scholarly journals Visible implant elastomer (VIE) success in early larval stages of a tropical amphibian species

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chloe Fouilloux ◽  
Guillermo Garcia-Costoya ◽  
Bibiana Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Anuran Larvae ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Tag Retention ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Behavioral Studies

AbstractAnimals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, but being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with complex life cycles are notoriously hard to mark because of the distortion or loss of the tag across metamorphosis. In frogs, few studies have attempted larval tagging and none have been conducted on a tropical species. Here, we present the first successful account of VIE tagging in early larval stages (Gosner stage 25) of the dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) coupled with a novel anaesthetic (2-PHE) application for tadpoles that does not require buffering. Mean weight of individuals at time of tagging was 0.12g, which is the smallest and developmentally youngest anuran larvae tagged to date. We report 81% tag detection over the first month of development, as well as the persistence of tags across metamorphosis in this species. Cumulative tag retention versus tag observation differed by approximately 15% across larval development demonstrating that “lost” tags can be found later in development. Tagging had no effect on tadpole growth rate or survival. Successful application of VIE tags on D. tinctorius tadpoles introduces a new method that can be applied to better understand early life development and dispersal in various tropical species.

scholarly journals Visible implant elastomer (VIE) success in early larval stages of a tropical amphibian species

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9630
Author(s):  
Chloe A. Fouilloux ◽  
Guillermo Garcia-Costoya ◽  
Bibiana Rojas
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Anuran Larvae ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Tag Retention ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Behavioral Studies

Animals are often difficult to distinguish at an individual level, and being able to identify individuals can be crucial in ecological or behavioral studies. In response to this challenge, biologists have developed a range of marking (tattoos, brands, toe-clips) and tagging (banding, collars, PIT, VIA, VIE) methods to identify individuals and cohorts. Animals with complex life cycles are notoriously hard to mark because of the distortion or loss of the tag across metamorphosis. In amphibians, few studies have attempted larval tagging and none have been conducted on a tropical species. Here, we present the first successful account of VIE tagging in early larval stages (Gosner stage 25) of the dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) coupled with a novel anesthetic (2-PHE) application for tadpoles that does not require buffering. Mean weight of individuals at time of tagging was 0.12 g, which is the smallest and developmentally youngest anuran larvae tagged to date. We report 81% tag detection over the first month of development, as well as the persistence of tags across metamorphosis in this species. Cumulative tag retention vs tag observation differed by approximately 15% across larval development demonstrating that “lost” tags can be found later in development. Tagging had no effect on tadpole growth rate or survival. Successful application of VIE tags on D. tinctorius tadpoles introduces a new method that can be applied to better understand early life development and dispersal in various tropical species.

Life Cycles

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan A. Pechenik
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Genetic Material ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Volume Number ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Life Cycle Evolution

I have a Hardin cartoon on my office door. It shows a series of animals thinking about the meaning of life. In sequence, we see a lobe-finned fish, a salamander, a lizard, and a monkey, all thinking, “Eat, survive, reproduce; eat, survive, reproduce.” Then comes man: “What's it all about?” he wonders. Organisms live to reproduce. The ultimate selective pressure on any organism is to survive long enough and well enough to pass genetic material to a next generation that will also be successful in reproducing. In this sense, then, every morphological, physiological, biochemical, or behavioral adaptation contributes to reproductive success, making the field of life cycle evolution a very broad one indeed. Key components include mode of sexuality, age and size at first reproduction (Roff, this volume), number of reproductive episodes in a lifetime, offspring size (Messina and Fox, this volume), fecundity, the extent to which parents protect their offspring and how that protection is achieved, source of nutrition during development, survival to maturity, the consequences of shifts in any of these components, and the underlying mechanisms responsible for such shifts. Many of these issues are dealt with in other chapters. Here I focus exclusively on animals, and on a particularly widespread sort of life cycle that includes at least two ecologically distinct free-living stages. Such “complex life cycles” (Istock 1967) are especially common among amphibians and fishes (Hall and Wake 1999), and within most invertebrate groups, including insects (Gilbert and Frieden 1981), crustaceans, bivalves, gastropods, polychaete worms, echinoderms, bryozoans, and corals and other cnidarians (Thorson 1950). In such life cycles, the juvenile or adult stage is reached by metamorphosing from a preceding, free-living larval stage. In many species, metamorphosis involves a veritable revolution in morphology, ecology, behavior, and physiology, sometimes taking place in as little as a few minutes or a few hours. In addition to the issues already mentioned, key components of such complex life cycles include the timing of metamorphosis (i.e., when it occurs), the size at which larvae metamorphose, and the consequences of metamorphosing at particular times or at particular sizes. The potential advantages of including larval stages in the life history have been much discussed.

