The Breeding Age of the Yellow-bellied Toad, Bombina variegata variegata, Linn

Identification and molecular cloning of novel trypsin inhibitor analogs from the dermal venom of the Oriental fire-bellied toad (Bombina orientalis) and the European yellow-bellied toad (Bombina variegata).

The structural diversity of polypeptides in amphibian skin secretion probably reflects different roles in dermal regulation or in defense against predators. Here we report the structures of two novel trypsin inhibitor analogs, BOTI and BVTI, from the dermal venom of the toads, Bombina orientalis and Bombina variegata. Cloning of their respective precursors was achieved from lyophilized venom cD...

Reproductive ecology of Bombina variegata : Habitat use

The maintenance of reproductive isolation in a mosaic hybrid zone between the fire-bellied toads Bombina bombina and B. variegata.

Mosaic hybrid zones arise when ecologically differentiated taxa hybridize across a network of habitat patches. Frequent interbreeding across a small-scale patchwork can erode species differences that might have been preserved in a clinal hybrid zone. In particular, the rapid breakdown of neutral divergence sets an upper limit to the time for which differences at marker loci can persist. We pres...

Para‐allopatry in hybridizing fire‐bellied toads (Bombina bombina and B. variegata): Inference from transcriptome‐wide coalescence analyses

Ancient origins, profound ecological divergence, and extensive hybridization make the fire-bellied toads Bombina bombina and B. variegata (Anura: Bombinatoridae) an intriguing test case of ecological speciation. Previous modeling has proposed that the narrow Bombina hybrid zones represent strong barriers to neutral introgression. We test this prediction by inferring the rate of gene exchange be...

Reproductive Ecology of Bombina variegata: Characterisation of Spawning Ponds

The use of spawning sites by Bombina variegata was analysed in a dynamic habitat containing a variety of different ponds. Cool or shadowy as well as permanent ponds were not used for spawning at all. Among the ephemeral ponds that were used, egg numbers increased with water temperature, both when compared among ponds and between different areas within ponds. Egg numbers were also higher in pond...