Relative Influence of Kinship and Density on Metamorphic Traits of Tomopterna breviceps

Abstract

Tadpoles of Tomopterna breviceps from five different sibships were subjected to pure (siblings) or mixed (kin and nonkin) rearing conditions at varying densities to determine relative influence of kinship and density on metamorphic traits of larval growth, larval period, and size at metamorphosis. Individual rearing of 50 tadpoles from five different parental lines revealed no significant difference in any metamorphic traits among sibships. At a given density, metamorphic traits were comparable between sibling and mixed groups indicating an absence of kinship influence. However, progressive increase in the number of tadpoles (density) affected severely the metamorphic traits regardless of the kinship/mixed rearing conditions. This resulted in an increase in larval period, decrease in the size of metamorphs in comparison to those reared at a lower density or uncrowded conditions. Our study shows that in T. breviceps density of rearing rather than kinship plays a major role in affecting the metamorphic traits.