TYMPANUM FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY, BODY SIZE AND MATE CHOICE IN FEMALE MIDWIFE TOADS (ALYTES OBSTETRICANS)

Behaviour ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (9) ◽  
pp. 1211-1222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Márquez ◽  
Jaime Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Acoustic Stimulus ◽  
External Ear ◽  
Jump Length ◽  
Gravid Females ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Alytes Obstetricans

AbstractWe address whether fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in an external ear element is correlated with the accuracy of location of a sound source (synthetic male advertisement calls) by female midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans). Fluctuating asymmetry in the tympanum was measured in gravid females. We studied the relationship between FA, snout - vent - length (SVL), and precision in approaching an acoustic stimulus through playback tests. Female mass was negatively correlated with jump length. Tympanum FA was negatively correlated with the accuracy of location of a sound source. Thus, FA can play an important role in sexual selection by conferring an advantage in access to available males by females with low values of asymmetry.

Size does not matter for male Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum)

2015 ◽  
Vol 93 (10) ◽  
pp. 735-740
Author(s):  
D.A. Croshaw ◽  
J.H.K. Pechmann
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Ambystoma Opacum ◽  
Positive Assortative Mating ◽  
Important Trait ◽  
Breeding Groups ◽  
Gravid Females

Understanding the phenotypic attributes that contribute to variance in mating and reproductive success is crucial in the study of evolution by sexual selection. In many animals, body size is an important trait because larger individuals enjoy greater fitness due to the ability to secure more mates and produce more offspring. Among males, this outcome is largely mediated by greater success in competition with rival males and (or) advantages in attractiveness to females. Here we tested the hypothesis that large male Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807)) mate with more females and produce more offspring than small males. In experimental breeding groups, we included males chosen specifically to represent a range of sizes. After gravid females mated and nested freely, we collected egg clutches and genotyped all adults and samples of hatchlings with highly variable microsatellite markers to assign paternity. Size had little effect on male mating and reproductive success. Breeding males were not bigger than nonbreeding males, mates of polyandrous females were not smaller than those of monogamous females, and there was no evidence for positive assortative mating by size. Although body size did not matter for male Marbled Salamanders, we documented considerable fitness variation and discuss alternative traits that could be undergoing sexual selection.

Fluctuating asymmetry of the frog Crinia signifera in response to logging

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie Lauck
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Egg Mass ◽  
Fitness Indicators ◽  
Testes Size ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Clutch Mass

Fluctuating asymmetry has been proposed as an indicator of environmental stress and population health. However, a notable feature of research examining the relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and population fitness is that of inconsistency. Logging dramatically alters habitat and has the potential to increase or decrease environmental stress. To evaluate the response of fluctuating asymmetry to logging, I conducted research to determine whether fluctuating asymmetry differs in the frog Crinia signifera captured at logged and unlogged sites and if any differences were correlated with body size or body condition. There was a decrease in fluctuating asymmetry but also a decrease in body size and body condition as a result of logging. I also investigated whether any relationship existed between the subtle asymmetry of individuals and the following indicators of fitness: clutch size, clutch mass, average egg mass, testes size, body size and body condition. There was no significant relationship between subtle asymmetry and the fitness indicators.

Female morphs of a colour polymorphic damselfly differ in developmental instability and fecundity

2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robby Stoks ◽  
Stefan Van Dongen ◽  
Jessica Bots ◽  
Hans Van Gossum ◽  
Tim Adriaens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Developmental Instability ◽  
Fitness Components ◽  
Male Harassment ◽  
Multiple Phenotypes ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Differential Costs ◽  
Mated Female

