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| 2. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Alarm cues experienced by cane toad tadpoles affect post-metamorphic morphology and chemical defences
- 2009
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Ingår i: Functional Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0269-8463 .- 1365-2435. ; 23, s. 126-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary: In many anuran species, larvae modify their developmental trajectories and behaviour in response to chemical cues that predict predator risk. Recent reviews highlight a dearth of studies on delayed (post-metamorphic) consequences of larval experience. 2 We raised cane toad (Bufo marinus) tadpoles either under control conditions or in the presence of non-lethal predator cues (crushed conspecifics). 3 Exposure to these chemical cues massively reduced size at metamorphosis, as predicted by theory. Parotoid glands were larger relative to body size in post-metamorphic animals from the experimental treatment, suggesting higher investment in chemical defences. 4 Exposure to chemical cues from crushed conspecifics during larval life reduced total bufadienolide content of metamorphs, but increased amounts of one specific bufadienolide (bufalin). 5 Hence, cane toads respond to perceived predation risk in the aquatic environment by metamorphosing at a smaller size and modifying their investment in defensive toxins during post-metamorphic life. 6 Phenotypically flexible responses to larval conditions vary among amphibian taxa, and can involve significant carry-over effects into post-metamorphic life.
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| 3. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Factors influencing responses to alarm pheromones by tadpoles of invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus)
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 35, s. 265-271
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- If pheromonal communication systems of invasive species differ from those of native biota, it may be possible to control the invader by exploiting that difference. When injured, the larvae of cane toads, Bufo marinus, an invasive species of major concern in tropical Australia, produce species-specific chemical cues that alert conspecific tadpoles to danger. Repeated exposure to the alarm chemical reduces tadpole survival rates and body sizes at metamorphosis and, thus, could help control toad populations. To evaluate the feasibility of this approach, we need to know how the intensity of toad tadpole response to the alarm chemical is affected by factors such as water temperature, time of day, larval stage and feeding history, geographic origin of the tadpoles, and habituation. Information on these topics may enable us to optimize deployment, so that tadpoles encounter pheromone at the times and places that confer maximum effect. In our studies, tadpole density, nutritional state, larval stage, and geographic origin had little effect on the intensity of the alarm response, but tadpoles reacted most strongly in higher water temperatures and during daylight hours. Repeated, once-daily exposure to pheromone did not induce habituation, but repeated exposure at 15-min interva
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| 4. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Fatal attraction: adaptations to prey on native frogs imperil snakes after invasion of toxic toads.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 276, s. 2813-2818
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Adaptations that enhance fitness in one situation can become liabilities if circumstances change. In tropical Australia, native snake species are vulnerable to the invasion of toxic cane toads. Death adders (Acanthophis praelongus) are ambush foragers that (i) attract vertebrate prey by caudal luring and (ii) handle anuran prey by killing the frog then waiting until the frog's chemical defences degrade before ingesting it. These tactics render death adders vulnerable to toxic cane toads (Bufo marinus), because toads elicit caudal luring more effectively than do native frogs, and are more readily attracted to the lure. Moreover, the strategy of delaying ingestion of a toad after the strike does not prevent fatal poisoning, because toad toxins (unlike those of native frogs) do not degrade shortly after the prey dies. In our laboratory and field trials, half of the death adders died after ingesting a toad, showing that the specialized predatory behaviours death adders use to capture and process prey render them vulnerable to this novel prey type. The toads' strong response to caudal luring also renders them less fit than native anurans (which largely ignored the lure): all toads bitten by adders died. Together, these results illustrate the dissonance in behavioural adaptations that can arise following the arrival of invasive species, and reveal the strong selection that occurs when mutually naive species first interact.
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| 5. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Larval alarm pheromones as a potential control for invasive cane toads (Bufo marinus) in tropical Australia
- 2009
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Ingår i: Chemoecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-7409 .- 1423-0445. ; 19, s. 211-217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Novel approaches to control invasive species are urgently needed. Cane toads (Bufo marinus) are large, highly toxic anurans that are spreading rapidly through tropical Australia. Injured toad larvae produce an alarm pheromone that elicits rapid avoidance by conspecifics but not by frog larvae. Experiments in outdoor ponds show that repeated exposure to the pheromone reduced toad tadpole survival rates (by > 50%) and body mass at metamorphosis (by 20%). The alarm pheromone did not induce tadpoles to seek shelter, but accelerated ontogenetic differentiation. Perhaps reflecting mortality of weaker individuals during larval life, growth rates post-metamorphosis were higher in animals emerging from the pheromone exposure treatment than from the control treatment. Nonetheless, body size differentials established at metamorphosis persisted through the first 8 days of post-metamorphic life. We will need substantial additional research before evaluating whether the alarm pheromone provides a way to reduce cane toad recruitment in nature, but our field trials are encouraging in this respect.
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| 6. |
- Hagman, Mattias, et al.
(författare)
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Species-specific communication systems in an introduced toad compared with native frogs in Australia
- 2009
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Ingår i: Chemoecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-7409 .- 1423-0445. ; 19:4, s. 211-217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Novel approaches to control invasive species are urgently needed. Cane toads (Bufo marinus) are large, highly toxic anurans that are spreading rapidly through tropical Australia. Injured toad larvae produce an alarm pheromone that elicits rapid avoidance by conspecifics but not by frog larvae. Experiments in outdoor ponds show that repeated exposure to the pheromone reduced toad tadpole survival rates (by >50%) and body mass at metamorphosis (by 20%). The alarm pheromone did not induce tadpoles to seek shelter, but accelerated ontogenetic differentiation. Perhaps reflecting mortality of weaker individuals during larval life, growth rates post-metamorphosis were higher in animals emerging from the pheromone exposure treatment than from the control treatment. Nonetheless, body size differentials established at metamorphosis persisted through the first 8 days of post-metamorphic life. We will need substantial additional research before evaluating whether the alarm pheromone provides a way to reduce cane toad recruitment in nature, but our field trials are encouraging in this respect.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Hayes, Andrew, et al.
(författare)
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Ontogenetic variation in the chemical defenses of cane toads (Bufo marinus): toxin profiles and effects on predators.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Journal of Chemical Ecology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0098-0331 .- 1573-1561. ; 35, s. 391-399
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We conducted a quantitative and qualitative chemical analysis of cane toad bufadienolides-the cardioactive steroids that are believed to be the principal cane toad toxins. We found complex shifts in toxin composition through toad ontogeny: (1) eggs contain at least 28 dominant bufadienolides, 17 of which are not detected in any other ontogenetic stage; (2) tadpoles present a simpler chemical profile with two to eight dominant bufadienolides; and (3) toxin diversity decreases during tadpole life but increases again after metamorphosis (larger metamorph/juvenile toads display five major bufadienolides). Total bufadienolide concentrations are highest in eggs (2.64 +/- 0.56 mu mol/mg), decreasing during tadpole life stages (0.084 +/- 0.060 mu mol/mg) before rising again after metamorphosis (2.35 +/- 0.45 mu mol/mg). These variations in total bufadienolide levels correlate with toxicity to Australian frog species. For example, consumption of cane toad eggs killed tadpoles of two Australian frog species (Limnodynastes convexiusculus and Litoria rothii), whereas no tadpoles died after consuming late-stage cane toad tadpoles or small metamorphs. The high toxicity of toad eggs reflects components in the egg itself, not the surrounding jelly coat. Our results suggest a dramatic ontogenetic shift in the danger that toads pose to native predators, reflecting rapid changes in the types and amounts of toxins during toad development.
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