Kin discrimination in cannibalistic tadpoles of the Green Poison Frog, Dendrobates auratus (Anura, Dendrobatidae)

نویسندگان

  • Heather M. Gray
  • Kyle Summers
  • Roberto Ibáñez
چکیده

Kin discrimination in cannibalistic tadpoles of the Green Poison Frog, Dendrobates auratus (Anura, Dendrobatidae). Cannibalizing a related individual can reduce the inclusive fitness of the cannibal. Hence, mechanisms that allow a tadpole to recognize and modify its behavior toward kin may reduce the inclusive fitness costs of cannibalism. Alternatively, ecological factors may cause preferential treatment of kin to be too costly to be favored by selection. We tested these two predictions in the Green Poison Frog, Dendrobates auratus. The effect of kinship on larval cannibalism was examined through a series of kin-discrimination trials. The behavior of large tadpoles was observed when presented with two small, tethered tadpoles, one a clutchmate and one an unrelated tadpole. In these simultaneous presentation tests, tadpoles displayed a significant preference for attacking kin. In a series of timed trials, pairs of unequally sized tadpoles were placed together in containers. The majority (70%) of large tadpoles took less than 24 hr to consume the small tadpole. Kinship did not affect the survival time of the small tadpole. Our results are consistent with observations that D. auratus is an indiscriminate predator. As conspecifics may be serious competitors, their swift elimination would be an advantage, particularly in the small, nutrient-poor pools used by this species.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Phenotypic and molecular variation in the green and black poison-dart frog Dendrobates auratus (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from Costa Rica

The green and black poison-dart frog Dendrobates auratus exhibits high intraspecific variation in hue color and pattern throughout its range, making it a very popular species in the pet trade. We analyzed the correspondence between color variation and molecular variation of D. auratus from Costa Rica using RAPD analysis. Twenty-six random primers were analyzed for variation in 99 individuals fr...

متن کامل

A Preliminary Investigation into Hayne Estimates of Poison Dart Frog (anura: Dendrobatidae) Densities in Recovering Tropical Forest Habitats, Southwestern Costa Rica

—The global decline of amphibian populations has created a high demand for effective tools to measure how species respond to environmental change. We investigated the effectiveness of the Hayne Estimator for evaluating the population densities of Dendrobates granuliferus and Dendrobates auratus. We observed frogs in three Costa Rican lowland forest habitats with varying degrees of deforestation...

متن کامل

Absence of kin discrimination in cannibalistic Anuran tadpoles of the frog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (Daudin).

Kin discrimination was tested in the cannibalistic H. tigerinus tadpoles to know whether cannibalism is selectively directed towards non-kin members or it is indiscriminate. The association choice tests were conducted using satiated as well as starved subjects with the assumption that they will associate near non-sibs rather than near sibs with the intention of preferentially cannibalizing them...

متن کامل

Tactical reproductive parasitism via larval cannibalism in Peruvian poison frogs.

We report an unusual example of reproductive parasitism in amphibians. Dendrobates variabilis, an Amazonian poison frog, oviposits at the surface of the water in small pools in plants and deposits tadpoles within the pools. Tadpoles are highly cannibalistic and consume young tadpoles if they are accessible. Deposition of embryos and tadpoles in the same pool is common. Genetic analyses indicate...

متن کامل

Interspecific and intraspecific views of color signals in the strawberry poison frog Dendrobates pumilio.

Poison frogs in the anuran family Dendrobatidae use bright colors on their bodies to advertise toxicity. The species Dendrobates pumilio Schmidt 1858, the strawberry poison frog, shows extreme polymorphism in color and pattern in Panama. It is known that females of D. pumilio preferentially choose mates of their own color morph. Nevertheless, potential predators must clearly see and recognize a...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2009