| 1. |
- Hettyey, Attila, et al.
(author)
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Body temperature, size, nuptial colouration and mating success in male Moor Frogs (Rana arvalis)
- 2009
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In: Amphibia-Reptilia. - 0173-5373 .- 1568-5381. ; 30:1, s. 37-43
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Variation in colouration has rarely been related to sexual Selection ill anuran amphibians, even though such a relationship has been proven for many other vertebrate taxa. Male and female Moor Frogs (Rana arvalis) have a cryptic brown colour pattern, but males develop a conspicuous blue nuptial colouration during the reproductive season. To investigate: the possibility that colouration plays a role in sexual selection in this species, we Studied the temporal variation in blue colouration. determined if body size or body temperature affected blueness and investigated if blueness of males could be related to their mating, success. Results confirmed previous observation,,, that males develop and maintain blue colouration for only a very few nights during peak reproductive activity. Colouration of males was unrelated to body size, but males exhibiting higher body temperatures were somewhat bluer (hall males with lower body temperatures. Further, males in amplexus had higher body temperatures than non-mated males. Finally, Mating Success Was positively related to blueness in small males, whereas in large males no such relationship was detected. While our results align with the hypothesis that the bright blue colouration of males may be a target of sexual selection. alternative explanations are also discussed.
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| 2. |
- Hettyey, A, et al.
(author)
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Does testis weight decline towards the Subarctic? A case study on the common frog, Rana temporaria
- 2005
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In: Naturwissenschaften. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-1904 .- 0028-1042. ; 92:4, s. 188-192
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Interpopulation comparisons of variation in resource availability and in allocation patterns along altitudinal and latitudinal gradients allow insights into the mechanisms shaping the life history of animals. Patterns of between-population differences in female life history traits have been studied intensively across a wide range of taxa, but similar investigations in males have remained scarce. To study if testis weight - ameasure of reproductive investment - varies on a geographical scale in anurans, we focussed on the variation in relative testis weight (RelTW) and asymmetry in 22 populations of the common frog Rana temporaria along a 1,600-km latitudinal transect across the Scandinavian peninsula. We found that RelTW decreased towards the north. Body mass and body length both had independent positive effects on testes mass. We found evidence for directional asymmetry (DA) in testis weight with the right testis being larger than the left. The level of DA in testis weight was not related to latitude, but both body mass and testes mass had independent positive effects on asymmetry. We discuss the northwards decrease in RelTW in terms of a decreased reproductive investment as a possible consequence of harsher environmental conditions, and perhaps also, weaker sexual selection in the north than in the south.
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| 3. |
- Laugen, Ane T., et al.
(author)
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Do common frogs (Rana temporaria) follow Bergmann’s rule?
- 2005
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In: Evolutionary Ecology Research. - 1522-0613 .- 1937-3791. ; 7:5, s. 717-731
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Questions: Does intraspecific extension of Bergmanns rule – larger size within a species incooler areas – hold true for ectotherms in general, and for the common frog (Rana temporaria)in particular? What is the relative importance of genetic and environmental factors (i.e. directenvironmental induction) in determining latitudinal patterns of body size variation in commonfrogs?Methods: We tested for a positive association between mean body size and latitude incommon frogs (Rana temporaria) across a 1600 km long latitudinal gradient in Scandinaviaboth for wild-collected adults and laboratory-reared metamorphs.Results: In adults, the mean body size increased from south to mid-latitudes, and declinedthereafter. This occurred despite the fact that the mean age of adult frogs increased withincreasing latitude, and age and body size were positively correlated. The latitudinal pattern ofbody size variation in metamorphs reared in a common garden experiment was similar to thatobserved among wild-caught adults.Conclusions: The results suggest that the concave pattern of body size variation across thelatitudinal cline may be at least partly genetically determined, and that although there isconsiderable geographic variation in mean body size of R. temporaria, this variation does notconform with Bergmann’s rule.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Laurila, Anssi, et al.
(author)
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Antipredator defenses along a latitudinal gradient in Rana temporaria
- 2008
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In: Ecology. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 89:5, s. 1399-1413
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Antipredator defenses are expected to decrease toward higher latitudes because predation rates are predicted to decrease with latitude. However, latitudinal variation in predator avoidance and defense mechanisms has seldom been studied. We studied tadpole antipredator defenses in seven Rana temporaria populations collected along a 1500-km latitudinal gradient across Sweden, along which previous studies have found increasing tadpole growth and development rates. In a laboratory common garden experiment, we measured behavioral and morphological defenses by raising tadpoles in the presence and absence of a predator (Aeshna dragonfly larva) in two temperature treatments. We also estimated tadpole survival in the presence of free-ranging predators and compared predator densities between R. temporaria breeding ponds situated at low and high latitudes. Activity and foraging were generally positively correlated with latitude in the common garden experiment. While all populations responded to predator presence by decreasing activity and foraging, high-latitude populations maintained higher activity levels in the presence of the predator. All populations exhibited defensive morphology in body and tail shape. However, whereas tail depth tended to increase with latitude in the presence of predator, it did not change with latitude in the absence of the predator. Predator presence generally increased larval period and decreased growth rate. In the southern populations, predator presence tended to have a negative effect on metamorphic size, whereas in the northern populations predators had little or a positive effect on size. Latitude of origin had a strong effect on survival in the presence of a free-ranging predator, with high-latitude tadpoles experiencing higher mortality than those from the low latitudes. In the wild, predator densities were significantly lower in high-latitude than in mid-latitude breeding ponds. Although the higher activity level in the northern populations seems to confer a significant survival disadvantage under predation risk, it is probably needed to maintain the high growth and development rates. However, the occurrence of R. temporaria at high latitudes may be facilitated by the lower predator densities in the north.
