TY - JOUR A1 - Kupfer, Alexander A1 - Maxwell, Erin A1 - Reinhard, Sandy A1 - Kuehnel, Susanne T1 - The evolution of parental investment in caecilian amphibians: a comparative approach JF - Biological journal of the Linnean Society : a journal of evolution N2 - Parental care is widespread among vertebrates and the observed patterns of parental care and investment are extremely diverse. Among amphibians, caecilians (Gymnophiona) exhibit considerable variation in reproductive modes, including both oviparity and viviparity, combined with highly unusual investment strategies (e.g. skin-feeding and intrauterine feeding). In the present study, current knowledge on the reproductive modes is integrated into an analysis of the evolutionary scenario of parental investment of caecilians. Phylogenetically basal caecilians possessing a biphasic life cycle that includes an aquatic larval stage invest in macrolecithal eggs directly corresponding to size at hatching. Some phylogenetically derived caecilians (i.e. the Teresomata) have a smaller clutch size and show a reduction to either medium-yolked (mesolecithal) or small-yolked (microlecithal) eggs. Via alternative pathways of parental investment, such as intrauterine feeding in viviparous taxa and maternal dermatotrophy in oviparous taxa, teresomatan caecilians increase both offspring size and quality. However, more data regarding reproductive biology are needed to obtain a fully resolved understanding of the evolution of reproduction in caecilian amphibians. (C) 2016 The Linnean Society of London KW - Amphibia KW - Gymnophiona KW - life history KW - parental care KW - phylogeny KW - reproductive investment Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12805 SN - 0024-4066 SN - 1095-8312 VL - 119 SP - 4 EP - 14 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinhard, Sandy A1 - Kupfer, Alexander T1 - Sexual dimorphism in a French population of the marbled newt, Triturus marmoratus (Urodela: Salamandridae) JF - Salamandra : German journal of herpetology N2 - Amphibians have developed a large set of life-history strategies and demonstrate an impressive diversity of reproductive patterns compared to other vertebrates. Various selection pressures impact on males and females and see them produce different degrees of sexual dimorphism in order to maximise their reproductive success. In an extended morphometric analysis that included 27 body-and head-related characters, we studied the pattern of sexual dimorphism of a French population of the marbled newt, Triturus marmoratus. We analysed the characters by employing GLM methods (ANCOVA) and found 16 of them to be dimorphic between the sexes. In general, females differ in head-body size, such as snout-vent length, but males rather in shape or body proportions (e.g., limb proportions). The various expressions of sexual size dimorphism among large-bodied marbled newts and allies demonstrate that more than one evolutionary model works simultaneously on different traits. KW - SSD KW - fecundity KW - sexual selection KW - salamanders KW - Triturus KW - morphometrics Y1 - 2015 SN - 0036-3375 VL - 51 IS - 2 SP - 121 EP - 128 PB - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde CY - Darmstadt ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinhard, Sandy A1 - Renner, Sandra A1 - Kupfer, Alexander T1 - Age and fecundity in Salamandra algira (Caudata: Salamandridae) JF - Salamandra : German journal of herpetology N2 - Amphibians are characterised by potentially indefinite growth. Their body size reflects a trade-off between growth and reproduction. Consequently, growth decreases or even ceases after maturation. Furthermore, the sexes often mature at different ages (sexual bimaturity). We examined fecundity patterns of the terrestrial salamander Salamandra algira (Salamandridae) and tested if age, body size and the fecundity of both sexes are connected and how these reproductive traits interact. We revealed positive correlations for female size, age and fecundity traits, i.e., egg number and volume. The male number of testes lobes was also positively correlated with age. Our study provides basic data on a rarely studied terrestrial salamandrid. Further collection-based research is needed to obtain additional data aiding the understanding of life history evolution of the Salamandridae. KW - Fecundity KW - salamanders KW - Urodela KW - Salamandra KW - skeletochronology Y1 - 2015 SN - 0036-3375 VL - 51 IS - 1 SP - 19 EP - 24 PB - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde CY - Darmstadt ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Reinhard, Sandy A1 - Renner, Sandra A1 - Kupfer, Alexander T1 - Sexual dimorphism and age of Mediterranean salamanders JF - Zoology N2 - We analysed sexual size dimorphism (SSD) for two Mediterranean species of the "true" salamander clade possessing distinct life histories (Salamandra algira and Mertensiella caucasica) and equilibrated the morphometric approach to individual age by using skeletochronology. For species that have a short breeding season and live at high altitudes, such as Mediterranean amphibians, the fecundity advantage hypothesis predicts female-biased SSD to maximise reproductive success. Our results showed no SSD in either species; however, morphometric data indicated a male-biased dimorphism in limb (arm and leg) dimensions in both species when compared to body size. Limb dimorphisms are likely related to the particular mating system, which involves an amplexus during spermatophore transfer. Arm length appeared sexually dimorphic during ontogeny both in viviparous Salamandra algira and oviparous Mertensiella caucasica. A review on SSD indicated monomorphy of body size as a common lineage-specific pattern among the "true" salamander clade, but also the common presence of other traits such as sexually dimorphic limb proportions. (C) 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Amphibia KW - Salamanders KW - Life history KW - Sexual dimorphism KW - Skeletochronology Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.zool.2014.08.002 SN - 0944-2006 VL - 118 IS - 1 SP - 19 EP - 26 PB - Elsevier CY - Jena ER -