specific names. An elucidation on behalf of especially non-German-speaking colleagues is provided.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45452447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-20DOI: 10.1163/15685381-bja10100
Emina Šunje, Julien Courant, A. Vesnić, T. Koren, Lada Lukić Bilela, R. Van Damme
In this paper we studied the diet in four allopatric populations of alpine salamanders in the Dinarides (Salamandra atra prenjensis). Food consumption was assessed by stomach flushing while food availability by pitfall traps and netting. We aimed to: (i) assess the realized dietary niche, (ii) investigate prey preferences, (ii) explore individual specialization, clustering and nestedness. All populations have an equally wide dietary span that is among the largest reported for terrestrial salamanders. On the other hand, the amount of ingested prey is rather low compared to other salamander species; the quantity of consumed prey did not differ among populations but younger individuals fed more than adults. Food composition somewhat differed among populations but not among sex/age classes. In all four populations, the bulk of diet consisted of beetles, spiders, snails and millipedes; except for beetles, such prey was also preffered together with centipedes and isopods. For most of the prey categories, the direction of the electivity indices was the same across populations. In none of the populations a nested pattern in the interindividual subdivision of dietary resources was registered. However, indications for individual specialization and modularity were observed disclosing that the broad niche of populations is composed of smaller individual niches that cluster along the dietary axis. Overall, the four populations have very similar structural characteristics of the dietary niche and there is little evidence for local dietary differentiation probably due to the absence of drivers for change.
{"title":"Patterns of variation in dietary composition among four populations of Alpine salamanders (Salamandra atra prenjensis)","authors":"Emina Šunje, Julien Courant, A. Vesnić, T. Koren, Lada Lukić Bilela, R. Van Damme","doi":"10.1163/15685381-bja10100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10100","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In this paper we studied the diet in four allopatric populations of alpine salamanders in the Dinarides (Salamandra atra prenjensis). Food consumption was assessed by stomach flushing while food availability by pitfall traps and netting. We aimed to: (i) assess the realized dietary niche, (ii) investigate prey preferences, (ii) explore individual specialization, clustering and nestedness. All populations have an equally wide dietary span that is among the largest reported for terrestrial salamanders. On the other hand, the amount of ingested prey is rather low compared to other salamander species; the quantity of consumed prey did not differ among populations but younger individuals fed more than adults. Food composition somewhat differed among populations but not among sex/age classes. In all four populations, the bulk of diet consisted of beetles, spiders, snails and millipedes; except for beetles, such prey was also preffered together with centipedes and isopods. For most of the prey categories, the direction of the electivity indices was the same across populations. In none of the populations a nested pattern in the interindividual subdivision of dietary resources was registered. However, indications for individual specialization and modularity were observed disclosing that the broad niche of populations is composed of smaller individual niches that cluster along the dietary axis. Overall, the four populations have very similar structural characteristics of the dietary niche and there is little evidence for local dietary differentiation probably due to the absence of drivers for change.","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48118143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-20DOI: 10.1163/15685381-43006seh
{"title":"Free access to scientific papers: towards an improvement of Open Access policies in opening archives","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/15685381-43006seh","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/15685381-43006seh","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50799,"journal":{"name":"Amphibia-Reptilia","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2022-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46026446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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