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| 6. |
- Laurila, Anssi, et al.
(author)
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Population divergence in growth rate and antipredator defences in Rana arvalis.
- 2006
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In: Oecologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0029-8549 .- 1432-1939. ; 147:4, s. 585-595
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Growth and development rates often differ among populations of the same species, yet the factors maintaining this differentiation are not well understood. We investigated the antipredator defences and their efficiency in two moor frog Rana arvalis populations differing in growth and development rates by raising tadpoles in outdoor containers in the nonlethal presence and absence of three different predators (newt, fish, dragonfly larva), and by estimating tadpole survival in the presence of free-ranging predators in a laboratory experiment. Young tadpoles in both populations reduced activity in the presence of predators and increased hiding behaviour in the presence of newt and fish. Older tadpoles from the slow-growing Gotland population (G) had stronger hiding behaviour and lower activity in all treatments than tadpoles from the fast-growing Uppland population (U). However, both populations showed a plastic behavioural response in terms of reduced activity. The populations differed in induced morphological defences especially in response to fish. G tadpoles responded with relatively long and deep body, short tail and shallow tail muscle, whereas the responses in U tadpoles were often the opposite and closer to the responses induced by the other predators. U tadpoles metamorphosed earlier, but at a similar size to G tadpoles. There was no evidence that growth rate was affected by predator treatments, but tadpoles metamorphosed later and at larger size in the predator treatments. G tadpoles survived better in the presence of free-ranging predators than U tadpoles. These results suggest that in these two populations, low growth rate was linked with low activity and increased hiding, whereas high growth rate was linked with high activity and less hiding. The differences in behaviour may explain the difference in survival between the populations, but other mechanisms (i.e. differences in swimming speed) may also be involved. There appears to be considerable differentiation in antipredator responses between these two R. arvalis populations, as well as with respect to different predators.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Lindgren, Beatrice, 1974-
(author)
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Adaptation Along Environmental Gradients: an Evaluation of Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Constraints
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- For ectotherms living in seasonal environments, time available for development and growth is often constrained by the length of the growth season. Declining season length towards higher latitudes often select for latitudinal clines in development and growth rates, exhibiting increasing growth and developmental rates towards the north. However, the physiological and ecological factors enabling these clines are poorly understood.Our study system included eight populations of Rana temporaria along a 1500 km latitudinal gradient. We found increased growth rates in populations at higher latitudes to be the result of higher growth efficiency, partly due to increased relative gut length. Populations with higher growth rates also exhibited lower standard metabolic rates, implying that fast-growing individuals are able to achieve high growth rates by spending less energy on maintenance metabolism under low activity conditions.Predator densities, and antipredatory defenses in prey, are assumed to decrease towards higher latitudes. While all study populations responded to predator presence by decreasing activity and foraging, high latitude populations maintained higher activity levels in the presence of the predator. In trials with a free-ranging predator, high latitude tadpoles experienced higher mortality than those from the low latitudes. The higher activity level in the northern populations increases mortality under predation risk, but is probably needed to maintain high growth and development rates.When competing over resources, tadpoles from the low latitude population were inferior competitors, as indicated by their longer development time when raised together with high latitude tadpoles. We found no effect of latitude on size-corrected burst speed. The general effect of predator presence on burst speed depended on food availability, with well fed tadpoles being faster in the absence, and food restricted being faster in the presence of a predator.
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| 9. |
- Lindgren, Beatrice, et al.
(author)
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Physiological variation along a geographical gradient : is growth rate correlated with routine metabolic rate in Rana temporaria tadpoles?
- 2009
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In: Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. - 0024-4066 .- 1095-8312. ; 98:1, s. 217-224
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Shorter season length and lower temperature towards higher latitudes and altitudes often select for intraspecific clines in development and growth rates. However, the physiological mechanisms enabling these clines are not well understood. We studied the relationship between routine metabolic rate (RMR) and larval life-history traits along a 1500-km latitudinal gradient across Sweden. In a laboratory common garden experiment, we exposed eight common frog Rana temporaria populations to two experimental temperatures (15 and 18 degrees C) and measured RMR using flow-through respirometry. We found significant differences among populations in RMR, but there was no evidence for a linear relationship between latitude and RMR in either temperature treatment. However, we found a concave relationship between latitude and RMR at the lower experimental temperature. RMR was not correlated with growth rate at population or at individual levels. The results obtained suggest that, unlike in growth and development rates, there is no latitudinal cline in RMR in R. temporaria tadpoles. (C) 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 98, 217-224.
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| 10. |
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