AbstractSex-limited colour polymorphism occurs in several animal taxa and is usually explained in the context of sexual selection. Specifically, for polymorphism restricted to the female sex, multiple phenotypes may have evolved in response to male harassment. Such male harassment is generally considered to entail differential costs to female morphs, which may ultimately result in fitness differences. However, contrary to this prediction, most previous studies do not support that female morphs (andromorphs and heteromorphs) differ in measures of quality and (or) fitness components. In this study, we evaluate quality and fitness differences between mated female morphs of the damselfly Enallagma cyathigerum. We suggest that many earlier studies may have failed to observe morph differences in quality or fitness because selection by male harassment was weak. Here, we selected a study population for which our expectation was that levels of per female capita male harassment were high. Nevertheless, also in this population mated female morphs did not differ in body size or condition (body mass/body length). However, mated female morphs did differ in levels of developmental instability: heteromorphs consistently showed a higher level of fluctuating asymmetry than andromorphs. Also, mated female morphs differed in fecundity: andromorphs had a lower clutch size than heteromorphs. In addition, larger females contained more eggs, but the slope of this relationship was steeper in heteromorphs. In conclusion, mated female morphs of the damselfly E. cyathigerum at our study site clearly differed in one quality estimate (developmental instability) and in our measure of fitness (fecundity).

Fluctuating asymmetry, body size and sexual selection in the dung fly

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 735 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. U. Blanckenhorn ◽  
T. Reusch ◽  
C. Mühlhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry

scholarly journals The relationship between sexual selection and speciation

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria R. Servedio
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals Morphological determinants of jumping performance in the Iberian green frog

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-424
Author(s):  
Gregorio Moreno-Rueda ◽  
Abelardo Requena-Blanco ◽  
Francisco J Zamora-Camacho ◽  
Mar Comas ◽  
Guillem Pascual
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Limb Length ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Jumping Performance ◽  
Hind Limbs ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Pelophylax Perezi

Abstract Predation is one of the main selective forces in nature, frequently selecting potential prey for developing escape strategies. Escape ability is typically influenced by several morphological parameters, such as morphology of the locomotor appendices, muscular capacity, body mass, or fluctuating asymmetry, and may differ between sexes and age classes. In this study, we tested the relationship among these variables and jumping performance in 712 Iberian green frogs Pelophylax perezi from an urban population. The results suggest that the main determinant of jumping capacity was body size (explaining 48% of variance). Larger frogs jumped farther, but jumping performance reached an asymptote for the largest frogs. Once controlled by structural body size, the heaviest frogs jumped shorter distances, suggesting a trade-off between fat storage and jumping performance. Relative hind limb length also determined a small but significant percentage of variance (2.4%) in jumping performance—that is, the longer the hind limbs, the greater the jumping capacity. Juveniles had relatively shorter and less muscular hind limbs than adults (for a given body size), and their jumping performance was poorer. In our study population, the hind limbs of the frogs were very symmetrical, and we found no effect of fluctuating asymmetry on jumping performance. Therefore, our study provides evidence that jumping performance in frogs is not only affected by body size, but also by body mass and hind limb length, and differ between age classes.

Leg Strength Is Related to Endurance Run Performance in Children and Adolescents with Mental Retardation

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fernhall ◽  
Kenneth H. Pitetti
Keyword(s):  
Mental Retardation ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Aerobic Capacity ◽  
Significant Influence ◽  
Moderate Mental Retardation ◽  
Leg Strength ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shuttle Run

This study evaluated the relationship between leg strength and endurance run performance, independent of aerobic capacity (V̇O2peak), body size, and gender, in children and adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation. Twenty-six individuals (15 boys and 11 girls) volunteered and underwent tests of V̇O2peak, isokinetic leg strength, and endurance run performance (600-yard ran/walk and 20-m shuttle run). Results showed that leg strength was significantly related to both types of run performance; however, when controlling for V̇O2peak, body size, and gender, leg strength was a more significant contributor to the 600-yard run/walk than to 20-m shuttle run performance. Gender did not influence these relationships. These data suggest that leg strength has a significant influence on endurance run performance in children and adolescents with mild or moderate mental retardation.

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