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The Reproductive Biology of Amphibians PDF

473 Pages·1977·22.72 MB·English
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THE REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF AMPHIBIANS THE REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF AMPHIBIANS Edited by Douglas H. Taylor and Sheldon I. Guttman Miami University Oxford, Ohio Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. The reproductive biology of amphibians. "Proceedings of a Symposium held at the nineteenth annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, August 9-10,1976." Includes bibliographies and indexes. 1. Amphibians - Reproduction - Congresses. 2. Amphibians - Behavior - Con gresses. 3. Courtship of animals - Congresses. 4. Sexual behavior in animals - Con gresses. 1. Taylor, Douglas H. II. Guttman, Sheldon 1. III. Title. QL669.3.S631977 597'.6'0456 77-11004 ISBN 978-1-4757-6783-4 ISBN 978-1-4757-6781-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4757-6781-0 Proceedings of a Symposium held at the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, August 9-10,1976 © 1977 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1977 Softcover reprinl of Ihe hardcover 1s i edilion 1977 AII rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher Preface During the course of the developnent of most areas of scien tific research certain events occur that serve to bring a particular area into focus. We feel that this symposilHll volume serves that role with regard to the study of the reproductive biology of amphib ians. The collection of vnrks contained in this volume provides an excellent review of a diversity of past contributions to this field of investigation and brings together in one volume the major ap proaches that have been utilized to study amphibian reproductive biology. The work emphasizes recently-completed studies and therefore can be considered to be an up-to-date account of the field. Equally signifi cant, however, the contributors to this volume have excelled in pointing out directions for future research that will be of im mense value in integrating the component parts of reproductive bi ology, i.e., genetics, developnental biology, physiology, behavior, and ecology, into an eVOlutionary framework. As can be seen from the bibliographies of each contribution, studies of reproductive biology are increasing annually. The rea sons for this are many: amphibians can be easily collected in rela tively large numbers; intrageneric crosses between most anurans and some salamanders are feasible; they have relatively large chromo somes which can be readily karyotyped; sophisticated biochemical and physiological techniques have been developed which can be utilized to study eVOlutionary relationships and sensory capabilities; in particular, an increasing awareness of the importance of behavioral studies in the developnent of general theories of eVOlutionary re lationships and processes has resulted in a renewal of interest in amphibian behavior, a heretofore largely neglected aspect of amphib ian biology. Additionally, since, in vertebrate eVOlution, amphib ians are relatively primitive, extrapolations can possibly be made to reproductive mechanisms in the advanced vertebrates. As we were planning for the 19th annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles to be hosted by Miami Uni- v vi PREFACE versity, we decided that research on the reproductive biology of am phibians had progressed so rapidly that a symposium devoted solely to this topic was in order. We surveyed the recent reproductive bi ology literature and assembled a list of individuals who possessed either an excellent current publication record in the area or were relatively new to the field but were making significant contribu tions. The composition of the list was discussed with a variety of other people but most notably with Kraig Adler (Cornell University) and Thomas Uzzell (Philadelphia Academy of Sciences) and a consen sus of opinion on potential participants was reached. Reactions to the symposium itself, held at Miami University from August 9 to August 10, 1976, were extremely positive and went beyond our greatest expectations. This was due in large part to the excellent contributions of the invited participants. We wish formally to thank the participants for their contributions at the symposium sessions and for their promptly-delivered and readily editable manuscripts. Thomas Uzzell spent many days helping edit each of the manuscripts and this volume owes much of its quality to his fine efforts. We felt that outside peer review of the manu scripts would enhance the quality of the volume and would like to thank James Bogart, Martha Crump, H. Carl Gerhardt, Robert Inger, Roy McDiarmid, Craig Nelson, Ronald Nussbaum, and Dennis Ralin for their assistance in this regard. During the preparation and presentation of the symposium many people assisted in making the program a success. The following students assisted greatly in the running of the symposium: Jill Auburn, Lynne Lohmeier, Melinda Moore, Debra Christein, Kevin Crof ton, Sara Woolpy, Michael McLeod, and Karen Blackburn. Jill Auburn also gave invaluable editorial assistance. Ruth McLeod provided her usual expertise with the typing of manuscripts. Dean Clarence K. Williamson of the College of Arts and Science and Chairman Charles M. Vaughn of the Zoology Department assisted in funding certain as pects of the meeting and the typing of manuscripts. We thank the officers and members of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles for their personal and financial assistance. We also wish to acknowledge the Herpetologists' League for their contributions. Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs John E. Iblibois supported the symposium by subsidizing, through the gener osity of the Miami University Alumni Fund, the travel and housing expenses of the foreign participants. We would not have been able to produce a symposiun, and, therefore, a volume, with such breadth of participation without his strong and continued support. PREFACE ~i To all of the above, and others not mentioned individually, we wish to express our sincere gratitude. We hope this volume will provide a contemporary review and synthesis of the present state of knowledge in the field of amphibian reproductive biology. Douglas H. Taylor Sheldon I. Guttman Miami University Oxford, Ohio June 29, 1977 Contents Studies of the Life Histories and Reproduction in North American Plethodontid Salamanders 1 Stephen G. Tilley Life History Patterns and Reproductive Biology of Neotropical Salamanders • • • • • 43 Lyrme D. Houck The Reproductive Biology of Caecilians: An Evolutionary Perspective • 73 Marvalee H. Wake Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of Japanese Anurans • • • • • • 103 Toshijiro Kawamura and Midori Nishioka The Evolution of Courtship Behavior in New World Salamanders with Some Corrments on Old World Salamanders • • • • • • • • • • • 141 Stevan J. Arnold The Courtship of European Newts: An Evolutionary Perspective 185 T. R. Halliday The Courtship of Frogs 233 Kentwood D. Wells long-Range Acoustic Communication in Anurans: An Integrated and Evolutionary Approach 263 Murray Littlejohn Acoustic Behavior and Physiology of Vocalization in the European Tree Frog, Hyla arborea (L.) 295 Hans Schneider -- ix x CONTENTS Auditory Processing of Vocal Signals in Anurans 337 Robert R. Capranica Hormonal Influences on Calling and Reproductive Behavior in Anurans • . . . . . • • . 357 Hans-Joachim Obert Systematics and Hybridization in the Rana esculenta Complex 367 Leszek Berger Reproduction and Mating Behavior in Rana lessonae Rana esculenta Mixed Populations •• • • 389 Hansj org Blankenhorn Cytotaxonomy and Cytogenetics in European Newt Species . • • • . • 411 Giorgio Mancino, Matilde Ragghianti, and Stefania Bucci-Innocenti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concluding Remarks 449 Thomas Uzzell Participants 459 Systematic Index 461 . . . . . . . . . . . . Subject Index 469 STUDIES OF LIfE HISTORIES AND REPRODUCTION IN NORTH AMERICAN PLETHODCNTID SAlAMNIDERS Stephen G. Tilley Department of the Biological Sciences, Smith College Northampton, Massachusetts Plethodontid salamanders are among the most abundant verte brates of many North American ecological communities. Their evi dent ecological importance (Burton and Likens 1975a, 1975b) and unique associations of ubiquity, obscurity, and beauty have popu larized plethodontids as subjects of eVOlutionary and ecological studies. Their reproductive ecologies and life histories have re ceived particular attention in recent years, as studies have pro gressed from scattered anecdotes to detailed investigations. Sal the and Mecham (1974) reviewed the literature through the 1960s. Since then, studies of several species have appeared: Gyrinophilus porphyriticus (Bruce 1969, 1972), Pseudotriton montanus (Bruce 1969, 1974, 1975), Stereochilus marginatus (Bruce 1971), Eurycea quadri digitata (Harrison 1973), Eurycea neotenes (Bruce 1976), Eurycea nana (Tupa and Davis 1976), Desmognathus fuscus (Danstedt 1975), DeSmOgnathus ochrophaeus (Fitzpatrick 1973; Forester 1977; Huheey and Brandon 1973; Tilley 1972, 1973a, 1973b, 1974~ Tilley and Haus man 1976), and Plethodon wehrlei (Hall and Stafford 1972). Houck reviews certain aspects of life histories of terrestrial plethodon tids in this volume. Much, however, remains to be learned. Our expanding knowledge of plethooontid life histories has ac companied a growing interest in life histories in general and in their adaptive significance. Stearns (1976) and Giesel (1976) re cently reviewed theories of the evolution of life history patterns, and several authors (Bruce 1969, 1972, 1975; Tilley 1973a; Danstedt 1975) have attempted to reconcile information on plethodontids with these theories. A major strength of life history studies is that they bear heavily on the phenomenon of adaptation by directly confronting the 2 S.G. TILLEY components of Darwinian fitness: age-specific fertility and mor tality. Heritability of variation in these parameters, however, is nearly always assumed without evidence. Life history and re productive data are also vital to an understanding of a population's role in community metabolism, and the roles of plethodontid popu lations in many North American ecosystems must be far from trivial. Burton and Likens (1975a, 1975b) estimated that the Plethodon cinereus population of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire exceeds the biomass of the entire avian community during the latter's peak breeding season, and fixes about five times as much energy. These conclusions were reached by assuming stationary populations and without detailed knowledge of reproduc tion and life histories. A detailed picture of the role of a popu lation in ecosystem dynamics requires more information on dispersal, growth, mortality, and fertility than is presently available. Reproductive and life history patterns have profound implica tions for the genetic structure and differentiation of populations. It is now possible to quantify levels of genetic variation and di vergence among local populations for that subset of the genome re vealed by electrophoretic techniques. Investigators in this area are confronted with a problem exactly the opposite of that faced by students of reproductive strategies: whereas the heritability of observed variation is well understood, its relevance to Darwin ian fitness is obscure. The ensuing debate about the relative roles of stochastic and deterministic factors in evolution (see re views in Lewontin 1974; Nei 1975; and Ayala 1976) has underscored our lack of knowledge of breeding structures and effective breed ing sizes of populations, important determinants of levels of genetic variation and divergence. Effective breeding sizes are influenced by dispersal rates, reproductive cycles, and survival, and future studies of plethodontids will undoubtedly focus on these problems. The strength with which a life history study bears on problems of general interest depends on obtaining solid data on age at first reproduction, age-specific survival, and age-specific fertility. This is best done in the field by following individuals of known age through time via some sort of capture-recapture program. Few plethodontids lend themselves to such studies. They are so numer ous and distributed over such extensive areas that it is usually possible to capture only a small percentage of a population, doing considerable violence to the habitat in the process. It may be difficult or impossible to locate certain classes of individuals, such as brooding females, or any individuals at all during much of the year. The detection of recaptured animals is frustrated by their ability to regenerate toes and limbs rapidly. Mortality and dispersal rates in some age classes, such as larvae and small juve niles, may be so great that enormous numbers must be marked to

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