scholarly journals Transgenerational responses of molluscs and echinoderms to changing ocean conditions

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline M. Ross ◽  
Laura Parker ◽  
Maria Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life History ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Abnormal Development ◽  
Phenotypic Change ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Carryover Effects ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract We are beginning to understand how the larvae of molluscs and echinoderms with complex life cycles will be affected by climate change. Early experiments using short-term exposures suggested that larvae in oceans predicted to increase in acidification and temperature will be smaller in size, take longer to develop, and have a greater incidence of abnormal development. More realistic experiments which factored in the complex life cycles of molluscs and echinoderms found impacts not as severe as predicted. This is because the performance of one life history stage led to a significant carryover effect on the subsequent life history stage. Carryover effects that arise within a generation, for example, embryonic and larval stages, can influence juvenile and adult success. Carryover effects can also arise across a generation, known as transgenerational plasticity (TGP). A transgenerational response or TGP can be defined as a phenotypic change in offspring in response to the environmental stress experienced by a parent before fertilization. In the small number of experiments which have measured the transgenerational response of molluscs and echinoderms to elevated CO2, TGP has been observed in the larval offspring. If we are to safeguard ecological and economically significant mollusc and echinoderm species against climate change then we require more knowledge of the impacts that carryover effects have within and across generations as well as an understanding of the underlying mechanisms responsible for such adaptation.

Tranmission pattern differences of miracidia and cercariae larval stages of digenetic trematode parasites

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Zimmermann ◽  
Kyle E. Luth ◽  
Gerald W. Esch
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Digenetic Trematode ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Intermediate Hosts ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Digenetic Trematodes ◽  
Trematode Parasites

AbstractDigenetic trematodes have complex life cycles involving multiple hosts and free-living larval stages. Some species have 2 lar-val stages that infect snails, with miracidia and cercariae using these molluscs as first and second intermediate hosts, respec-tively. Although both larval stages may infect the same snail species, this is accomplished using different chemical cues and may be influenced by different biotic and abiotic factors. Significant differences in the infection patterns of these parasitic stages regarding host size and density were observed in 2 separate field studies. The prevalence of sporocysts/rediae and mean abundance of

Field variations in mass at metamorphosis in a stream frog, Odorrana splendida, and their relationship with the stream environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-310
Author(s):  
Noriko Iwai ◽  
Kiyomi Yasumiba
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Multiple Streams ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Size At Metamorphosis ◽  
Natural Streams ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Animals with complex life cycles, such as amphibians, shift their habitats when they metamorphose. Metamorphosing traits (e.g., size at, and timing of, metamorphosis) at an early stage can affect the growth, reproduction, and survival in the adult stage. Thus, metamorphosing traits are important factors that affect the fitness of the individuals. Although size at metamorphosis in the field has been investigated in amphibians, its relationship with environmental factors has been scarce. We aimed to quantify variations in the mass at metamorphosis of a stream frog, Odorrana splendida, among multiple streams, and show the relationship of these variations with environmental conditions. We searched for metamorphs in 11 field streams and measured their body size. We then examined the relationship between environmental conditions of each stream and the mass at metamorphosis to reveal the factors determining the mass. We found 229 metamorphs over three years. The estimated mass at metamorphosis ranged from 0.17 g to 1.44 g, with a coefficient of variation among streams of 0.38. The size at metamorphosis significantly differed among streams, and was found to be positively affected by water temperature and chlorophyll a concentration, and negatively affected by altitude, slope gradient, and the number of adult calls. We showed that O. splendida has a large variation in mass at metamorphosis within and among natural streams. A lower mass at metamorphosis may correlate with scarce food resources in the stream and higher competition during the larval stages, resulting from a higher number of mating adults.

scholarly journals Impacts of climate change on the complex life cycles of fish

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Petitgas ◽  
Adriaan D. Rijnsdorp ◽  
Mark Dickey-Collas ◽  
Georg H. Engelhard ◽  
Myron A. Peck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Complex Life Cycles: Why Refrain from Growth before Reproduction in the Adult Niche?

