TY - JOUR A1 - Vences, Miguel A1 - Lyra, Mariana L. A1 - Kueneman, Jordan G. A1 - Bletz, Molly C. A1 - Archer, Holly M. A1 - Canitz, Julia A1 - Handreck, Svenja A1 - Randrianiaina, Roger-Daniel A1 - Struck, Ulrich A1 - Bhuju, Sabin A1 - Jarek, Michael A1 - Geffers, Robert A1 - McKenzie, Valerie J. A1 - Tebbe, Christoph C. A1 - Haddad, CLio F. B. A1 - Glos, Julian T1 - Gut bacterial communities across tadpole ecomorphs in two diverse tropical anuran faunas JF - The science of nature N2 - Animal-associated microbial communities can play major roles in the physiology, development, ecology, and evolution of their hosts, but the study of their diversity has yet focused on a limited number of host species. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing of partial sequences of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene to assess the diversity of the gut-inhabiting bacterial communities of 212 specimens of tropical anuran amphibians from Brazil and Madagascar. The core gut-associated bacterial communities among tadpoles from two different continents strongly overlapped, with eight highly represented operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in common. In contrast, the core communities of adults and tadpoles from Brazil were less similar with only one shared OTU. This suggests a community turnover at metamorphosis. Bacterial diversity was higher in tadpoles compared to adults. Distinct differences in composition and diversity occurred among gut bacterial communities of conspecific tadpoles from different water bodies and after experimental fasting for 8 days, demonstrating the influence of both environmental factors and food on the community structure. Communities from syntopic tadpoles clustered by host species both in Madagascar and Brazil, and the Malagasy tadpoles also had species-specific isotope signatures. We recommend future studies to analyze the turnover of anuran gut bacterial communities at metamorphosis, compare the tadpole core communities with those of other aquatic organisms, and assess the possible function of the gut microbiota as a reservoir for protective bacteria on the amphibian skin. KW - Amphibia KW - Anura KW - Tadpoles KW - Gutmicrobiota KW - 16S rRNA KW - Stable isotopes Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-016-1348-1 SN - 0028-1042 SN - 1432-1904 VL - 103 SP - 68 EP - 73 PB - Springer CY - Heidelberg ER - 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 - 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 -