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  - 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  -