2013 ◽  
Vol 181 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Benesh ◽  
James C. Chubb ◽  
Geoff A. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycles

Archival Big Data and the Spanish Flu in Copenhagen

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Abildgren
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Early Life Exposure ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
One Year

Purpose The Spanish Flu 1918–1920 saw a high degree of excess mortality among young and healthy adults. The purpose of this paper is a further exploration of the hypothesis that high mortality risk during The Spanish Flu in Copenhagen was associated with early life exposure to The Russian Flu 1889–1892. Design/methodology/approach Based on 37,000 individual-level death records in a new unique database from The Copenhagen City Archives combined with approximate cohort-specific population totals interpolated from official censuses of population, the author compiles monthly time series on all-cause mortality rates 1916–1922 in Copenhagen by gender and one-year birth cohorts. The author then analyses birth cohort effects on mortality risk during The Spanish Flu using regression analysis. Findings The author finds support for hypotheses relating early life exposure to The Russian Flu to mortality risk during The Spanish Flu. Some indications of possible gender heterogeneity during the first wave of The Spanish Flu – not found in previous studies – should be a topic for future research based on data from other countries. Originality/value Due to lack of individual-level death records with exact dates of birth and death, previous studies on The Spanish Flu in Denmark and many other countries have relied on data with lower birth cohort resolutions than the one-year birth cohorts used in this study. The analysis in this paper illustrates how archival Big Data can be used to gain new insights in studies on historical pandemics.

Autonomy and integration in complex parasite life cycles

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 143 (14) ◽  
pp. 1824-1846 ◽  
Author(s):  
DANIEL P. BENESH
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Functional Specialization ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Free Living ◽  
New Host ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Life Cycle Stages

SUMMARYComplex life cycles are common in free-living and parasitic organisms alike. The adaptive decoupling hypothesis postulates that separate life cycle stages have a degree of developmental and genetic autonomy, allowing them to be independently optimized for dissimilar, competing tasks. That is, complex life cycles evolved to facilitate functional specialization. Here, I review the connections between the different stages in parasite life cycles. I first examine evolutionary connections between life stages, such as the genetic coupling of parasite performance in consecutive hosts, the interspecific correlations between traits expressed in different hosts, and the developmental and functional obstacles to stage loss. Then, I evaluate how environmental factors link life stages through carryover effects, where stressful larval conditions impact parasites even after transmission to a new host. There is evidence for both autonomy and integration across stages, so the relevant question becomes how integrated are parasite life cycles and through what mechanisms? By highlighting how genetics, development, selection and the environment can lead to interdependencies among successive life stages, I wish to promote a holistic approach to studying complex life cycle parasites and emphasize that what happens in one stage is potentially highly relevant for later stages.

Abiotic versus biotic hierarchies in the assembly of parasite populations

Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. K. ANDERSON ◽  
M. V. K. SUKHDEO
Keyword(s):  
Fundulus Heteroclitus ◽  
Classification Tree ◽  
Benthic Invertebrate ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Complex Life Cycles ◽  
Parasite Communities ◽  
Parametric Classification ◽  
The Common ◽  
Correct Category ◽  
Parasite Populations

SUMMARYThe presence or absence of parasites within host populations is the result of a complex of factors, both biotic and abiotic. This study uses a non-parametric classification tree approach to evaluate the relative importance of key abiotic and biotic drivers controlling the presence/absence of parasites with complex life cycles in a sentinel, the common killifish Fundulus heteroclitus. Parasite communities were classified from 480 individuals representing 15 fish from 4 distinct marsh sites in each of 4 consecutive seasons between 2006 and 2007. Abiotic parameters were recorded at continuous water monitoring stations located at each of the 4 sites. Classification trees identified the presence of benthic invertebrate species (Gammarus sp. and Littorina sp.) as the most important variables in determining parasite presence: secondary splitters were dominated by abiotic variables including conductance, pH and temperature. Seventy percent of hosts were successfully classified into the correct category (infected/uninfected) based on only these criteria. The presence of competent definitive hosts was not considered to be an important explanatory variable. These data suggest that the most important determinant of the presence of these parasite populations in the common killifish is the availability of diverse communities of benthic invertebrates.

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